Roger Diez: 13 locked in for NASCAR playoffs

Last weekend race fans were treated to the annual gathering of the two giants of American motorsport. The NASCAR stock cars and the IndyCar open wheelers met at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the third and perhaps final time.

It was great to see the mutual respect and camaraderie between the drivers despite the radically different nature of their machinery. That mutual interest was cemented Sunday morning with the unveiling of the No. 17 Arrow McLaren Dallara Chevy that Kyle Larson will drive in next year’s Indy 500. Next to it was the familiar No. 5 Hendrick Camaro he will race later that day in the Coca-Cola 600. And Kyle Busch took a ride with Tony Kanaan in the IndyCar two-seater, whetting his appetite to join his brother Kurt in attempting the Memorial Day “double.”

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The IndyCars took to the track on Saturday for the 85-lap Gallagher Grand Prix, with Graham Rahal on the pole for the start. Teams employed a variety of strategies but at the end it was the wily veteran Scott Dixon in front at the checkered flag. Dixon held off Rahal in the closing laps  while Pato O’Ward finished third. Points leader Alex Palou came home seventh while closest championship contender Josef Newgarden qualified poorly and got caught up in a first-lap tangle, losing two laps and finishing 25th.

The race shook up the championship points battle, elevating Dixon to second, 101 points adrift of Palou. Newgarden dropped to third, another four points back. With just three races to go, those are the only three drivers with a realistic shot at the 2023 title.

Newgarden’s best chance to rebound will come next weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway’s asymmetrical 1.25 mile oval. Newgarden has won every oval race so far this season and is highly motivated to make it a clean sweep this year.

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Sunday was the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard for the NASCAR Cup cars, 82 laps around the 2.439 mile, 14-turn Indy road course. Daniel Suarez started on the pole with Tyler Reddick alongside, but the day belonged to Michael McDowell. Driving the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, he led a race-high 54 laps and held off 2020 champion Chase Elliot and both front-row starters to take his second career victory in Cup. The other was the 2021 Daytona 500, so McDowell has a way of winning the big prestige races.

His win raised the tally of winners locked into the playoffs to 13, and also changed the playoff picture at the cut line. With non-winners Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski 145 and 143 above the cut line respectively, both are safely in the playoffs. That leaves Bubba Wallace at +28 points vulnerable. Suarez at -28 and Ty Gibbs at -49 have a chance to bump him. Elliott and Alex Bowman are at -80 and are basically in a must-win situation.

There are just two races left to determine the final playoff berth, and this weekend it’s the road course at Watkins Glen. The Glen is an excellent opportunity for a 14th winner this season. Elliott won there in 2018 and 2019, and A.J. Allmendinger took the 2014 win. But a lot of drivers who are already in the playoffs could add another victory and more playoff points. Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch have all posted wins at the Glen in the last 10 years.

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Saturday’s TV features the Xfinity series’ Shriner Children’s 200 at 12:30 p.m. on USA and Sunday it’s the Go Bowling at the Glen for the NASCAR Cup series at noon. Both will be on USA and the NBC Sports app.