This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Sunday's Verizon 200 at the Indy Road Course was all about Michael McDowell. The former Daytona 500 champion was on his game throughout the weekend as he sought to consolidate a position in the playoffs through points alone. By the end of the day, he wasn't worried about points anymore, though. McDowell made a move for the lead for the first time on lap six. He went on to win the first stage, and he never put a foot wrong as he held the entire field at bay the remaining distance. The race's lack of caution periods meant that any mistakes stayed with a driver the entire afternoon, and McDowell's lack of errors kept him atop the running order the majority of the afternoon. It was McDowell's second career win, and those two wins have come at two of the sport's most famous venues.
McDowell's win gives the playoff picture a bit of a shake up. Three spots remain to be claimed with two regular season races remaining. Up first is Watkins Glen International, another road course that the competitors know very well. Kyle Larson won the last two races there as teammate Chase Elliott won the two races prior to that. Elliott is still on the outside of the playoff field, and he will be striving to extend the domination of Hendrick Motorsports at the track this week.
UPGRADE
Michael McDowell - McDowell went from being outside of the playoff spots to locked in with a mistake-free win
Sunday's Verizon 200 at the Indy Road Course was all about Michael McDowell. The former Daytona 500 champion was on his game throughout the weekend as he sought to consolidate a position in the playoffs through points alone. By the end of the day, he wasn't worried about points anymore, though. McDowell made a move for the lead for the first time on lap six. He went on to win the first stage, and he never put a foot wrong as he held the entire field at bay the remaining distance. The race's lack of caution periods meant that any mistakes stayed with a driver the entire afternoon, and McDowell's lack of errors kept him atop the running order the majority of the afternoon. It was McDowell's second career win, and those two wins have come at two of the sport's most famous venues.
McDowell's win gives the playoff picture a bit of a shake up. Three spots remain to be claimed with two regular season races remaining. Up first is Watkins Glen International, another road course that the competitors know very well. Kyle Larson won the last two races there as teammate Chase Elliott won the two races prior to that. Elliott is still on the outside of the playoff field, and he will be striving to extend the domination of Hendrick Motorsports at the track this week.
UPGRADE
Michael McDowell - McDowell went from being outside of the playoff spots to locked in with a mistake-free win Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis. The Front Row Motorsports driver qualified fourth and then had the speed in the race to drive to the lead and hold it for 54 of the 82 laps. The win is the second of McDowell's career, and it is a just reward for the speed this team has had all season. The No. 34 crew has been fielding competitive cars most of the season, and McDowell has used that pace to take two top-fives and six top-10s. They were nearly in the playoffs without last week's win on points alone, which tells fans how competitive they have actually been. McDowell will be feeling especially confident with another road course on the schedule, too. He has one top-10 from 13 Watkins Glen starts, which came last season along with 14 laps led.
Chase Elliott - Elliott may have rediscovered his road course form with a second-place finish Sunday at Indianapolis. The former champion was once the dominant driver at those tracks, but he hasn't had the same dominance since NASCAR introduced the current generation of car. That speed returned last week, though. Elliott put together one of his best weekends of the season with a third-place qualifying effort on Saturday backed up by a runner-up finish in Sunday's race. It was Elliott's sixth top-five finish of the season and third straight on a road course. After losing a little ground early in the race, the race's lack of cautions left little opportunity for Elliott to fully recover. One restart might have been all he needed to get in front of McDowell, but that opportunity never came and Elliott had to settle his best result since Fontana in February. Fantasy players should be optimistic for his chances at Watkins Glen this week where he is a two-time victor.
Daniel Suarez - Sunday's race at Indianapolis was an encouraging one for Suarez, and it might have given him a boost in his quest for the playoffs. First, he qualified on pole, and then he carried that strength into Sunday when he led six laps and finished third. It was a very good day in points, despite the pit mishap that cost him a shot at the win, which could be critical for him with just two regular-season races remaining. Despite the top finish, Suarez remains outside of the playoff spots with a 28-point deficit to Bubba Wallace in 16th, though. However, another strong weekend this week at Watkins Glen could put him in a better position for the final regular-season race at Daytona. Suarez has three top-five finishes at the New York road course, including last season's fifth-place result. This is a good track for him, and it is a place where he holds the advantage over playoff rival Wallace.
Chase Briscoe - Sunday's sixth-place finish was Briscoe's sixth top-10 finish of the season, which continues the upward trend this team has been on recently. Briscoe led laps at Indianapolis in 2021, but he struggled finding the same form on road courses with the current car. He said that changed Sunday. The team found changes that gave him the same feel he had with the old car, and that could be good news as Briscoe works to turn around a rough season to date. After a hefty penalty early in the season, Briscoe needs a win if he is to be in the playoffs. Even if he were to get into the elimination rounds, he would still likely need a win each round to advance. Briscoe has two prior starts at Watkins Glen with a best finish of ninth. He led seven laps at the track last season despite finishing 25th, too. Briscoe could still be a reliable fantasy option for rosters this season.
Shane van Gisbergen - While Sunday's 10th-place finish at Indianapolis pales in comparison to his win in Chicago, Shane van Gisbergen showed what he might be capable of if he comes to NASCAR full time in the future. The weekend at Indianapolis featured his first oval outing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. He finished that race 19th, which was no small feat considering he thought he would be racing on the road course when he first accepted the ride. He then went on to qualify eighth and run inside the top 10 most of the day in the Cup Series. To have two top-10 Cup Series finishes from two career starts is nothing short of impressive. Van Gisbergen is open about his desire to come to the series more frequently in the future, and even alluded to a part-time schedule in the works for 2024. Watch this space as that story plays out. It may not be long before we see him winning on ovals as well.
DOWNGRADE
AJ Allmendinger - After an encouraging third-place finish in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Allmendinger's misfortune Sunday felt especially painful. The Kaulig Racing driver is on the outside of the playoffs looking in, and Sunday's race at Indianapolis was one of the squads best chances to turn that view around. A poor qualifying showing of 26th made their day a challenge before it even began, though. That situation got even worse when Allmendinger was spun by Ryan Blaney while racing in the pack. On a day with just one very early caution, there was no chance for Allmendinger to recover. He finished the afternoon right where he started in 26th position. Allmendinger and team will be using Saturday as motivation for Watkins Glen, though. He has one win from 11 starts at that track along with seven top-10 finishes.
Bubba Wallace - No one expect Wallace to be a top contender at road courses, and his 18th-place finish Sunday at Indianapolis was about what was expected. For that reason, he and team worked hard to gain as many points as possible in the few races before this road course stretch. That plan was the right one, but McDowell winning Sunday puts Wallace on the edge of that playoff points battle. Daytona, as the last race of the regular season, could be a good thing for the No. 23 team, but they will have to get through Watkins Glen first. With multiple drivers winless this season possibly coming out on top at the Glen, Wallace's position looks even more precarious. He holds a 27-point lead over Daniel Suarez in 17th, but Suarez is one of those winless drivers that could end up in Victory Lane this coming Sunday. The pressure to make the playoffs is well and truly on this team's shoulders.
Ross Chastain - Last season it seemed as though Chastain was in contention at the front of the field at every track. He has a 2023 victory putting him into the playoffs, but the momentum that made him a potential champion last season seems distant in 2023. Sunday's race offered more of the same, too. His qualifying was lackluster, and his 21st starting spot only led to a finish of 17th. It was an anonymous weekend with the playoffs looming on the horizon. Chastain has just one top-10 finish since his victory at Nashville, and that isn't a lot of momentum when he needs it most. He and the team still have two races to get things figured out before the stakes step up in the elimination races, but there isn't much time left to get that done. Chastain's best Watkins Glen finish from four series tries was 12th in 2021. He finished 21st there last season, and could use a strong run this weekend to begin the build for his 2023 playoff effort.
Kyle Busch - Sunday's race was shaping up to be a good afternoon for Busch. He qualified fifth and was among the leaders for much of the afternoon. Late in the race his car lost power and he began locking his wheels under braking as he drove as hard as possible to keep up with the competition. The day unraveled from there with Busch ultimately locking up again, sliding through a turn, and losing significant ground. The race ended with Busch two laps down in 36th position. This isn't the first time Busch's car has suffered mechanical issues this season, and that is something the team will have no room for error on once the playoffs get underway. They have two more races to diagnose and fix the issues before the tolerance for a poor finish vanishes. Busch is a two-time winner at Watkins Glen and should be expected to be fast again this week, but questions about reliability will persist.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Alex Bowman - After Sunday's race, Bowman said his fifth-place finish felt like a win. It was indeed a long time coming, and it puts him in decent position in the points with two races remaining to qualify for the playoffs. After missing thee races due to injury, Bowman failed to finish in the top 10 in the 10 races since returning. That finally changed with a confident road course performance on Sunday. He started the day from the ninth position, and made the most from a day that heavily penalized any mistakes. The result puts Bowman 20th in the standings with an 80-point gap to the playoff positions. He has two races to win or scoop up as many points as possible and let the chips fall where they may. Watkins Glen will undoubtedly be a challenge. He has three top-15 finishes there from six series tries. Last week's race will be giving him a sense that hope is not lost, though.
