The Cup Series caps off a triple header weekend with the Brickyard 400 and a return to the 2.5 mile oval track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A total of 39 drivers will be taking to the track for the race including Jimmie Johnson.
In their return to the oval, the drivers will get a full 50 minute practice session and they have three sets of tires to work with.
Kyle Larson is just three points behind Chase Elliott in the points standings despite missing a race.
While the Xfinity Series drivers have reduced power in their cars, the Cup Series drivers are running full force and are approaching speeds of 200mph. This is the first time that the drivers will be running the Next Gen cars on the oval.
Pit road speed has been reduced for the Cup Series from 55mph to 45mph. the slower speeds will add five to six seconds more on a total pit stop time.
Hendrick Motorsports has a total of 10 wins at IMS. Rick Hendrick is the pace car driver for this week.
Kyle Larson runs a sub 50 second lap to put his number five car at the top of the board. Tyler Reddick also tops the board with a sub 50 second lap.
IMS and Team Penske owner Roger Penske has won the Indianapolis 500 20 times! But he has won the Cup Series race just once.
Christopher Bell has hit something on the track and has some damage to his front splitter.
Denny Hamlin returns to the top of the board with a sub 50 second lap of 49.570 seconds.
Tyler Reddick retakes the lead with a time of 49,293 seconds.
Carson Hocevar leads the board in the 10 lap average times.
There are eleven drivers in the field who have never raced on the oval at IMS.
This is the final race before the drivers get their only break in the season when they take off a couple of weeks for the Olympics.
Josh Berry is carrying a very special guest on the hood of his car this week – rookie WNBA star Caitlin Clark!
Just before the end of practice, Erik Jones spins out but keeps his heavily smoking car off the wall.
Practice ends with Tyler Reddick at the top of the board.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for single car one lap qualifying. The top five drivers from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole and the top 10.
Ty Dillon is the first driver on the track and posted a time of 50.092 seconds.
Just the fourth driver on the track, John Hunter Nemechek is the first driver to break the 50 second mark with a time of 49.828 seconds.
Austin Cindric gets into the wall but is able to drive it back to the garage.
Group A drivers Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, William Byron, John Hunter Nemechek, and Denny Hamlin will all be moving on to round two of qualifying.
BJ McLeod kicks of Group B qualifying with a time of 53.012 seconds.
Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney will be moving on to round two of qualifying from Group B.
First up in round two is John Hunter Nemechek who makes it into the top 10 for the first time this season. He posted a time of 50.431 seconds.
With a time of 49.469 seconds Tyler Reddick puts his number 45 car on the pole with boss man Denny Hamlin starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Brickyard 400:
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Ty Gibbs
Ryan Blaney
Michael McDowell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
John Hunter Nememchek
Austin Dillon
Joey Logano
Alex Bowman
Martin Truex Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Harrison Burton
Bubba Wallace
Christopher Bell
Corey LaJoie
Chase Briscoe
Noah Gragson
Ty Dillon
Chris Buescher
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Zane Smith
Ross Chastain
Erik Jones
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Preece
Daniel Hemric
Jimmie Johnson
Kyle Busch
Justin Haley
Cody Ware
Josh Berry
Austin Cindric
BJ McLeod
After the 38 car failed the inspection process twice, Todd Gilliland has had his car chief ejected for the remainder of the weekend, has lost his pit stall choice, and will have to start the race from the back of the field.
Martin Truex Jr’s number 19 car passed inspection but the crew made some unapproved adjustments to the car; as a result, Truex will have to start the race from the back of the field and serve a pass through penalty once the green flag drops. Truex has also lost his pit stall choice for the race.
Looking to keep a 19 year streak of at least one win every season going, Kyle Busch will be making career start number 700 today.
Only three of the 39 drivers in the field have won a race on the oval at the Brickyard.
IMS was built and hosting races since 1909 but NASCAR has only been running races on the track since 1994.
Stages one and two are 50 laps each with stage three lasting 60 laps for a total of 160 laps around the 2.5 mile track. The drivers can run around 40 laps on a single load of fuel.
Pit road speeds have been reduced by 10mph from 55 to 45mph; adding about three seconds to the total time of a pit stop.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Denny Hamlin alongside. Reddick gets out in front for the lead as drivers spread out looking for position.
Lap two, Tyler Reddick leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap four, Tyler Reddick has a quarter of a second lead on Denny Hamlin; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap seven, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a lead of a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap 12, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the race and has a lead of just half a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell.
Denny Hamlin is reporting a tight condition in his car.
Lap 18, the drivers are beginning to form packs.
Tyler Reddick has led every lap so far and has a half second lead on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
AJ Allmendinger says that the balance is very bad on his car; adding that he may be the caution.
Lap 19 AJ Allmendinger comes down pit road for service.
Lap 23, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the race by half a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap 25, Denny Hamlin comes down pit road for service reporting a tight condition.
More drivers come down pit road as the cycle of green flag stops continues.
Chase Elliott was charged with a blend line infraction and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
Lap 31, Tyleer Reddick has a lead of a second and a half on Michael McDowell; Reddick still needs to make his pit stop.
The drivers are running an average of 180mph laps, reaching speeds of 200mph on the straightaway.
Lap 37, leader Tyler Reddick makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Michael McDowell.
Lap 38, Michael McDowell makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Christopher Bell.
Lap 40, Christopher Bell leads the race with Corey Lajoie in second.
Christopher Bell and Corey LaJoie make their pit stops and gives the lead over the Brad Keselowski.
Austin Cindric was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
Lap 41, with Brad Keselowski finishing out the cycle of green flag pit stops, Denny Hamlin is the new leader with Kyle Larson in second; Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 46, Denny Hamlin leads the race with second; Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Brad Keselowski was also charged with a blend line violation and has to serve a pass through penalty. Both Keselowski and Elliott have challenged the ruling stating that they have followed the rules handed out on Saturday.
There are 33 cars on the lead lap.
Chris Buescher’s car is smoking heavily and has to make an unscheduled trip down pit road with a flat tire.
Denny Hamlin wins stage one for his sixth stage win of the season and his first at Indianapolis.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Tyler Reddick
Michael McDowell
Alex Bowman
Ty Gibbs
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Noah Gragson
Several of the drivers come down pit road for service with Ty Gibbs winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires. Seven drivers stayed out on the track. A number of the drivers were reporting handling issues in their cars.
After staying out on the track, Tyler Reddick retakes the lead and brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Michael McDowell alongside on lap 56. Drivers begin to sprad out with Tyler Reddick in the lead.
John Hunter Nemechek moves up to take the lead; Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
There are 35 cars on the lead lap with BJ McLeod out of the race.
Lap 60, John Hunter Nemechek has a one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap 62, John Hunter Nemechek continues to expand his lead on Tyler Reddick to nearly two seconds; Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Lap 64, John Hunter Nemechek has increased his lead to over two seconds on Tyler Reddick.
The caution flag comes out on lap 68 when a tire carcass from Cody Ware’s car came off. Ware’s tire is the third left rear tire issue so far in the race.
Most of the drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Busch staying out on the track.
Getting the “lucky dog”, Brad Keselowski is back on the lead lap after going a lap down after serving his penalty.
Kyle Larson comes down pit road just before the choose with a possible loose wheel. The crew changes all four tires.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 74 with Todd Gilliland alongside. Drivers spread out across the track. Busch takes the lead. Big crash that brings out the caution flag. William Byron and AJ Allmendinger hit the inside wall hard. Chase Briscoe and William Byron make contact; Ryan Preece also hits Byron; sending Byron around. Harrison Burton was also involved in the crash and has taken his car to the garage, out of the race.
Several drivers come down pit road including leader Kyle Busch. Bubba Wallace is the new leader.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 79 with Chase Elliott alongside. Wallace and Elliott battle for the lead with Wallace getting out in front.
Joey Logano and Todd Gilliland were in a battle for third and Denny Hamlin blew by them to take third.
Lap 30, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Todd Gilliland, and John Hunter Nemechek.
Lap 82, Bubba Wallace has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Todd Gilliland, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Lap 85, Bubba Wallace has a lead of over a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Todd Gilliland, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Lap 87, Todd Gilliland makes his pit stop and goes a lap down.
Lap 88, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney.
Lap 91, Bubba Wallace holds a lead of over a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap 95, Bubba Wallace is running less than a full throttle and is still over a second out in front of the field.
With four laps remaining in stage two, Joey Logano brings his car down pit road for service. Logano stays on the lead lap but is just a couple of seconds in front of the leader.
Bubba Wallace wins stage two for his first stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Blaney
John Hunter Nemechek
Tyler Reddick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Martin Truex Jr
Christopher Bell
Chase Briscoe
A large number of drivers come down pit road for service with others staying out on the track.
Tyler Reddick had to make a second trip down pit road.
After staying out on the track, Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 105 with John Hunter Nemechek alongside. Hamlin gets out in front for the lead with Ricky Stenhouse Jr taking second; John Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr gets into the wall. Josh Berry also gets into the wall, bringing out the caution flag on lap 106. Truex reports that the one put him into the wall. There is also contact with the five car of Kyle Larson. Truex’s car began smoking after the contact with Larson before hitting the wall.
Josh Berry had contact from Ty Gibbs before hitting the wall.
A few of the drivers come down pit road for service.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 110 with John Hunter Nemechek alongside. Hamlin jumps out in front for the lead. Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson bring out the caution flag right after the restart. Logano gets into the wall hard buckling the hood. Ryan Blaney pinches off Carson Hocevar before getting into Johson and Logano.
A large group of drivers come down pit road including leader Denny Hamlin with 48 laps remaining in the race.
John Hunter Nemechek brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 114 with Ross Chastain alongside. Chastain jumps out in front for the lead with John Hunter Nemechek in second; Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
In a battle for position, Kyle Busch was nearly pushed in to the grass.
With 42 laps to go, Ross Chastain has a third of a second lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Alex Bowman and John Hunter Nemechek make their final pit stops.
With 39 laps to go, leader Ross Chastain makes his pit stop. Kyle Larson is the new leader.
With 37 to go, Kyle Larson makes his final pit stop. Chase Elliott is the new leader.
Ty Gibbs reports that he has an engine issue. He blew an engine last week at Pocono.
With 36 to go, Chase Elliott comes down pit road. Noah Gragson is the new leader.
Martin Truex Jr brings out the caution flag when he spins out and hits the wall with a flat tire.
A few drivers come down pit road including leader Noah Gragson and Carson Hocevar.
Brad Keselowski brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ryan Blaney alongside with 31 laps to go. Drivers spread out across the track with Brad Keselowski taking the lead.
Thirty to go, Brad Keselowski leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Zane smith, Daniel Hemric, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
With 28 laps to go, Brad Keselowski is running half throttle to save fuel and has a lead of over half a second on Ryan Blaney.
Much of the field is in fuel conservation mode.
Not in fuel conservation mode, Kyle Larson is moving through the field and is just outside ht top 10 in 12th place.
Twenty to go, Brad Keselowski leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Zane Smith, Daniel Hemric, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
With 18 laps to go, Brad Keselowski leads the race; back in seventh place, it’s the Kyle and Kyle show as the two drivers pass each other with Busch in seventh and Larson in eighth.
Fifteen to go, Brad Keselowski leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second. Kyle Larson is now in sixth, right behind Denny Hamlin.
With 13 to go, Kyle Larson passes Denny Hamlin for fifth.
Daniel Hemric passes Zane Smith.
Kyle Larson has passed Zane smith for fourth; Brad Keselowski leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second and Daniel Hemric in third.
Ten to go and the drivers are no longer trying to save fuel. The pace has picked up a few miles per hour.
Nine to go, Brad Keselowski leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Kyle Larson, Daniel Hemric, and Zane Smith round out the top five.
Kyle Larson is making a run for Ryan Blaney.
Seven to go, Brad Keselowski has run 52 laps on a load of fuel; past the time he should have been able to run, yet he is still out in front of the field.
Six to go, Brad Keselowski continues to lead the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Kyle Larson, Zane Smith, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Four to go, Brad Keselowski is still leading the field with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson on his bumper.
Three to go, less than half a second separate the top three drivers.
Kyle Busch spins out and gets into the wall to bring out the caution flag while trying to pass Denny Hamlin.
The race goes into overtime!
Pit road is open and some of the drivers come down pit road with reports of being short on fuel.
Brad Keselowski brings the field down for the overtime shootout with Ryan Blaney alongside. Keselowski drops out just before the green flag out of fuel, Kyle Larson moves up to the front row and takes the lead when a big crash brings out the caution flag…and a second overtime.
Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek make contact and get into the wall collecting up Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin in the process.
NASCAR has displayed the red flag in order to get the flag cleaned up.
The number five team reports that they have a starter issue and will need a push to get going.
After a 17 minute red flag condition, NASCAR has displayed the yellow flag and the cars are moving again.
When pit road opened no one took advantage and came down pit road.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the second overtime shootout with Ryan Blaney alongside. Larson and Blaney go side by side before Larson gets out in front.
Kyle Larson has the lead. Ryan Preece gets into the wall but the track stays green. Kyle Larson takes the white flag.
Ryan Preece is stopped on the track and the caution flag comes out; giving Kyle Larson the win in overtime.
And there’s plenty of fuel left over for a massive burnout down the front stretch!
Kyle Larson announced that he wants to come back and run the Indy 500 again; adding that he hopes he can announce something soon. He said that he can’t wait to kiss the bricks.
The unofficial results of the Brickyard 400:
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott
Todd Gilliland
Noah Gragson
Austin Cindric
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Daniel Suarez
Corey LaJoie
Austin Dillon
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Michael McDowell
Zane Smith
Cody Ware
Ty Dillon
Justin Haley
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Ty Gibbs
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Preece
Kyle Busch
Martin Truex Jr
Erik Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
Daniel Hemric
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
Jimmie Johnson
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Harrison Burton
AJ Allmendinger
William Byron
BJ McLeod
NASCAR is taking off the next couple of weeks to make room for the Olympics. They will be back next month at Richmond for some short track racing.