Fresh off his emotional win last weekend at the Indy Road Course, Michael McDowell was poised to put the No. 34 NASCAR Ford Mustang back in Victory Lane at Watkins Glen on August 20th, 2023 – but misfortune eliminated his chances of taking the win.
McDowell led early, diving to the inside of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry just four laps in to claim the lead. He went on to win a relatively uneventful Stage 1, although he drove through too many pit boxes during a pit stop on Lap 21 and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty, dropping back deep in the pack. He was also penalized a second time for having a man over the wall too early later on, serving another pass-through. Then, with 15 laps left on the board, McDowell suddenly slowed with an apparent electrical failure, relegating him to a last-place finish after leading 17 laps.
Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Mustang was the highest-finishing Ford, taking seventh at the line. Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang and Joey Logano’s No. 22 Mustang finished ninth and 10th, respectively, the only other Blue Oval teams to come home inside the top 10. Meanwhile, William Byron’s No. 24 Chevy Camaro ZL1 scored his fifth victory of the 2023 season.
There’s only one race left before the postseason Playoffs, and the 16-driver championship field will soon be set following the race at Daytona on Saturday, August 26th.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 24 | William Byron | Valvoline Chevrolet | 90 | 66 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota | 90 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DEWALT Concrete Total Solutions Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 6 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Celsius Chevrolet | 90 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 19 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Siemens Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 7 | 13 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota SmartPath Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 9 | 23 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 10 | 11 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 25 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Serial1.com E-Bikes Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 12 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Sugarlands/EggoBrunchaJarSippinCream Chev. | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 9 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Mark III Chevrolet | 90 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 24 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 17 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Autotrader Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 30 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 22 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 21 | 42 | Mike Rockenfeller | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 10 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 33 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 14 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway.com Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 18 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 20 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 29 | 15 | Andy Lally | Camping World Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 35 | 78 | Josh Bilicki(i) | Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 34 | 51 | Cole Custer(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 31 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 27 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Go Bowling Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Okuma Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 15 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 32 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 89 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 36 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 26 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 83 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 3 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 74 | 17 | Ford Mustang |
| 37 | 23 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | gener8tor Skills Ford | 80 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 38 | 15 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 80 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 39 | 33 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford Ford | 79 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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