McDowell takes first NASCAR national level win after nine years of trying

McDowell led 24 of 48 laps to beat his Richard Childress Racing teammate Brendan Gaughan to the checkered flag by just over half a second (0.534).

It was his first trip to Victory Lane in 297 starts at the national level of NASCAR, 94 of which have come in the Xfinity Series.

“It’s huge. I’m so thankful and blessed,” McDowell said in Victory Lane. “Thank God, first and foremost. This Chevrolet was super fast. I’ve got to thank all of my guys back in Michigan; Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing for letting me be here. They know how bad I wanted this victory at Road America. So thankful to do it.

“(Crew chief) Justin Alexander, all the guys called the right shots. I had track position there at the end when we needed it and this ECR Chevy was on rails. It was awesome.”

Behind the RCR duo, Brennan Poole finished third, Daniel Suarez fourth and Ryan Reed fifth. The remainder of the top ten was filled by Justin Allgaier, Alex Tagliani, Elliott Sadler, Darrell Wallace Jr., and J.J. Yeley.

The race kicked off with veteran IndyCar driver Tagliani leading the way under overcast skies. Very early in the race, Garrett Smithley suffered a mechanical failure and crashed hard into the concrete wall on the front stretch, forcing the first caution flag of the day.

The frontrunners commenced their first round of pit stops on Lap 10 with Mid-Ohio race winner Justin Marks getting a speeding penalty during the sequence. While serving it, the second caution of the race was displayed for Nic Hammann.

On Lap 16, the green flag was back out and Erik Jones briefly took command before being swiftly overtaken by Tagliani. McDowell asserted himself at the front of the field for the first time on Lap 24 and held the position until a caution for rain interrupted the action.

Most of the cars on the lead lap made their way back down pit road and Jones was left in control once more. But again, he was quickly disposed of by Tagliani. However, moments after that, his race was shattered. McDowell looked to the inside at Turn 6, but Tagliani refused to concede the spot. He turned across the nose of the No. 2 and spun, sending him to the very back of the field.

McDowell led the race unchallenged until the next yellow, which was due to yet another issue for Hammann. The ensuing restart came with just seven laps to go. Tagliani was charging through the field and fought his way up to sixth when a debris caution slowed the race to a crawl once again.

On the next restart, Tagliani fell back in the chaos while McDowell pulled away from the hectic racing behind him. But he would have to do it all over again.

The sixth and final caution of the race came when Israeli rookie Alon Day beached his car, causing the race to go into overtime.

McDowell held the lead through Turn 1 while his teammate made a successful three-wide move for the runner-up spot and began his pursuit of the lead. As he chased McDowell down, Justin Marks was sent spinning into the gravel by Owen Kelly, ruining what was a top five run for both of them.

Gaughan got close, but not quite close enough to steal the win out from under McDowell, he will now travel to Michigan for the Sprint Cup race tomorrow.

On the Chase bubble sits Ryan Sieg, who is 15 points to the good over Ross Chastain after today's race.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	2	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	48	2:38'15	24
2	62	Brendan Gaughan	Chevrolet	48	0.534	2	40
3	48	Brennan Poole	Chevrolet	48	4.299		38
4	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	48	4.736		37
5	16	Ryan Reed	Ford	48	5.551		36
6	7	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	48	5.582		35
7	22	Alex Tagliani	Ford	48	5.680	17	35
8	1	Elliott Sadler	Chevrolet	48	6.978		33
9	6	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Ford	48	10.853		32
10	44	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	48	12.257		31