Historically, if there’s one thing that’s been consistent at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, it’s the importance of qualifying to NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers.
Brad Keselowski won the 2012 series debut race at big track from the eighth starting position. Since then, all seven Indy winners have started from the top three spots on the grid, four from the pole position.
Kyle Busch has been the dominant Xfinity Series driver at the Indy oval, winning three times from the pole. He won the last race held there in 2019, leading a race-high 46 laps. Busch, however, won’t be competing in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
In fact, JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier is the only former winner entered in Saturday’s race. Allgaier scored an emotional win at the track in 2018.
“It’s great to be going back to the oval at Indianapolis,” Allgaier said. “This is such a special place. I grew up watching races here, and to be able to have the opportunity to go to Victory Lane again on the oval definitely means a lot.
“Hopefully, our Jarrett Chevrolet will be just as strong as we have been throughout this season, and we can put ourselves where we want to be in the end. If we can do that, I see no reason why we won’t have the opportunity to kiss the bricks come Saturday afternoon.”
To do so, Allgaier will have to execute a clean race. Though he leads the Xfinity Series with 11 stage wins this season, the speed in his No. 7 Chevrolet has produced just one victory so far — Darlington Raceway in May — thanks to a series of mishaps and ill fortune.
When Woody Howard prevailed in the Hampton Heat back in 2009, the race served as one of several notable events on Langley Speedway’s calendar.
The 15 years that have passed since that day have seen the Hampton Heat emerge as Langley’s crown jewel and a key component of the prestigious Virginia Late Model Triple Crown. Saturday’s festivities are poised to be the largest in Hampton Heat history with a record 38-car entry list and a sold-out crowd.
The Hampton Heat is already a challenging event due to extreme temperatures, but Howard knows the increased notoriety surrounding this year’s race only puts more pressure on competitors. Despite this, he believes the speed in Robert Hopper’s No. 41 Ford will put him in an ideal position to earn a second Hampton Heat victory.
“I’m feeling pretty confident,” Howard said. “We’ve been making progress all year getting the car better. With competition the way it is on a weekly basis, I don’t think it’ll be much different. It’s tough every week, and there will be some more cars to deal with, but we’ll have a shot at it.”
Langley has always been a special track for Howard, as he formally broke into Late Model Stocks at the facility at the turn of the century.
Howard immediately showcased his talent behind the wheel by winning several races across northern Virginia. He picked up his lone track championship in 2002 at Southampton Motor Speedway, a feat he accomplished by fending off current NASCAR Cup Series competitor Denny Hamlin.
It was Howard’s back-and-forth rivalry with Hamlin that caught the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing, which brought Howard into the team’s developmental program starting in 2005, one year after Hamlin joined. While waiting for an opportunity to move up with Gibbs, Howard kept himself busy by committing to the USAR Pro Cup Series with owner Jim Dean.
The combination of Howard and Dean proved to be effective. Howard took home five checkered flags across the USAR Pro Cup Series platform in Dean’s black No. 55 between 2005-07, scoring personal best points finishes of third in the Northern division and the National standings during that timeframe.
Howard was encouraged by J.D. Gibbs to keep racing with Dean as he attempted to find a seat for him somewhere on the developmental ladder. Those efforts proved to be in vain, as a changing landscape and a lack of funding on Howard’s behalf prevented him from moving into NASCAR’s top ranks.
“It was the same trouble everybody has; they needed money,” Howard said. “I was probably one of the last guys that got paid by a team. I had a good experience with them, and J.D. was real nice. He didn’t promise anything, but he tried to put something together. I had a little bit of backing, but not enough to do a Truck or Xfinity race.”
With his portal to NASCAR effectively closed, Howard was unsure if he wanted to continue a career in motorsports. He admitted that being too hands-on with Dean’s car likely served as a detriment to his development, and he wishes he could have spent more time at Gibbs’ shop to help court sponsors.
Howard decided not to let the circumstances deter his passion for racing. After moving back to his home of Chesapeake, Virginia from Charlotte, Howard shifted some of his priorities over to his education but also got connected with James Long to drive his Late Model Stock at Langley.
After his deal with Joe Gibbs Racing ended, Howard ended up finding success at his home track of Langley Speedway that included his 2009 Hampton Heat victory. (Photo: NASCAR)
Long was no stranger to success at Langley, with his accomplishments including a victory inaugural Hampton Heat with Nick Smith behind the wheel. When it came time for the second edition of the Hampton Heat in July 2009, Howard felt he had a solid chance to take home a checkered flag.
Facing a talented field, Howard kept Long’s car inside the top five all evening while patiently waiting for a chance to pounce on the lead. The opportunity materialized with 18 laps remaining, when Howard made the race-winning pass on C.E. Falk III, who would later go on to claim three Hampton Heat victories of his own.
The triumph came as a minor surprise for Howard. He never considered Langley to be his strongest track but felt immense pride in proving he could beat the seasoned veterans like Falk, Greg Edwards, Danny Edwards Jr. and others in one of the facility’s toughest events.
“I didn’t have a lot of success at Langley, actually,” Howard said. “I had a lot of experience but felt like an underdog out there. They actually stopped racing Late Models at Langley right when I got into them. It was cool to race with those guys, and it still is.”
A handful of the same competitors Howard battled held off for the win years ago have filed entries for this weekend’s Hampton Heat, along with several new household names and invaders outside of the region.
Connor Hall and Brenden Queen, two drivers Howard has followed around Langley plenty of times, are anticipated to be the favorites Saturday night. Joining them on the starting grid is NASCAR Hall of Famer and two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is making his first start of any kind at Langley.
Dale Jr.’s presence alone highlights how much the Hampton Heat has changed from Howard’s perspective since his victory. One aspect that remains unchanged for Howard is strategy, as he knows tire conservation and maintaining solid pace will be pertinent toward being in contention during the closing stages.
Facing one of the toughest fields in Hampton Heat history, Woody Howard remains confident in his chances of a second victory. (Photo: Ryan M. Kelly/NASCAR)
“It’ll be cool to see [Dale Jr.] out there and actually get to race with him,” Howard said. “There will be some packed stands, but we’re going to do what we normally do. We’re hoping all the stuff we learned earlier in the year helps us out, and we’re going to try and not make too many mistakes.
“It doesn’t take much to put yourself outside the top 10 at Langley if you’re off just a little bit.”
The competitive depth Howard faces Saturday is comparable to the fields he faced in the USAR Pro Cup Series during the 2000s. No margin of error exists in either qualifying or the 200-lap feature for Howard, but he feels fortunate to just have the opportunity at another prestigious win.
Howard’s career trajectory might not have gone the way he initially envisioned when he signed his developmental deal with Gibbs, but he is content with racing at his home track of Langley on a regular basis. A lot has changed with the facility’s crown jewel, but Howard still possesses the same confidence to win as he did 15 years ago.
“[Winning on Saturday] would be bigger than the first one for sure,” Howard said. “The first one wasn’t quite as big of a deal. There was a smaller number of really talented drivers, but with Dale Jr. and all the other big names coming, it’s going to be as hard to win as ever.”
More eyes than ever are on Langley’s biggest event, but that is only serving as motivation for Howard to put together one of his best races and join a small list of drivers as a multi-time Hampton Heat champion.
Not only did he fend off many stalwart veterans to achieve that milestone, but he did so in the famous Ole Blue No. 3 Modified operated by Boehler Racing Enterprises. Among the notable drivers who have wheeled Ole Blue to Victory Lane over the years are Bugs Stevens, Wayne Anderson and current NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece.
Johnson felt honored to continue Ole Blue’s cherished legacy on the Modified Tour, crediting his victory to the chemistry he’s established with Boehler’s operation over the past three years.
“It took a little bit to set in,” Johnson said. “The [NASCAR Whelen Modified] Tour is such a prestigious level to win on, especially with this group of guys. We all work so hard toward building a notebook and a bond with each other to get there. Finally getting that win made such a positive impact for the team, and hopefully we can keep the momentum going.”
Jake Johnson (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Boehler was responsible for helping Johnson break into the Modified Tour in 2022 on a part-time basis. After putting together several consistent runs, Johnson earned the opportunity to become Ole Blue’s full-time driver this year.
There were many long weekends for Johnson during his first two years with the Modified Tour, but the positives and negatives provided many valuable lessons on how to set reasonable expectations and salvage solid days when victory is out of reach.
Consistency has been an instrumental component of Johnson’s 2024 campaign. Aside from his Monadnock victory, he has completed every lap while having yet to record a finish outside the top 10, all of which has him third in the point standings behind Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore.
Although he still has some ground to make up in the championship, Johnson’s victory does have him atop the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup standings. Holding that lead through the next two Monadnock events will be a challenge for Johnson, especially since Saturday’s race is 100 laps longer compared to the May event and features a tire change.
If he can maintain solid pace through all 250 laps, Johnson believes he can park Ole Blue in Victory Lane again. He is optimistic another win will help build momentum toward pursuing a title, but he emphasized the importance of keeping Ole Blue clean through the remaining events.
“I’m grateful to have that first win,” Johnson said. “That milestone is done, but looking forward, you can’t be greedy. It’d be nice to have a little more success this weekend and get another win. You have to keep up consistency over the last half of the season. Don’t get yourself in a bad situation, and take everything one by one.”
Johnson’s quest to defend his Monadnock Speedway victory from May starts Saturday when the Duel at the Dog 250 goes green at 8 p.m. ET on FloRacing.
Veteran Woody Pitkat is reuniting with Danny Watts Jr. for Saturday’s Duel at the Dog 250 at Monadnock Speedway. (Photo: Bryan Bennett/NASCAR)
Woody Pitkat making first start of 2024 in familiar No. 82
An iconic Modified Tour ride is set to return to the track at Monadnock this weekend.
Long-time owner Danny Watts Jr. will have his orange No. 82 Modified on the grid in Saturday’s Duel at the Dog 250 for the first time this year after retiring from full-time competition at the end of 2023. Piloting Watts’ car is veteran Woody Pitkat, who is also making his first Modified Tour appearance this season.
Pitkat and Watts bring plenty of familiarity to Monadnock. The duo previously collaborated on the Modified Tour during the late 2010s, with Pitkat delivering a victory for Watts at Wall Stadium back in 2019 after overtaking Timmy Catalano with three laps remaining.
Saturday is expected to kick off Pitkat’s second consecutive part-time campaign with a storied owner in Modified competition. In 2023, he partnered with Stan Mertz prior to his retirement, successfully putting together several clean races that culminated in a top-10 finish at Thompson Speedway to wrap up Mertz’s career.
Pitkat’s best Modified Tour performance at Monadnock was a runner-up finish to Doug Coby in 2015. He looks to improve on that showing in Watts’ car Saturday night.
Stephen Kopcik (left) looks to utilize his experience as a driver and crew chief to bring home another strong run on Saturday at Monadnock Speedway. (Photo: Adam Richins/NASCAR)
Stephen Kopcik seeks to build momentum from debut race
In his second career Modified Tour start, at Seekonk Speedway last month, Stephen Kopcik made a strong impression amongst the series regulars.
After starting ninth, Kopcik worked his way through the field to secure an impressive fourth-place run. He placed higher in the running order than several accomplished Modified Tour drivers such as champions Doug Coby and Justin Bonsignore.
Even though he has only made limited ventures into the Modified Tour, Kopcik has plenty of experience in the discipline. Along with winning numerous races around the northeast, Kopcik is also efficient as a crew chief, having led Ryan Preece to Victory Lane on a couple of occasions.
The equipment Kopcik will drive Saturday can deliver him another top five. His Wanick Motorsports teammate Anthony Sesely led 46 laps during the Granite State Derby at Monadnock in May before he faded to 13th in the closing stages.
If he can replicate his stellar performance from Seekonk, Kopcik could make a statement by adding a Modified Tour win to his resume after just three starts.
Patrick Emerling has come close to victory several times during his first year driving for Rich Gautreau. One of his two third-place finishes of 2024 came during the Granite State Derby at Monadnock earlier this year, a milestone Emerling looks to eclipse Saturday night.
Kyle Bonsignore nearly upstaged his cousin Justin at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last month but settled for a solid second-place run, his best of 2024. Bonsignore is searching for better luck at Monadnock in Saturday’s Duel at the Dog 250, as he finished 22nd there in May due to an expired engine.
When the Modified Tour visits Monadnock, Brian Robie typically performs well in front of the home crowd, as two of his three top 10s have occurred at the facility. Robie enters Saturday’s Duel at the Dog 250 with the goal of finally obtaining a top five in the series.
No driver in NASCAR history understands the significance of the Brickyard 400 quite like Jeff Gordon.
From his youth as a California kid to an Indiana teen, Gordon grew up idolizing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 2.5-mile rectangular behemoth that has challenged every driver who ever dared to roar a race car across its history-laden pavement for more than a century — and the yard of bricks that remain from its 1909 paving to represent its start/finish line.
Since NASCAR’s official Indy debut in 1994 in a town simply — perfectly — known as Speedway, Indiana, Gordon’s name has been etched in the track’s lore. Just two days after his 23rd birthday, Gordon’s iconic rainbow-painted No. 24 car dashed through the checkered flag to win the inaugural Brickyard 400, his first of a Cup-record five victories on the Indy oval.
After a three-year hiatus, the Brickyard 400 returns to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule — a 160-lap affair slated for Sunday afternoon (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
And three decades removed from the groundbreaking rumble of stock-car racing to the famed, long-open-wheel-only speedway, Gordon cherishes a return to the oval after NASCAR’s past three years racing instead on Indy’s infield road course.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of history with this event if you go back 30 years,” Gordon said in a phone interview with NASCAR.com. “And to celebrate that inaugural event is pretty amazing and a lot to tell. I mean, I think that that day, if you look at NASCAR’s popularity and where it sort of went to from those mid-90s, in that time in ’94 further, it obviously was a game-changer — not just for me, my career and the drivers that were there that were part of it, but just for the whole industry and motorsports in general.”
NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images
Indianapolis was and remains sacred ground, but for 85 years, its sanctity was exclusive to IndyCar racing. After successful NASCAR tests in 1993, the inaugural Brickyard 400 was scheduled for 1994 and became an instant crown jewel on the Cup Series schedule.
“Being a part of that day was really special,” Gordon said. “And I don’t know since then that I’ve seen that much hype, that much attention, media coverage, fan attendance and engagement, sponsors, teams, you name it. I mean, it was a hyped-up event, but it lived up to or exceeded the hype. And that just doesn’t happen very often.”
That Gordon enjoyed so much success when the full-bodied machines of the stock-car world stormed into Indianapolis was something he could have never imagined as a kid. Well, not in a stock car, anyway.
“My heroes were the drivers that raced there — (Rick) Mears and Unser, AJ (Foyt) and (Johnny) Rutherford,” Gordon said. “And so I remember traveling back to Indiana in the early ’80s and going and visiting the museum and the track and it just became that much more real and that much more of a dream to race there one day.
“So it was disappointing that didn’t happen in an IndyCar. But at the same time, I think being a part of the inaugural (NASCAR) event and what that did to NASCAR and my career and Indianapolis and the history, it might have been even possibly more special for me just because of that personal connection.”
Gordon was in and out of Indianapolis Motor Speedway every week or two growing up, largely because Simpson Performance Products had a location at the track where Gordon would purchase racing equipment.
Now approaching age 53, Gordon is in the midst of another fruitful career arc. The immediacy after his 23 full-time years behind the wheel of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet first propelled him to the FOX Sports booth as a lead analyst from 2016-21 before committing full-time to Hendrick itself, where he now serves as the vice chairman of the company behind team owner Rick Hendrick.
Rainier Ehrhardt | Getty Images
With that has come unique opportunities, perhaps none as impactful as coordinating an effort between Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren in the NTT IndyCar Series to put forth an entry for Kyle Larson in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 in his attempt at the Memorial Weekend Double. That effort ultimately fell short, with weather preventing Larson’s arrival in time to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But Gordon’s experience through the month of May allowed him to live vicariously through another Hendrick driver as his IndyCar and NASCAR dreams overlapped.
“When you’re there with a tie to a team like we were, then you’re caught up in every moment and every lap,” Gordon said. “And in qualifying, we had good speed, but then had the (mechanical) issue and he had to go back out. And to run four laps there and the car changing and the speeds that they’re carrying, I mean, to see how that all unfolded from that perspective was amazing. And I’ll never forget it.”
Now, for the first time since 2020, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the famed oval for its 400-mile feature. The track’s long straightaways but tight, near-90-degree corners create a challenge unlike any other on the circuit’s schedule.
Gordon’s last win at the speedway came a decade ago, continuing a knack for winning every 10 years — 1994, 2004 and 2014 in addition to his 1998 and 2001 Brickyard triumphs. That only means one thing, right?
“Yeah! William Byron in 2024!” Gordon laughed.
OK, Gordon won’t be behind the wheel shooting for another victory in a year ending in a four. And hey, a Byron win would thrust the current driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet into exclusive company to win both at Daytona and Indy. But coincidence or not, Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, always found Victory Lane these years at Indianapolis.
“I didn’t realize that (until) somebody had mentioned that to me the other day,” Gordon said. “I don’t know how exactly all that came together and why, but the track was special — special to me personally and special to our team. And everything happens for a reason. I’m a big believer in that, and so the numbers don’t lie. And it is just something about the 24 and the fours at Indianapolis. That’d be pretty cool to see that happen again this year.”
In that 1994 inaugural feature, Gordon recalled drivers needed a car that turned well in traffic behind other cars — which translated to most tracks on the schedule. But the long straights at Indy also highlighted the difference in horsepower under the hood, so teams would build cars slightly differently to manage the race and do what you needed the vehicle to do, he added.
“I just remember battling with competitors like Ernie Irvan,” Gordon continued. “And we would have the lead and be pretty loose out front, and he would use the draft and draft up behind me and get me looser, and then get underneath me and go by me. And then I would do the exact same thing to him. And that’s why we kept swapping the lead back and forth.”
Fast forward 20 years to Gordon’s final Brickyard 400 win. Though the Cup cars have changed dramatically from then to now — namely with the 2022 introduction of the Next Gen car — there are some things he believes still translate 10 years later.
“Over time, it just got tougher and tougher and tougher to get closer to the cars,” Gordon said. “We figured out aerodynamics and setups a lot better and cars got closer in competition. So I think we’re going to see more of that. I think that these cars need multiple grooves to be able to maneuver, so I think qualifying and track position is gonna be really, really important. So that’s going to play into the strategy. It’s going to play into qualifying. And then it’s going to come down to, if there are restarts, who can be aggressive and manage those restarts. And that was very similar when I won it in 2014. It was a lot like that.”
Thirty years after his triumph in the first Brickyard 400, the allure of the event is alive all over again — perhaps not coincidentally to the three-year vacancy from the 2.5-mile layout.
“Maybe it lost a little bit of its luster and its uniqueness because we went there every year,” Gordon said. “And now we haven’t been back for a while, and I think the excitement is back. And I think that’s good. I think it should be like that.”
On the Hendrick roster are drivers Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman, who have a combined two top fives and five top 10s in 20 Brickyard 400 starts. Since the last Indy oval race, though, Larson and Elliott have each gone on to win Cup championships; Byron has won 13 Cup races, including three this year; and Bowman has won an additional six, including two weeks ago at the Chicago Street Course.
This week, Elliott enters Indy as the series’ points leader by just three points over Larson. But with a crown-jewel race on deck, all eyes shift to the checkered flag at Indianapolis instead of the points tally.
“It’s a big event and it’s a very special track. And I know what it means to our teams to go compete there,” Gordon said. “And I know what it would mean to them to win it. They recognize the history of the track. They recognize the history of our organization at this track, and there’s just certain events that are that are bigger: the Daytona 500 or the Southern 500. And this is one of those events that’s really going to stand out.
“And I hope there’s a big crowd there because I think fans will see a great show, and I know that our teams want to step up and go to Victory Lane.”
1. Is Tyler Reddick going to steal the Regular Season Championship?
The Regular Season Championship is up for grabs all of a sudden and there’s one driver in particular who’s loving it.
When people show you who they are — believe them.
You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Whichever cliché you want to use, it’s clear — and the matching outfits don’t help his case — that The Hamburglar’s thievish ways have rubbed off on No. 45 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick, who appears well on his way to stealing the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship.
With five races remaining before the 16-driver field for the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs locks in, only 20 points separate the top four drivers vying for the top regular-season honors, and only one of them has been turning in consistently strong finishes over the past two months. Reddick’s charge to third place in the overall standings, just 15 points back of Chase Elliott’s lead, looks like it could be an unstoppable train that plows through the next five races to close out the summer and ride into the playoffs with an extra trophy and a slew of bonus playoff points.
Kyle Larson has been first or second in the standings (except for one week in March) since Atlanta, but Reddick is now hot on his heels for that second spot, gaining 49 points on Elliott in the last four races alone. Both Larson and Hamlin — each a series-leading three-time winner in 2024 — continue to be fast, but their results have been sporadic, with just three top-10 finishes combined between them over the past five races.
Elliott has been slightly better, but a 13.8 average finish over the last five races likely won’t be enough to keep him in the top spot with how Reddick is running.
The Talladega spring winner has been piling on the points lately, padding his stats to now be tied for the series lead in top fives (eight) and own the most top 10s (14) outright. He’s turned in a blistering 6.9 average finish in the eight-race stretch from the Coca-Cola 600 to Pocono — and the race before that streak started, he led 174 laps from the pole at Darlington, a season-high.
It’s fair to wonder how things would’ve looked if Larson wasn’t a race shorter than everybody else, but the fact of the matter is — he missed the 600, and the window was opened for another driver to capitalize.
Right now, that appears to be Reddick, but the next five races are anything but straightforward. A return to the Indy oval for the first time in Next Gen history could mean anyone’s ballgame — not to mention that the first race coming out of the Olympic break features the first Cup points race in history with a tire option. Michigan’s blazing speeds follow, with Daytona’s wild-card race right after and then what’s sure to be a pressure-packed scene-setter for the first regular-season finale at Darlington.
It’s all shaping up to be quite the battle before we even get to the postseason, and there could be some more surprises along the way, too.
Getty Images
2. Hello, old friend — what to expect for the oval return After a three-year stint of running the infield road course, the Brickyard 400 makes a triumphant return in the Next Gen era.
The allure of the Brickyard 400 and racing at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway never truly lost their luster, but the racing itself lent itself to incur a shakeup after 2020 when NASCAR elected to move one of its crown jewel races off of the 2.5-mile oval in favor of the track’s infield road-course layout.
A lot has changed since NASCAR last ran a classic Brickyard 400 — namely, the sport is now in its Next Gen era with a completely revamped racer — so it’s ironic that this weekend has become entirely unpredictable.
That said, we can only go off the data that we do have, and it’s still worth exploring.
For instance, it’s notable that there isn’t a single current Toyota driver that’s ever won on the oval layout, with Kyle Busch — now a Chevrolet driver for Richard Childress Racing — picking up the only two the manufacturer has, period. His former teammate Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, opens as the race favorite at 4-1 and is coming off a strong runner-up at Pocono, but history sure isn’t on his side for this one.
In fact, it’s almost exclusively on the side of Chevrolet and specifically Hendrick Motorsports. While Ford has won each of the last three oval races at Indy, Chevy has dominated the event, winning 17 of a possible 27 races at Indy, 10 of which were won by Hendrick drivers.
The championship organization has never gone four races in a row without winning at Indy, and everything points to a Hendrick driver once again landing in Victory Lane this Sunday. It would be more than fitting if Kyle Larson, making his return to the track for the first time since his disappointing, weather-impacted attempt at the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 double in May, were to bring it full circle and become the season’s first four-time winner. He opens at 6-1, slotted right behind Hamlin and it feels we’re due for the crowning battle between the pair of friendly rivals.
And looking back at some of the recent results at the Brickyard, it’s funny to think that there was any chatter of stale racing — should Larson and Hamlin have a late-race battle, it’ll only add to recent dramatic finishes on the oval.
The pass for the win came with two laps to go in three of the last six Brickyard 400s, and coming with 10 laps or fewer remaining in eight of the last 15. Drivers weren’t running away with these races by any means, and they were coming down to the wire — the driver to lead the most laps only won three of the last eight oval races at Indy, too.
Needless to say, for the most part, this weekend will still likely shape up as unpredictable, but there is one thing you can expect: NASCAR’s return to the famous Indy layout for the 30th anniversary of the inaugural race in 1994 will most definitely be at least one thing — special.
In this clip from Corey LaJoie’s ‘Stacking Pennies’ podcast, Corey dives into the incident with Kyle Busch that happened at Pocono Raceway.
4. Double majoring: Drivers who ran Indy 500/Brickyard 400
Kyle Larson will become the first driver in a decade to compete in both the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 the same season — will he be the first to win either?
Driver
Year
500 finish
400 finish
John Andretti
1994
10
28
Robby Gordon
1997
29
28
Tony Stewart
1999
9
7
Tony Stewart
2001
6
17
Robby Gordon
2001
21
30
Robby Gordon
2002
8
8
Robby Gordon
2003
22
6
Robby Gordon
2004
29
22
John Andretti
2009
19
32
AJ Allmendinger
2013
7
22
Juan Pablo Montoya
2014
5
23
Kurt Busch
2014
6
28
Kyle Larson
2024
18
TBD
5. Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage
After not turning a lap in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this year due to inclement weather that delayed his arrival, Kyle Larson will get the chance to run the special No. 5 HendrickCars.com paint scheme Sunday at the Brickyard 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Dubbed the Fan Appreciation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this upcoming weekend, the hot rod dons the familiar blue and white of the HendrickCars.com brand and embellishes it with touches of orange to represent the partnership between Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow-McLaren as the organizations coordinated Larson’s attempt at the Indy 500-Coke 600 Memorial Day double.
Larson completed all 200 laps of the Indianapolis 500 despite an hours-long weather delay and finished 18th after a speeding penalty scuttled a promising run late in the event.
“I’m just excited to get back on the oval and I know that we’ll have a good shot,” Larson said Wednesday in a teleconference with reporters. “Our team does a great job. You’re gonna have to have good execution throughout the whole weekend.”
The 31-year-old veteran then took a plane and helicopter ride to Charlotte Motor Speedway, and he was all but ready to replace substitute driver Justin Allgaier in the No. 5 until rain stumped Larson’s attempt to race the remainder of NASCAR’s marathon race.
Heading into the first Cup Series race on the Indy oval since 2020 and first in the Next Gen car, Larson is among the favorites to win at 6-1 odds according to DraftKings and sits just three points below Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott for the regular-season points lead.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Martinsville Speedway and the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin today announced that the spec series will hold an exhibition race as part of the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season finale event on Saturday, Oct. 26.
The event will be a 300-lap doubleheader called the ‘Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300’ with the Mazda MX-5 Cup taking to the track for 100 laps, directly followed by the 200-lap finale of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. The race will award $15,000 to the Mazda MX-5 Cup race winner.
The exhibition event will not count toward the 2024 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship, which concludes Oct. 11 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. It will consist of two practice sessions, single-car qualifying, and a 100-lap race split into two stages. Yellow flags will not count for the first 50-lap stage, but will be in effect for the second half. Prize money will also be awarded to the top three drivers at the stage break.
“It’s a great compliment to Mazda MX-5 Cup that NASCAR and IMSA leadership enjoy the series and want to expand its footprint,” said Jonathan Applegate, Senior Manager, Mazda Motorsports. “We’ve seen increased interest in the series from drivers with NASCAR aspirations who want to grow their skill set. Racing at Martinsville is a unique opportunity to capitalize on that and we are really excited about this opportunity.”
The concept of racing Mazda MX-5 Cup at Martinsville started amongst NASCAR and IMSA leadership, who recognized the entertainment value of the series’ incredibly close racing. Martinsville, the short track, was deemed a perfect fit for the small convertibles and a test featuring several drivers was conducted in August of last year.
“Martinsville Speedway has such a unique and rich history of racing, and we couldn’t be more excited to add another incredible event to that history,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “It’ll be the first time we have open top cars racing on track since our early days in the 50s, tapping into our past and also our roots as we host the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finale on the same weekend. We’re excited to bring the Mazda MX-5 Cup to Martinsville, and I know this will be one the fans enjoy.”
The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 will be the first ever race on an oval circuit for MX-5 Cup, though it has held events at roval tracks familiar to NASCAR fans, including Daytona International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Entries are open for all racers and are not limited to MX-5 Cup or IMSA drivers and teams.
In addition to a $15,000 check from Mazda for the winner, Martinsville will award one of their famous grandfather clocks as well. Runner-up receives $5,000, third place receives $4,000 and payouts continue through 10th place.
To prepare for this unique race, MX-5 Cup will hold a test at Martinsville on Monday, Aug. 26. The date is exceptionally convenient for MX-5 Cup teams who will have just concluded a doubleheader at VIRginia International Raceway, an hour’s drive away.
For more details on the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 and to purchase tickets to the race weekend, please visit www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR is once again taking the virtual racing world by storm, this time with the launch of “NASCAR Tycoon” on Roblox created by Dubit.
Building on the success of its previous “NASCAR Speed Hub,” this new experience promises to deliver an even more immersive and interactive NASCAR world.
Developed in partnership with the renowned metaverse studio Dubit, “NASCAR Tycoon” allows players to dive deep into the management and racing aspects of NASCAR, offering a unique blend of strategy and high-speed thrills in a distinctly Roblox-native way.
Players will have the opportunity to jump in the driver’s seat of cars styled after NASCAR’s Next Gen Cup Series vehicles, competing against each other and managing teams in thrilling races. Earning fame and fortune as they build their virtual tycoon, players can make passive income while they play. As players progress in “NASCAR Tycoon,” they will unlock exclusive perks such as building their own NASCAR racing teams, expanding their garages, collecting new cars, accessing customizations and attracting sponsors.
The launch comes hot on the heels of recent Fortnite activations and follows the debut of NASCAR in “Jailbreak” and “NASCAR Speed Hub” last year — a virtual environment built by Dubit for players to race around tracks linked to real-world races.
“We’re thrilled to launch ‘NASCAR Tycoon’ on Roblox, developed in partnership with Dubit, marking a key milestone in our ongoing efforts to authentically engage with the Roblox community,” said Nick Rend, VP of interactive and emerging platforms at NASCAR. “This initiative is about more than reaching new audiences; it’s about deepening our connection on a platform where we see tremendous potential. By blending the excitement of NASCAR with the interactive and dynamic environment of Roblox, we’re enhancing traditional fandom in ways that are engaging, fun, and distinctly forward-looking.”
With more than 300 million monthly active users, Roblox is ripe with opportunities for entertainment properties like NASCAR and offers a chance to engage with audiences in an immersive and interactive environment.
Andrew Douthwaite, Chief Commercial Officer at Dubit, shares his excitement: “We’re thrilled to bring the next phase of NASCAR to life on Roblox, building on the success of previous activations. NASCAR Tycoon allows Roblox players to experience the excitement of NASCAR racing like never before, blending the strategic elements of team management with the adrenaline-pumping action on the track. It has been a true joy working with such a forward-thinking, iconic sports brand in NASCAR, and we look forward to continuing to push the boundaries together.”
Dubit has created Roblox activations, virtual merchandise ranges and experiences for global brands, including Unilever, Samsung, Reckitt, Kraft, H&M and adidas.
NASCAR fined Phil Gould, crew chief of the No. 45 Craftsman Truck Series team, $2,500 on Wednesday after the vehicle was found with one lug nut not secure in post-race inspection last weekend at Pocono Raceway.
Cup Series regular Ross Chastain drove the Niece Motorsports Chevrolet to a fifth-place finish in Friday evening’s CRC Brakleen 175 at the “Tricky Triangle,” won by Corey Heim of Tricon Garage.
The Truck Series returns to action at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday in the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). There are just two regular-season races left in the Truck Series in 2024.
Chastain was listed on NASCAR’s initial entry list as the driver of the No. 45 for this week at IRP.
After multiple years of trying to get Carson Kvapil into one of its Xfinity Series cars, JR Motorsports accomplished the feat in 2024, and the move has paid off in a big way. In his five races to date, Kvapil has an average finish of 8.4 as he gets ready for Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 presented by Advance Auto Parts (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Before coming to Xfinity as a part-time driver, Kvapil has been a staple in JRM’s late model program since 2021. He works a 40-hour week at the shop and races throughout the year. In 2023, he locked up his second straight Late Model Stock Tour championship. One of the biggest wins of his career came in 2022 on a revitalized North Wilkesboro Speedway, which saw team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. return to late model racing.
His father, 2003 Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, knew his son was ready to make the leap to NASCAR. Carson made his Truck Series debut last fall at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 12th for Spire Motorsports. But the Kvapils wanted to stay the course after moving through the ranks for more than a decade.
“Carson and I have talked about it, what’s the rush?” Travis recalled. “You are driving for possibly one of the best late model teams in the country. Keep your nose down and keep digging and winning races, and these opportunities will come.”
JR Motorsports announced in February that Carson would make his Xfinity Series debut in April at Martinsville Speedway, and what started out as a three-race deal quickly turned into nine.
Being a short-track stud, Carson wanted to have a couple of tracks that he was familiar with on the schedule. He also wanted a challenge, meaning intermediate tracks and superspeedways would flood the back portion of his first stint in the No. 88 Chevrolet.
“For someone like me starting out, it’s good to go to Martinsville, Dover and more of those short tracks that you know what to do on,” Carson said. “Once you get a grasp of that, it’s really going to help me at places just learning some disciplines, learning how the air works.”
Carson methodically worked his way through the field at Martinsville and found himself in fourth place at the checkered flag. Next up was Dover, where he continuously improved during the race and had a shot at winning. He led 14 laps until Ryan Truex passed him on an overtime restart, resulting in a runner-up finish.
“It’s still in my head,” Carson said of the Dover finish, some three months later. “It’s one of those deals where it’s cool to come to your second Xfinity race and finish second. But when you’re leading the race, and you basically have it and can’t give it away, it stings.”
The first true challenge for Carson was Darlington Raceway. He had never seen an animal like the egg-shaped, 1.33-mile oval. He finished 19th after practice and qualifying was washed away due to rain.
Next up was New Hampshire, where Carson had never raced. Throughout the race, he patiently worked his way through the field, leading a career-high 24 laps by virtue of a strategy call from No. 88 crew chief Andrew Overstreet. He was jostled around in the closing laps, though he still managed a fifth-place finish.
“For most people, he’s come on to the scene with a lot of luster this year,” said Travis, who made 271 Cup starts. “I’ve told people that I’ve known how good he is for a long time. To see him get these opportunities, I knew when he got into the JR Motorsports late model that he would do great things. And I knew when he got these Xfinity, Truck or ARCA opportunities, whatever it would be, that he would do great things as well.
“It’s not a big surprise to me at all. I’m so happy that he’s able to get these opportunities because I’ve been there and done that. I know how hard it is in this business these days if you’re not bringing sponsorship or don’t have family money behind you to get your foot in the door.”
Carson finished 12th in his most recent race at Nashville Superspeedway. His patience has come to the forefront and is a noticeable trait that is paying off. Without any prior experience at the national level, he’s using the simulator, watching film and bouncing ideas off resources, such as Travis, Earnhardt and Josh Berry, to prepare.
“From whenever we started racing with him in the late model car, he showed a lot of talent and race craft which is really proven out,” Berry said. “He’s to the point now where he just needs experience in these cars and to learn the tracks and the racing.”
Travis believes that Carson’s patience comes from growing up working on his own cars. If a chassis was torn up, money came out of Travis’ pocket to get it repaired.
“He is not going to go out there 110% half hazard and wreck the thing on Lap 2 because he knows how much it’s going to set him back,” Travis said. “You saw that at Nashville, you saw it at Martinsville, he’s eighth, 10th, 15th all day and the next thing you know, he’s in the top five at the end of the day when it matters.
“I think that’s part of the learning curve. Understanding the tracks, understanding what’s underneath him in a race car and then maximizing it at the end of the day. Going forward, once he’s been to these tracks and has more seat time, he will come out of the box with speed, just as he does in his late model cars.”
Running for JRM, one of the series’ most-prepared teams, is another key element to Carson’s learning curve. Knowing that speed won’t be a factor allows him to work on the fundamentals.
“We tell him the car should be good enough that if he’s just patient and lets everything come to him, he’s going to have a solid finish and possibly a shot at winning the race,” said TJ Majors, who spots the No. 88 car. “One of the things I worked hard on him at the beginning was, ‘This is your chance to show these guys how you’re going to race. These first few races are how they are going to view you.'”
And Travis believes that at just 21 years old, his son is already rivaling his talent.
“He’s absolutely better than me, and I’m happy with that — that’s great.”
Carson will make his first start on a 2.5-mile track this weekend at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He hopes the expanded schedule will lead to an even bigger 2025.
“It’s one of those deals where two years ago, I was running a late model and wanted to get an opportunity to run an ARCA car or an Xfinity car or truck, but there’s nothing out there,” he said. “Hopefully, these races we run well at.”
Tune in at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, July 22 as Kvapil joins Generations: Part 2 of the NASCAR Insiders Roundtable presented by Goodyear. Watch Part 1 and additional clips here.
