Michael McDowell Races to Indianapolis Immortality

It is the second time that Michael McDowell got to showcase his winning smile in the NASCAR Cup Series. (Photo: Logan Skidan | The Podium Finish)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Good things happens to good people through hard work and determination as evident by Michael McDowell’s NASCAR Cup Series career.

After years of relative obscurity with trying to do the right things, McDowell’s stock car career has been on the rise since 2018. Mainly, that was when the Phoenix racer joined Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34 Ford Mustang team.

Along the way, McDowell has showcased his abilities to contend in the marquee events. As the years have rolled on, fans know the 38-year-old racer more for his 2021 Daytona 500, a riveting triumph for the veteran racer.

Although the points standings finishes may not back up McDowell’s progress, he has exponentially improved as a reliable midfielder to top 10 runner. Ahead of Sunday’s Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, McDowell flirted with a Playoffs spot.

Throughout the weekend at Indianapolis, the Ford Performance racer led the weekend’s only practice session before qualifying fourth. From jump street in the 82-lap race, McDowell wasted little time getting to the front of the field.

Taking the lead from pole sitter Daniel Suárez on Lap 7, seldom did the Arizonan showcase any weakness on the track. In fact, he put on a clinic that would have made Tom Emanski proud.

Instead of being like a baseball instructional that played heavily on ESPN, McDowell showcased what a dominant performance looked like on a road course. Leading on three occasions for a total of 54 laps, McDowell won Stage 1 and placed second in Stage 2, netting 19 valuable stage points and a Playoff point to boot.

On this occasion, there was no late race caution or a scramble to capture the checkered flag. Simply put, it was a good old fashioned highlight reel that will likely be replayed int he McDowell household for many years to come.

If the Daytona 500 win in 2021 was riveting, then Sunday’s Verizon 200 was convincing and masterful. Even when Chase Elliott closed the gap to less than a second on the final two laps, there was no denying McDowell from Victory Lane and a date with the bricks.

McDowell, who bested Elliott by 0.937 seconds, immediately radioed to his crew for his family to join the frontstretch celebration. Once he drove to the yard of bricks, the usually mild mannered racer allowed his emotions to be on display.

McDowell’s distinct blue, white and yellow No. 34 Ford Mustang was the class of the field at Indianapolis. (Photo: Jeremy Bryner | The Podium Finish)

“Oh, man, this is such a dream come true,” McDowell said. “I’m so thankful to everybody at Front Row Motorsports, Bob Jenkins, Horizon Hobbies, Fr8 Auctions, Chicago Pneumatic. Man, we had a fast Ford Mustang. Everybody at Roush Yates engine shop, Doug, these guys gave me everything today.

“We had the fastest car. We executed, and we did what we needed to do. Just so thankful, so thankful to still be grinding it out in the Cup Series. To put on a performance like that, I don’t know if it was dominant, but it felt pretty dominant to me.”

Besides winning at Indianapolis and kissing the yard of bricks with family and his associates, McDowell punched his ticket into this year’s Playoffs field. For the second time in his Cup career, McDowell can officially battle for a championship starting with next month’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Even before McDowell realized the might and power from his No. 34 Ford, he liked his chances of making the postseason field without a win.

“You know, I thought we could point our way in,” he said. “But after the car that we had yesterday in practice, I thought, ‘Man, we’ve got a good shot at winning if we could just get track position and maintain it.’ Just I can’t believe it, so thankful.”

As gracious as McDowell was about winning at Indianapolis, race runner-up Chase Elliott was in position to snag his first win of 2023. Rather than wallow and feel defeated, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion tipped his cap to his team and McDowell on his second career Cup victory.

In the closing moments, McDowell held off a pair of Chevrolet racers in Chase Elliott and Daniel Suárez. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)

“Just to be a little better through the back half over there and get off of 14 a little better just to have myself in a better spot getting into 1,” Elliott said. “Just really appreciate the effort, man. Our NAPA Chevy was really good, really good.

“Just needed just a little bit more and came up a bit short. But congrats to Michael, man. He did a good job. Ran a great race and stayed mistake free, and that’s what you’ve got to do to win.”

For a while, it appeared to be the McDowell and Suárez show at Indianapolis. Leading the opening five laps and Lap 49, Suárez was in position to realize the feat that McDowell accomplished on Sunday afternoon.

A long pit stop caused by a tangled air hose derailed Suárez’s promising winning bid. Crew chief Travis Mack apologized to his driver in a radio transmission not long after the stop as he motivated his driver to be calm and keep after it on the track.

The mistake may have cost Suárez with a shot at an Indianapolis victory. However, a third-place result keeps the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion in the hunt for one of the three final Playoffs spots.

“I mean, we win and we lose as a team, and that’s all I can say,” Suárez said. “The guys brought a very fast race car. I felt that maybe we were one adjustment behind in the first run with the back of the car, but then we made it a little bit better.

“But I felt like I was always one step behind the 9 and the 34, and then at the end, I felt that when my car came alive again, we had that issue. Just a little bit heartbreaking, but that’s part of the sport. All we can do is continue to push, continue to build race cars like this, and I’ll keep on winning races.”

Sunday’s race winner gets to be the talk of the town for the next several days leading up to Watkins Glen. Beyond the glory on the track and being the subject of many TV and satellite radio shows, there is one thing that matters more to McDowell than the duties and obligations of winning a race.

Burning down the house. (Photo: Jeremy Bryner | The Podium Finish)

“Yeah, it’s such a big deal,” McDowell said. “Winning the Daytona 500 was one of the coolest moments you could ever have, but going to Victory Lane without your family, that was tough.

“And so we cherry pick; my family comes to the races we think we can win. We thought we could win this one. Just so proud.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Michael McDowell
2. Daniel Suárez
3. Chase Elliott
4. Tyler Reddick
5. Kyle Larson
6. Kyle Busch
7. Christopher Bell
8. Alex Bowman
9. Shane van Gisbergen
10. Martin Truex Jr.

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Michael McDowell
3. Daniel Suárez
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Chase Elliott
6. Kyle Busch
7. Tyler Reddick
8. Alex Bowman
9. Chase Briscoe
10. Kyle Larson

Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Race Results