BACK TO GALLERIES
Five to Watch: NASCAR descends on Brickyard for Fourth of July weekend showdown
By Jeff Wackerlin | Published: July 4, 2020 6
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 27th time for Sunday's Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records (4 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). After Friday's announcement that Jimmie Johnson will miss Sunday's race, there are now four previous event winners in the field led by two-time winners Kevin Harvick (2003, 2019) and Kyle Busch (2015, 2016). Brad Keselowski (2018) and Ryan Newman (2013) each have one victory. Harvick became the fifth driver to win from the pole at Indianapolis last season. Sixty-five percent of Brickyard winners have come from a starting position of ninth or better.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
CROWN JEWEL
Indianapolis is one of the crown jewels of the sport, joining the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington. All drivers want to add Indy to their resume. Jimmie Johnson, who will miss Sunday's race, and Kevin Harvick are the only active drivers to win all four. Matt Kenseth is only missing a Brickyard win among the four crown jewels.
"I think all of us love to go to Indianapolis just because of the history of that track -- it's one of the most famous speedways in the world," Kenseth said. "Indy is a place where I've had a lot of fast race cars through the years, a lot of really great runs, but never been able to win. Obviously, it's on the top of my list."
Indianapolis is one of the crown jewels of the sport, joining the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington. All drivers want to add Indy to their resume. Jimmie Johnson, who will miss Sunday's race, and Kevin Harvick are the only active drivers to win all four. Matt Kenseth is only missing a Brickyard win among the four crown jewels.
"I think all of us love to go to Indianapolis just because of the history of that track -- it's one of the most famous speedways in the world," Kenseth said. "Indy is a place where I've had a lot of fast race cars through the years, a lot of really great runs, but never been able to win. Obviously, it's on the top of my list."
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CAN POCONO SUCCESS TRANSLATE TO INDY?
Indianapolis Motor Speedway's new July 5 slot on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule could be a big benefit for the teams. After being the regular-season finale for the past two seasons, Indianapolis will follow last weekend's doubleheader at Pocono Raceway. The tracks have some similarities, including Pocono's Turn 2 being modeled after Indy. In addition, teams will also compete at Indy with the same Goodyear tire combination that was utilized at Pocono. If Pocono is any indication, Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing could be the teams to beat this weekend.
"They are as similar as two tracks on our schedule probably get," said Adam Stevens, crew chief for Kyle Busch, who finished fifth in the first Pocono race, then crashed out of the second after contact. "Being flat and long straightaways and a lot of the things that you make a car go fast at one place will make a car go fast at the other place. I would say setup-wise in the past history they haven't been wildly different."
Indianapolis Motor Speedway's new July 5 slot on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule could be a big benefit for the teams. After being the regular-season finale for the past two seasons, Indianapolis will follow last weekend's doubleheader at Pocono Raceway. The tracks have some similarities, including Pocono's Turn 2 being modeled after Indy. In addition, teams will also compete at Indy with the same Goodyear tire combination that was utilized at Pocono. If Pocono is any indication, Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing could be the teams to beat this weekend.
"They are as similar as two tracks on our schedule probably get," said Adam Stevens, crew chief for Kyle Busch, who finished fifth in the first Pocono race, then crashed out of the second after contact. "Being flat and long straightaways and a lot of the things that you make a car go fast at one place will make a car go fast at the other place. I would say setup-wise in the past history they haven't been wildly different."
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Patrick Smith | Getty Images
NO PRACTICE, NO PROBLEM
Sunday's 400-miler will mark the NASCAR Cup Series' 12th race back since the COVID-19 outbreak. Every race in that span has been conducted without practice, and only one -- the Coca-Cola 600 -- has held Busch Pole Qualifying. Following the same pattern at Indy might be daunting with the field going green down the long straightaway and funneling into the flat, 90-degree left Turn 1 without prep time. But there's actually recent precedent: In 2018, torrential rain washed out all Saturday and Sunday activity at the Brickyard, teeing up a Monday Cup-Xfinity doubleheader without any on-track tuning.
"It was kind of weird to go to Indy the first time in a Cup car with no practice, but the next year going back, I think we learned a lot and had a pretty good run," said William Byron, who ran 19th in his practice-less Indy debut, then placed fourth there last season. "So it's going to be an interesting race this year. Not sure what to expect but looking forward to it."
Sunday's 400-miler will mark the NASCAR Cup Series' 12th race back since the COVID-19 outbreak. Every race in that span has been conducted without practice, and only one -- the Coca-Cola 600 -- has held Busch Pole Qualifying. Following the same pattern at Indy might be daunting with the field going green down the long straightaway and funneling into the flat, 90-degree left Turn 1 without prep time. But there's actually recent precedent: In 2018, torrential rain washed out all Saturday and Sunday activity at the Brickyard, teeing up a Monday Cup-Xfinity doubleheader without any on-track tuning.
"It was kind of weird to go to Indy the first time in a Cup car with no practice, but the next year going back, I think we learned a lot and had a pretty good run," said William Byron, who ran 19th in his practice-less Indy debut, then placed fourth there last season. "So it's going to be an interesting race this year. Not sure what to expect but looking forward to it."
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PENSKE-GANASSI FRONT ROW
Led by Joey Logano on the pole, Team Penske drivers would like nothing more than to give their boss Roger Penske his first Indianapolis win since purchasing the track. Logano has finished second twice in the race with the most recent coming last season. Brad Keselowski has a Brickyard win to his credit, and Ryan Blaney finished seventh in 2019. Chip Ganassi Racing's Kurt Busch, who is making his 700th career start, will start second. Along with Matt Kenseth, Busch will be looking to give Ganassi his second Indy Cup Series win -- won with Jamie McMurray in 2010. Both teams have illustrious success in the Indianapolis 500 with Penske winning a record 18 times and Ganassi scoring four.
Led by Joey Logano on the pole, Team Penske drivers would like nothing more than to give their boss Roger Penske his first Indianapolis win since purchasing the track. Logano has finished second twice in the race with the most recent coming last season. Brad Keselowski has a Brickyard win to his credit, and Ryan Blaney finished seventh in 2019. Chip Ganassi Racing's Kurt Busch, who is making his 700th career start, will start second. Along with Matt Kenseth, Busch will be looking to give Ganassi his second Indy Cup Series win -- won with Jamie McMurray in 2010. Both teams have illustrious success in the Indianapolis 500 with Penske winning a record 18 times and Ganassi scoring four.
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FOCUS ON PIT ROAD
Indianapolis has the longest pit road on the circuit and the narrowest pit road width (lane of travel), which can make it tricky for drivers to navigate when it's busy. With track position important at Indy, crews will not only be looking to pull off a fast stop or a different strategy, but drivers will have to stay focused.
"Indianapolis has the toughest pit road in all of the NASCAR circuit," said Kurt Busch. "We're all trying to gain every inch, every foot possible, on pit road. And so, when you're coming down pit road at speed, guys are trying to look ahead and see where to peel off to get into their pit box, and then it creates an accordion effect of guys that are sitting there right on top of their lights and their pit road speed, and so that checks people up. And then when you're coming out of your pit box, you've got to turn hard to the right to get around the guy that's in front of you."
Indianapolis has the longest pit road on the circuit and the narrowest pit road width (lane of travel), which can make it tricky for drivers to navigate when it's busy. With track position important at Indy, crews will not only be looking to pull off a fast stop or a different strategy, but drivers will have to stay focused.
"Indianapolis has the toughest pit road in all of the NASCAR circuit," said Kurt Busch. "We're all trying to gain every inch, every foot possible, on pit road. And so, when you're coming down pit road at speed, guys are trying to look ahead and see where to peel off to get into their pit box, and then it creates an accordion effect of guys that are sitting there right on top of their lights and their pit road speed, and so that checks people up. And then when you're coming out of your pit box, you've got to turn hard to the right to get around the guy that's in front of you."