Michael McDowell has won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as Shane van Gisbergen finished 10th in his second NASCAR Cup Series start.

McDowell led more than half of the 82-lap race in the #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford to book his ticket to the Playoffs, with Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (#9 Chevrolet) finishing 0.937s back in second place.

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez (#99 Chevrolet) rounded out the podium on a day when he vied for the win but was set back by a slow second pit stop.

Van Gisbergen ran on the cusp of the effective top 10 all afternoon in the #91 Trackhouse Chevrolet, having a run-in with Ty Gibbs along the way, while Brodie Kostecki’s Cup Series debut produced a finish of 22nd in the #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet from the back of the 39-car field.

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When the green flag first flew, pole-sitter Suarez led the field away, from Tyler Reddick (#45 23XI Racing Toyota), McDowell, Elliott, Kyle Karson (#5 Hendrick Chevrolet), and Kyle Busch (#8 RCR Chevrolet).

Van Gisbergen had a bump with Christopher Bell (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) at Turn 1 before emerging in seventh position.

A Caution was called on Lap 2 when Joey Logano (#22 Team Penske Ford) and Justin Haley (#31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet) made contact through Turn 5/Turn 6, putting the latter into the tyre barrier.

At the time, van Gisbergen was eighth and Kostecki 35th after starting from the back due to a chassis change, with Kamui Kobayashi (#67 23XI Toyota) 37th after being turned around by Andy Lally (#51 Rick Ware Racing Ford).

The restart came at the end of Lap 5, with Logano locking up and spinning in the middle of the pack at Turn 1 while McDowell took second place there and then passed Suarez for the lead before they got back to the main straight.

On Lap 7, Gibbs (#54 JGR Toyota) spun at Turn 1 after a nudge from van Gisbergen.

On Lap 10, the New Zealander was then bumped out of eighth position by Alex Bowman (#48 Hendrick Chevrolet) at Turn 4 and passed also by Chase Briscoe (#14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) at Turn 7.

When Stage 1 ended on Lap 15, McDowell led by 0.720s from Suarez, Elliott, Reddick, Larson, Busch, Bell, Bowman, van Gisbergen, and Martin Truex Jnr (#19 JGR Toyota), with Briscoe pitting.

The race continued under green but the first pit stop cycle continued and the top two were in on Lap 17, with Suarez jumping McDowell thanks to braking later for the speed limit line and a quicker stop.

Van Gisbergen, who had complained of a “sticky” throttle pedal, pressed on until pitting on Lap 23, and Bell all the way to Lap 27.

Meanwhile, McDowell and Elliott were tailing Suarez, while Larson dropped from an effective fourth position when he locked up and ran through the run-off at Turn 1.

Denny Hamlin (#11 JGR Toyota) and Brad Keselowski (#6 RFK Racing Ford) were off-sequence and hanging on at the front of the field for Stage 2 honours.

Hamlin nearly threw it away when he locked the rears at Turn 7 on Lap 35, the last of the stage.

He staved off Keselowski and it was instead McDowell who pinched second place, and the effective lead, in the battle which ensued through the final corners of the track.

Hamlin therefore won Stage 2 from McDowell, Suarez, Keselowski, Elliott, Busch, Reddick, Bowman, Briscoe, and Larson, with van Gisbergen 14th and Kostecki 22nd.

McDowell passed Hamlin for the official lead just seconds before the latter and Keselowski pitted on Lap 36, as Elliott passed Suarez for what became second place.

Busch inherited fourth and continued to run there despite a suspected engine issue, while van Gisbergen was making inroads.

He overtook Bell to get back into the top 10 on Lap 44, then squeezed past Larson on Lap 45 at Turn 12, with Bell following him by at Turn 14.

Suarez recovered pace relative to Elliott and took second place when he gave Car #9 a big whack into Turn 12, just before the final pit stop cycle began.

The top three were into the lane on Lap 49 and it was a slow stop for Suarez, who was delayed when a rattle gun hose got stuck under the left-front tyre at the initial drop of the jack.

Van Gisbergen briefly led before pitting on Lap 51 and McDowell reassumed the official first place on Lap 54, by a margin of 3.7s to Elliott, with Suarez third.

Busch had slipped out of the top 10 due to a flatspot and/or engine dramas and pitted again on Lap 57 after locking up and running long at Turn 12.

With 20 laps to go, McDowell led by 2.9s from Elliott, Suarez, Reddick, Bowman, Keselowski, Briscoe, Hamlin, Truex Jnr, Larson, Bell, and van Gisbergen, with Kostecki 19th.

Van Gisbergen and Kostecki were 10th and 17th respectively once Hamlin and Keselowski pitted again, before Kobayashi was unloaded out of 27th position by Ricky Stenhouse Jnr (#47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet) at Turn 1 on Lap 66.

Elliott was chipping away at McDowell’s lead and Suarez was making up the deficit relative to both but had to see off an attack from Reddick with nine laps to go.

McDowell’s margin was still two seconds then and while it dwindled in the laps which remained, the #34 Ford driver was not seriously troubled.

He clinched a second race win of his Cup Series career with Elliott finishing runner-up from Suarez, Reddick, Bowman, Briscoe, Truex Jnr, Larson, Bell, and van Gisbergen.

Kostecki was last of those on the lead lap in 22nd, Jenson Button (#15 RWR Ford) took 28th, Kobayashi ended up 33rd, and Busch finished two laps down in 36th.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series continues at Watkins Glen next weekend (August 18-20, local time).

Results: Race

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