Brickyard 400 returns, ‘Crown Jewel race’ says driver Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski discusses returning to the Brickyard 400 and what it means to drivers.
Clark Wade/IndyStar
NASCAR returns to the famed oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday after taking a three-year detour to race the IMS road course from 2021 through 2023.
The NASCAR Cup Series first raced at the legendary speedway in 1994 when Jeff Gordon won the first Brickyard 400. Since Gordon’s victory, the Brickyard has been the playground of NASCAR champions. Of the 27 races that have been held on the IMS oval, only five have by won by drivers who did win a Cup Series title at some point in their career.
Will a champion once again kiss the bricks in Indy? Follow along as USA TODAY Sports provides all the latest news, updates, highlights and results from Sunday’s race.
Kyle Busch took the lead on a restart on Lap 75 but before the lap was completed a big crash took place in the middle of the pack.
Ryan Preece made contact with William Byron, sending him hard into the inside wall. AJ Allmendinger and Harrison Burton were also collected in the pileup. Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet was totaled and he was forced to exit the race Burton drove his car back to the garage.
Busch led a number of cars down pit road for fuel and tires during the caution flag laps. Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott stayed out, leading the field on the restart.
Legacy Motor Club driver John Hunter Nemechek took the lead from Tyler Reddick on the opening lap of Stage 2, leading 14 laps. The team also has Legacy co-owner Jimmie Johnson driving the No. 84 Toyota in today’s race. Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and four-time Brickyard winner, has retired from full-time Cup Series racing but has run select tracks this year.
NASCAR threw a caution flag on Lap 70 for debris on the track after Cody Ware, in the No. 15 Ford, lost a tire. Brad Keselowski got the free pass. Most of the leaders came down pit road for tires and fuel, but Kyle Busch, who was running third when the yellow flag flew, elected to stay out.
Denny Hamlin earned his sixth stage win of the 2024 season and his first ever at the Brickyard 400 after winning the 50-lap opening stage. Hamlin held off Kyle Larson to take the checkered flag. Thirty-three cars finished on the lead lap, with just one car out of the race: BJ McLeod’s No. 66 Ford.
Here are the top 10 drivers from Stage 1:
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 ToyotaKyle Larson, No. 5 ChevroletRyan Blaney, No. 12 FordWilliam Byron, No. 24 ChevroletTyler Redick, No. 45 ToyotaMichael McDowell, No. 34 FordAlex Bowman, No. 48 ChevroletTy Gibbs, No. 54 ToyotaRicky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 ChevroletNoah Gragson, No. 10 Ford
Most of the leaders made pit stops at the end of the stage, but Reddick and McDowell chose to stay out.
Denny Hamlin assumes the lead after all drivers made their green-flag pit stops. Kyle Larson, who raced the Indy 500 at the IMS oval in May, is running second, with Ryan Blaney third and William Byron fourth. Tyler Reddick, who started on the pole, had led every lap in the opening stage until he made his pit stop. He is now fifth in the running order. with less than 10 laps to go in Stage 1.
Chase Elliott was one of the first cars to hit pit road for green-flag pit stops during the opening stage. His team handled refueling and changing tires on the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet flawlessly, but when Elliott left pit road to return to the track, NASCAR officials ruled that Elliott had blended too early from the access road to the oval in Turn 1.
The 2024 Cup Series points leader was forced to come back to pit road one lap later to serve a pass-through penalty.
NASCAR Cup Series drivers have taken the green flag for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin were on the front row. Reddick surged ahead to lead the opening lap.
Martin Truex Jr., who qualified 14th, will drop to the rear before the green flag and will also have to serve a pass-through penalty after the opening lap because the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team made an adjustment that NASCAR did not approve of following yesterday’s tech technical inspection. Truex’s car chief was also ejected.
Austin Cindric will also drop to the rear, though he had qualified 38th so was already starting on the last row. The No. 2 Team Pense team repaired Cindric’s car after he hit the wall on Saturday.
Fifteen drivers have won at least one NASCAR Cup Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval since the first race in 1994, but only two are still active: Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. Winners of the Brickyard 400 in order of most victories:
5: Jeff Gordon (1994, ’98, 2001, ’04, ‘14).
4: Jimmie Johnson (2006, ’08. ’09, ‘12).
3: Kevin Harvick (2003, ’19, ‘20).
2: Kyle Busch (2015, ‘16); Dale Jarrett (1996, ‘99); Tony Stewart (2005, ’07).
1: Dale Earnhardt (1995); Bill Elliott (2002); Kasey Kahne (2017); Brad Keselowski (2018); Bobby Labonte (2000); Jamie McMurray (2010); Paul Menard (2011); Ryan Newman (2013); Ricky Rudd (1997).
The Brickyard 400 is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile track for a total of 400 miles. The race will feature three segments (laps per stage) – Stage 1: 50 laps; Stage 2: 50 laps; Stage 3: 60 laps.
What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis on?
The Brickyard 400 is being broadcast nationally by NBC.
Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis?
The Brickyard 400 can be live streamed on the NBCSports website and the NBC Sports app. The race is also available to stream on Fubo.
According to AccuWeather, there will be periods of clouds and sunshine around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday; a nice afternoon for the race. High temperature will be around 83 degrees.
Tyler Reddick will start on the pole for the Brickyard 400 after the 23XI Racing driver qualified first on Saturday. Reddick earned his second pole of the season and the eighth of his Cup Series career. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who qualified second, will also start on the front row.
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota 2. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota 3. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet 4. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet 5. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet 6. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota 7. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford 8. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford 9. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet 10. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota 11. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet 12. (22) Joey Logano, Ford 13. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet 14. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota 15. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet 16. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford 17. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota 18. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota 19. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet 20. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford 21. (10) Noah Gragson, Ford 22. (33) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet 23. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford 24. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford 25. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet 26. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford 27. (71) Zane Smith, Chevrolet 28. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet 29. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota 30. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet 31. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford 32. (31) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet 33. (84) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota 34. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet 35. (51) Justin Haley, Ford 36. (15) Cody Ware, Ford 37. (4) Josh Berry, Ford 38. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford 39. (66) BJ McLeod, Ford
In just a few short months, Caitlin Clark has already become synonymous with Indiana. Now, the basketball superstar will be riding around the state’s most iconic venue.
The Indiana Fever rookie, who has already taken the WNBA by storm, is coming to NASCAR for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and she will have her own car.
Well, sort of.
Clark’s image from her record-breaking college basketball career at Iowa will be featured on the hood of driver Josh Berry’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford in Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
Read the full story here.
Kevin Harvick won back-to-back Brickyard 400s in 2019 and 2020, the last time the Cup Series raced on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. In 2020, Harvick won in a green-white-checkered overtime finish, edging Matt Kenseth by 0.743 seconds after leading 68 of 161 laps.
On the road course, AJ Allmendinger won in 2021, Tyler Reddick in 2022 and Michael McDowell in 2023.
Following Sunday’s race, NASCAR will take two weekends off during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here are the four races that conclude the regular season (all times PM and ET):
Sunday, Aug. 11: At Richmond Raceway, 6 (USA)Sunday, Aug. 18: At Michigan International Speedway, 2:30 (USA)Saturday, Aug. 24: At Daytona International Speedway, 7:30 (NBC)Sunday, Sept. 1: At Darlington Raceway, 6 (USA)
Five races remain in the regular season, including Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, before the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin on Sept. 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A regular-season win virtually locks up a playoff berth, but the possibility still remains that there could be more race winners than available playoff spots since 12 drivers have at least one victory this season.
2024 winners (points in parentheses): Kyle Larson 3 (700); Denny Hamlin 3 (683); William Byron 3 (646); Christopher Bell 3 (616); Ryan Blaney 2 (627); Chase Elliott 1 (703); Tyler Reddick 1 (688); Brad Keselowski 1 (599); Alex Bowman 1 (596); Joey Logano 1 (522); Daniel Suarez 1 (431); Austin Cindric 1 (408).
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis start?
The Brickyard 400 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Publish date : 2024-07-21 15:52:30
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