McDowell Conquers Damp Road America Course for XFINITY Win

ELKHART LAKE, WI – RIS - Michael McDowell pointed his No. 2 Chevy against a concrete barrier at the finish line, burning his tires in a smoky celebration.  Finally, a late lead didn't disappear for McDowell at Road America.  It had been a long time coming.

McDowell edged teammate Brendan Gaughan by 0.534 seconds in overtime on an overcast, sometimes misty Saturday afternoon at the sprawling road course for his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Brennan Poole was third, while pole-sitter Alex Tagliani finished seventh in the 194-mile race.

After five career top-five starts at Road America, McDowell has the ending that he sorely wanted.

"Today was a great day to check it off" the list, said McDowell, a regular on NASCAR's top Sprint Cup circuit.

McDowell finished second in 2012. He dominated most of the race the previous year before losing the lead on the second of three attempts at a green-white-checkered overtime finish.

McDowell started watching video of that race on Friday night before deciding to turn it off.

"I shut it off with five to go," he said. "I'm glad I did."

Gaughan nearly played spoiler. The Richard Childress Racing teammates went bumper-to-bumper midway through the last lap.

"When I came out of Turn 5, Brendan was right there with me," McDowell said. "I said, 'Uh oh.'"

It was the start of four-turn stretch of the 14-turn track in which Gaughan said he thought he had the best shot to overtake McDowell.

McDowell held on through the critical eighth turn, and cut off Gaughan's passing lanes from there. Gaughan couldn't catch up, even with fresher tires.

"Michael and I have always raced with respect, so I'm not going to do anything stupid," Gaughan said. "Got right to his rear bumper, but just couldn't pull it through (Turns 9 and 10) to get to him."

Three cautions in a late eight-lap stretch led to several bumps and spin-outs in the field around the course. Cars went three-wide at times around tight turns.  The extra time had crew chiefs fretting about fuel strategy and tire wear.

"Those restarts are wild," Poole said. "It was a lot of fun, some of the most fun I've had this year."

McDowell held on to finish with a top speed of 108.487 mph. An RCR driver won the Road America race for the third straight year.

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Status Tms Laps
1 2 2 Michael McDowell(i) Rheem Chevrolet 48 0 Running 2 24
2 8 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 48 40 1 Running 1 2
3 12 48 Brennan Poole # DC Solar Chevrolet 48 38 Running
4 5 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota 48 37 Running
5 7 16 Ryan Reed Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford 48 36 Running
6 11 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Chevrolet 48 35 Running
7 1 22 Alex Tagliani Discount Tire Ford 48 35 1 Running 2 17
8 14 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Chevrolet 48 33 Running
9 13 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. LoudMouth Exhaust Ford 48 32 Running
10 17 44 JJ Yeley Zachry Toyota 48 31 Running
11 25 01 Ryan Preece # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 48 30 Running
12 6 3 Ty Dillon Bosch Chevrolet 48 29 Running
13 27 28 Dakoda Armstrong Winfield Be Greater Toyota 48 28 Running
14 39 39 Ryan Sieg Nice Targets Chevrolet 48 27 Running
15 24 07 Ray Black # Scuba Life Chevrolet 48 26 Running
16 22 33 Brandon Jones # Macklanburg-Duncan/Menards Chevrolet 48 25 Running
17 4 18 Owen Kelly Tunity Toyota 48 24 Running
18 9 11 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 48 23 Running
19 18 90 JD Davison Always Evolving Chevrolet 48 22 Running
20 21 25 Alex Kennedy(i) MediaCast/Lilly Trucking Chevrolet 48 0 Running
21 10 20 Erik Jones # Reser's Fine Foods Toyota 48 21 1 Running 2 5
22 36 52 Joey Gase Cobblestone Hotels/Donate Life Chevrolet 48 19 Running
23 31 70 Timmy Hill(i) US Chrome/E-hydrate Chevrolet 48 0 Running
24 32 93 David Starr Massimo Motors Chevrolet 48 17 Running
25 16 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet 48 16 Running
26 28 14 Tomy Drissi Arthritis Foundation Toyota 48 15 Running
27 26 99 Stanton Barrett Xcalibur Pit School Ford 48 14 Running
28 35 78 BJ McLeod # Ford 48 13 Running
29 20 15 Scott Heckert Ford 48 12 Running
30 40 13 Alon Day FLWaterfront.com Dodge 48 11 Running
31 38 97 Paige Decker Vroom Brands Chevrolet 48 10 Running
32 3 42 Justin Marks Katerra Chevrolet 47 9 Running
33 15 4 Ross Chastain teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 43 8 Running
34 19 88 Kenny Habul SunEnergy1 Chevrolet 26 7 Suspension
35 37 40 John Jackson CrashClaimsR.us/Mohawk Markets Dodge 22 6 Brakes
36 33 74 Nic Hammann Dodge 22 5 Rear Gear
37 34 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 20 4 Fuel Pump
38 23 77 Josh Bilicki Vroom Brands Chevrolet 6 3 Electrical
39 30 10 Jeff Green Toyota 4 2 Brakes
40 29 0 Garrett Smithley # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 2 1 Accident