2024-07-22 05:20:01
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Brickyard on Sunday for the first Brickyard 400 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval since 2020.
The Cup Series moved from the oval to the road course at IMS from 2021-23, a move that becomes more curious as the years pass and certainly now with the return to the oval.
Tyler Reddick is on the pole and appears to have the fastest car at the start of Sunday’s race after leading the practice session on Friday.
Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for after 1:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.
BRICKYARD HISTORY: NASCAR returns to the Brickyard: History of Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval
EXPERT PICKS: NASCAR Indianapolis predictions 2024: Expert picks for Cup Series Brickyard 400 race
LIVE LEADERBOARD: Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis
ONE MORE TRY AT THE DOUBLE:Kyle Larson wins NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, teases return to Indianapolis 500 in 2025
RACE RESULTS:Who won NASCAR Cup race in Indianapolis? Winner is Kyle Larson, plus full results
POINTS STANDINGS:NASCAR playoff picture: Cup Series points standings after Indianapolis
Kyle Larson holds off Ryan Blaney on the restart, who is also passed by Tyler Reddick for P2.
Ryan Preece spins down the backstretch before the white flag, Larson takes the white flag, Preece continues to be stalled out at the bottom of the track and the caution is out as the field passes through turns 1 and 2. That was a suboptimal race management decision by NASCAR — Preece was stalled out before the white flag. That incident occurred about a half-lap before Larson took the white flag. Preece also made contact with the inside wall on the backstretch, which usually produces a caution flag in any situation. Not good from NASCAR.
Either way, Kyle Larson wins the Brickyard 400.
The Brickyard 400 TV coverage will conclude on USA Network as local news takes priority given the day’s headlines nationwide.
John Hunter Nemechek turns down across Daniel Hemric’s bumper, hits the end of the pit road wall and comes back across the field into turn 1, causing a multi-car crash. Denny Hamlin is done for the day, along with Nemechek. Alex Bowman is involved, as is Chase Briscoe.
Kyle Larson is the leader, moving up a row after Brad Keselowski was out of gas and taking the lead into turn 1. Ryan Blaney is not happy with NASCAR.
Brad Keselowski is out of gas before taking the green flag and dives down pit road with the pace car! Green flag!
Brad Keselowski’s strategy may now be done for, as Kyle Busch spins from inside the top 10. It’s been a stunning season for Busch, and he has another solid run turned into a poor finish.
“It’s going to be really, really tight,” the No. 6 team tells the leader.
Zane Smith and Denny Hamlin pit from the top five. Keselowski stays out, even though he has 10 more laps on this tank. Green-white-checkered finish upcoming.
Kyle Larson passes Daniel Hemric for third, and Hemric pits.
Denny Hamlin is told to go but he can’t shift. Kyle Larson’s pace is making Hamlin up the pace. Hamlin is told to go back to saving again, and Larson passes Hamlin for fifth.
Larson is in a really good spot here.
Kyle Larson is up to P12, ahead of Tyler Reddick and with enough fuel to make it to the end. What strategy will win out here?
Brad Keselowski leads Ryan Blaney after the restart. Keselowski and Daniel Hemric (in 4th) will need to pit without significant caution help. The majority of the top 10 all need caution help of varying degrees.
Tyler Reddick is the lead car among those who should be able to comfortably make it on fuel.
Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick pit as the caution is out for Martin Truex Jr. Truex spins off of turn 2 and hits the wall. He was well off the pace with the earlier damage.
Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, John Hunter Nemechek and Ross Chastain all pitted a couple laps before that.
Ty Gibbs is on pit road as the No. 54 team checks his engine. It is not sounding good. Gibbs is told by his team that there is nothing they can do engine-wise, and he’ll just have to nurse it to the end.
Ross Chastain gets the edge on John Hunter Nemechek on the restart, but Nemechek is keeping close. This is likely a fuel mileage race to the end here.
Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson crash as the field heads into turn 1. Logano and Johnson appear to both be done for the day. Crash occurred just outside the top 10, with Ryan Blaney getting turned and turning into Logano. Carson Hocevar was in the middle of all that too.
I wonder if someone comes down pit road to top off with less than 50 laps to go. The answer is quite a few, including leader Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin’s team tells their driver that those who pitted will need two cautions to make it on fuel, and that’s a fair bet given the last few restarts. About 12-13 cars stayed out.
Denny Hamlin gets clear on the restart ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Briscoe. But Martin Truex Jr. slaps the wall hard, and the resulting accordion sees Josh Berry get turned and hit the outside wall in Turn 3.
Truex and Kyle Larson tried to run side-by-side through Turn 3, and that caused Truex to slap the wall from the outside. Truex was not happy on the radio, but it looked like a racing incident from here.
16 cars stayed out, including Joey Logano, during the stage break.
That’s a big Stage 2 win for Bubba Wallace, who needs the points in the wild card battle. He gets the 10 regular season points and the playoff point.
The top 10:
Joey Logano jumped ahead of the stage-break pit cycle to pit with three to go in the stage from P4. He just stays on the lead lap by a quarter of a straightaway.
Chase Elliott is stalking Bubba Wallace for the lead as they pull away from the field post-restart. Denny Hamlin is third.
William Byron gets turned into the wall down the backstretch and spins across the track, collecting AJ Allmendinger and hitting the inside wall hard. Caution is out.
Byron is done for the day. Allmendinger has significant damage but drives away. Harrison Burton and Ryan Preece got together to start that incident, and Burton has some damage.
Caution is out for debris after Cody Ware has a left-rear tire issue.
Does this change any strategy? Most of the leaders pit during the caution. Kyle Larson pits a second time for a loose wheel and will be at the rear on the restart.
Chase Elliott sits in P18 after the pack settles down post-restart.
Martin Truex Jr. is P22 as he fights back from the pre-race issue and drive-through penalty on Lap 1.
Chris Buescher, who is trying to make the playoffs on points at current, is two laps down in P38 after the untimely tire issue late in Stage 1.
John Hunter Nemechek wrestles away the lead from Tyler Reddick, and the two cars clear the other leaders.
Several cars that pitted late in Stage 1 stayed out during the stage break. Denny Hamlin is P8.
Denny Hamlin holds off Kyle Larson to win Stage 1.
The top 10:
Chris Buescher made an extra stop down pit road under a trail of smoke. The 17 team reports a left-rear tire issue.
With 10 laps to go in Stage 1, Tyler Reddick finally pits. Still a handful of drivers who need to pit, but Denny Hamlin should be ahead of Kyle Larson for the lead when the cycle completes. Tyler Reddick slides back to fifth.
Chase Elliott will remain on the lead lap and is in 18th.
Chase Elliott is being penalized for a blending line violation. Cars are supposed to stay under certain lines as they exit pit road on the access road.
“I did what the (expletive) sheet said to do,” Elliott told his team. The 9 team is not getting a good explanation. NASCAR tells the No. 9 team it was in turn 2, but it’s unclear what specific part was the issue.
Elliott is as upset as you’ll hear them on the radio as he serves the pass-through penalty.
Denny Hamlin pits on Lap 24, and Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson do the same on the next lap.
Elliott was the fastest car on the track for a while but got bogged down behind leader Tyler Reddick.
Hamlin does get the undercut on Elliott after the stops are complete.
AJ Allmendinger makes a stop after slowing. That seemed like a unscheduled stop, though it does fall in the pit window. Everyone will need to pit for fuel in this first stage.
“What did we do to this thing, man?” Allmendinger asks his team. He doesn’t like the changes made since Friday’s practice session.
Martin Truex Jr. is about 10 seconds ahead of Tyler Reddick on track, so he shouldn’t be lapped for a while. But Truex will catch the back of the field before Reddick does, and that should occur within the next 15 laps or so.
Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott fall in line through turns 1 and 2 after the green flag flies.
Michael McDowell had a good start and is up to 5th. Martin Truex Jr. serves his pass-through penalty to complete the first lap.
Pre-race coverage shifted to USA Network as NBC covered breaking news, but it is now back on NBC with the green flag upcoming.
Closing in on the start of the Brickyard 400.
Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota originally passed inspection on Saturday, but the team made an unapproved adjustment after inspection. FOX reported that the No. 19 had to go through inspection again and failed once before finally passing again.
The No. 19 team loses its car chief, will have to start at the rear of the field and will have to serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag, per NASCAR.
Tyler Reddick won the pole during the qualifying session on Saturday.
The top 10:
Find the full starting lineup here.
The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis will be aired on the radio by the IMS Radio Network. The IMS Radio Network has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
The Brickyard 400 will be broadcast nationally on NBC. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app and FUBO, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
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