SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The magnitude of the Brickyard 400 isn’t lost on defending winner Bubba Wallace.
At the 16th Street entrance to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a giant banner featuring Wallace in his driver’s uniform hangs on the back of the grandstand alongside other former winners of the race, many of them already members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
There’s nostalgia involved with the most important of Wallace’s three NASCAR Cup Series victories. The image of son Becks, not yet one year old, lying on Wallace’s stomach on the asphalt near the iconic Yard of Bricks is indelible.
The one aspect Wallace remembers most about July 27, 2025, however, is distilled into a single word — winning.
“It’s a very boring answer, but winning in the regular season was something I’d never done in my previous two wins,” Wallace said. “That just allows you to unlock a new way of thinking inside the race car. The next four weeks after our Brickyard win, I didn’t really care how we finished, because I knew we were in the playoffs.”
As Wallace prepares to defend his victory, the rules have changed. With the return to The Chase format this year, no longer does a win guarantee a spot in the postseason.
“But, yeah, the biggest memory is just winning,” said Wallace, who held off Kyle Larson in two overtimes to earn the victory by 0.222 seconds.
Chase or not, a return to Victory Lane this year would be just as sweet.
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Standing on pit wall as Denny Hamlin completed his qualifying lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Carson Hocevar raised his arms in exultation and turned to hug Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suarez.
Hocevar knew at that moment that Saturday’s time trials at the historic 2.5-mile oval would not be a repeat of Michigan in June, when Hamlin, as the final qualifier, knocked Hocevar off the provisional pole at the 23-year-old’s home track.
In fact, after earning his second Busch Light Pole Award of the season and the third of his career, Hocevar will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO MAX, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I got out of the car, and they were cheering,” Hocevar said of the crowd in the grandstands near the “Yard of Bricks” start/finish line. “I don’t know if they were cheering for me or because I beat Denny (who qualified fifth at 185.835 mph).
“Denny stole one from me at Michigan. That’s my home track, but this is my favorite track. I love Indy.”
With a pole-winning lap at 186.598 mph in the No. 77 Chevrolet, Hocevar edged Suárez (186.382 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.056 seconds. The session was a triumph for Spire Motorsports and owner Jeff Dickerson, an Indianapolis native.
With Michael McDowell qualifying sixth at 185.762 mph, Spire put all three of its cars within the first three rows of the grid.
“It felt really good,” Hocevar said of his blistering lap. “Michael McDowell went out early and gave me the confidence that the car was going to be able to stick with him putting up a good lap.
“I felt really comfortable. I love this place… You race differently if you’re comfortable and confident here. I’ve been confident since the first lap I’ve been here.”
Toyota driver Tyler Reddick posted the third fastest lap at 186.077 mph and will start next to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs (185.966 mph). Naval Base Coronado winner Corey Heim (185.456 mph) claimed the seventh starting spot, followed by Alex Bowman (185.368 mph), AJ Allmendinger (185.345 mph) and Kyle Larson (185.315 mph).
The top 10 featured six Chevrolets and four Toyotas. Ryan Blaney, competing against Todd Gilliland for the $1-million In-Season Challenge prize, drove the fastest Ford (185.197 mph) to a 13th-place starting spot. Gilliland qualified 36th at 182.460 mph.
Blaney will make his 400th career Cup Series start on Sunday.
CLERMONT, Ind. — Front Row Motorsports teammates Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith both aspire to climb the ranks into the NASCAR Cup Series.
For now, they’re doing their parts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, combining to win each of the last two races in dominant fashion. But at the sport’s upper echelon, there doesn’t appear to be any room at the inn — at least not as a driver for Front Row’s three-car effort in the Cup Series.
Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row Motorsports, is tasked with navigating his drivers’ aspirations through tough business decisions. Zane Smith signed a multiyear contract extension to keep him in the No. 38 Ford through at least 2027. Last week, the team announced Todd Gilliland signed a contract extension to remain in the No. 34 Ford through next season. And in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week, Freeze said Noah Gragson is nearing a contract extension that keeps him in the team’s No. 4 Ford through 2027 as well; a deal that will close the last open seat at the organization for at least another season.
With two eager drivers winning at the lower levels in Riggs and Smith, Freeze has to balance their success and desires with patience and a business sense.
“Yeah, that’s a big challenge,” Freeze told NASCAR.com Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, site of Riggs’ latest romp. “That’s a big challenge because all these guys have ambition to be at the highest level for sure. And we’ve got five guys that are all anywhere from 24 to 28 years old, and so they all believe they can race on Sundays — and I believe they can all race on Sundays. And in this sport, unfortunately, sometimes you’ve got to have the whole package together with sponsorship and all the pieces have to work together to make it happen.
“And so for us, we really believe in Noah, and we just haven’t been able to get the success out of him and that team that I feel like is there. There’s some new stuff coming in the Ford camp next year that I think is going to help improve the overall product. Anyhow, we just wanted to give it another shot with Noah next year, and we’ve got a good group of sponsors around him. Todd’s been with us; it’ll be eight years total with Front Row starting next year, which is pretty long term. We really believe in him, and Zane’s doing a fantastic job.
“We’d love to see Layne get a chance — and he will get a chance. He will get a chance, and we see a bright, bright future with Layne for sure. Chandler’s capable of doing it too. But you’re right. That’s the hardest part.”
Riggs has made his ambitions known, particularly as he hunts for his first Craftsman Truck Series title in his third full-time season with a career-high five wins. But for now, he’s content to keep winning in hopes of eventually earning that trip up the career ladder.
“The desire is always there for any driver, anybody who wants to be racing on Sundays in top-notch equipment,” Riggs said. “My main focus is just to keep doing what I’m doing here. I don’t have any races planned to run any time soon. There’s nothing I can do there besides just work hard behind the scenes to put deals together. But right now, I’m fully focused on winning truck races and supporting Front Row Motorsports in all their endeavors.”
Smith, who spent the 2023 and 2024 campaigns in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, is content wherever he lands so long as he’s behind the wheel.
“I just want the Lord’s will, whatever that means,” Smith said. “If that’s to race trucks for the rest of my life, that’s what I want to do. If the Lord obviously presents me and pushes me into an opportunity that lands in my lap and is just there and it’s pretty evident, then I want to just submit myself and be a vessel. I mean that wholeheartedly, truthfully.”
In the meantime, Riggs leads the Truck Series standings by 100 points with just two races remaining in the regular season, while Smith sits third in the standings with two victories.
CLERMONT, Ind. — Connor Mosack finally had the white rabbit in sight. He just ran out of laps to chase it down in Friday night’s Craftsman Truck Series TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Mosack finished runner-up, 1.148 seconds behind Layne Riggs, who surgically annihilated the field by leading a career-high 198 laps and sweeping all three stages. The No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports was Riggs’ closest challenger, gaining multiple seconds on the No. 34 Ford over the final stint of the event.
The second-place effort was the best finish of Mosack’s NASCAR career, spanning 77 races in the lower two national touring divisions.
“I felt like we had the best truck on the long run, just struggled a bit to fire off,” Mosack said in defeat. “I don’t feel like we had the speed that he had for five to 10 laps, but if we got out front, I don’t think he could have gotten by us.”
Regardless, Mosack banked the best run of his career, giving all the credit to his experienced crew chief Brian Pattie. He clocked in fastest during practice, a precursor to his standout performance.
“I feel like it’s the best truck I’ve ever had,” Mosack stated. “When I have that, it makes everything easier when the truck does what you want. Wish we had a little more to go for the win, but overall it was a great day for us.”
This was Mosack’s seventh start of the season through 16 races, as he’s the primary driver for the No. 7 Chevrolet. Four of his other starts were at road and street courses, as he has a proven background when turning left and right.
In those seven starts, Mosack has a quartet of top 10s, matching his total from the 2025 season, when he ran the duration of the campaign for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
“Anytime you run good, it’s important,” he added. “It is tough being part-time. You feel like you get out of a rhythm, but I feel like we’ve made progress all year and I feel like the Spire trucks are getting better every race. Hopefully, we will have more runs like this in the fall.”
Outrunning the likes of 2024 series champion Ty Majeski and short-track ace Chandler Smith, Mosack believes he earned his place at the table. The Charlotte native will have five more opportunities to build on that performance in 2026 with Spire, with his next scheduled start coming at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in four weeks.
“I guess that I can run with the best guys here,” Mosack said of what he illustrated, “and I can be in contention for wins if my truck does what I need it to do.”
CLERMONT, Ind. — With a performance just a hair short of perfection, Layne Riggs dominated Friday night’s TSport 200 presented by Warn Industries and moved tantalizingly close to the No. 1 seed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford led 198 of 200 laps, swept both stages and took the checkered flag 1.148 seconds ahead of persistent runner-up Connor Mosack to claim his second straight victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
“I think it’s just a statement win,” Riggs said of his fifth triumph of the season and the 10th of his career. “What a truck! I was just on cruise control … “
As far as the series championship goes, Riggs pulled no punches.
Riggs’ only bobble of the race came on the Lap 72 restart after the first stage break. Choosing the preferred top lane for the restart, he spun the tires and allowed Front Row teammate Chandler Smith to take the lead for two laps.
On Lap 74, however, Riggs made an emphatic pass of Smith, diving underneath Smith’s No. 38 truck entering Turn 1 and sliding up in front of his teammate in Turn 2. From that point on, Riggs maintained control, though Mosack was able to stay close in the closing laps.
Ty Majeski, a two-time winner at the 0.686-mile short track, finished third and remained solidly in sixth place in the Truck Series standings with two races left in the regular season. Smith came home third, having clinched a berth in the postseason Chase — joining Riggs and Kaden Honeycutt — with a third-place run in Stage 1. Christian Eckes and Gio Ruggiero also added their names to the list of those who have clinched berths in The Chase.
Driving the same Ford F-150 he raced in last year’s IRP event, Riggs expanded his lead in the standings to 100 points over second-place Honeycutt, who pitted late for fresh tires and worked his way up to seventh by the end of Friday’s race.
With a solid sixth-place run, Stewart Friesen broke a tie with Tyler Ankrum (ninth Friday) for 10th in the standings, the last Chase-eligible position. With two races left to decide the issue, Friesen holds an eight-point advantage over the driver of the No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet.
Daniel Hemric’s hold on a Chase spot suddenly became more tenuous when he spun in Turn 3 to cause the only caution of the night for an on-track incident. With no way to escape the wreck, Landen Lewis plowed into Hemric’s Chevy, eliminating both drivers from the race.
Hemric finished 34th, fell to ninth in the standings and leads Ankrum, the first driver below the current Chase cutline by only 14 points.
Nick Sanchez finished fifth in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Driving the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota, 18-year-old Gavan Boschele ran eighth in his Truck Series debut.
“I had a goal,” said Boschele, who will make his second start in the series Aug. 22 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I told myself I wanted to run top-10, and we did that. I can’t do without these guys — the No. 1 American Land Partners Toyota group helped me be really, really fast tonight.
“They did a really good job to get me everything I needed and make me comfortable. Everyone on this team was really solid, so I’m excited for the three more that I have left this year. We were really fast tonight.”
Friesen’s teammate and fellow modified driver Michael Christopher Jr. came home 10th in his third Truck Series outing.
The Truck Series races next on Aug. 14 at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Craftsman Truck Series garage, confirming Layne Riggs as the winner.
Although the marquee event is known for its extreme summer temperatures, the extended practice was unseasonably cool, with the high only reaching 78 degrees Fahrenheit. That trend is expected to continue into tomorrow evening’s 200-lap Late Model Stock feature, so race conditions will not be much different from what teams experienced Friday.
More than 30 drivers took time during the session, with the entry list consisting of numerous Langley regulars going up against the heavyweights of the Late Model Stock discipline. While the local heroes look to claim their track’s biggest prize, others look to use Saturday to build momentum in their pursuit for the Virginia Triple Crown.
Below are some key storylines following Friday’s on-track activity heading into Saturday’s Hampton Heat.
2019 Hampton Heat winner Connor Hall set the fastest lap of the Friday practice session at Langley Speedway with a 16.147. (Photo: Bill Carnes/Langley Speedway)
Connor Hall sets fastest lap on Friday, eager to earn second Hampton Heat win
For all the accolades Connor Hall has earned at Langley over the years, he only has one Hampton Heat triumph on his resumé, which occurred in 2019.
Hall won that race with the blue No. 77 Toyota he affectionately calls “Smurf,” the same car he brought to the Hampton Heat this weekend. With nine victories at Langley this year, Hall believes he can back up setting the quickest time in Friday practice and finally earn another Hampton Heat win if he stays ahead of everyone else on strategy.
“I think our car has been super competitive this year,” Hall said. “We’ve been super close with the three seconds in a row and four seconds since we won. We obviously understand what it takes to run up front, but there’s so many more factors to win this race than a [local] 50-lapper. There’s so much more chess match to the evening.
“We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing, maybe alter a thing or two, and be one spot better.”
Matt Watlz looks to defend his Hampton Heat victory and become the third driver with multiple victories in the event. (Photo: Kaydee Gawlik/NASCAR Regional
Matt Waltz ready to defend last year’s Hampton Heat victory
Entering the Hampton Heat as the event’s most recent winner put Matt Waltz’ mind at ease while making laps around Langley on Friday.
Despite this, Waltz came away from the afternoon searching for more speed after placing 24th on the running order. The results have been mixed for Waltz across the handful of starts he has made in a Late Model Stock this year, but the 2017 Langley track champion remains optimistic he will be fast enough to defend his Hampton Heat checkered flag.
“The last race here at Langley we ran, we ended up second to Connor [Hall], so that was a little positive,” Waltz said. “We haven’t had the speed, and we’ve been trying to go through this thing as hard as we can to find out what we’re looking for. We’re trying to get it to where it’s comfortable, fast and something I can last 200 laps with.”
Brenden Queen will look to become the all-time winningest driver in Hampton Heat history Saturday with his fourth checkered flag in the event. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Brenden Queen chasing Hampton Heat history
One driver was noticeably absent from Friday’s Hampton Heat practice session at Langley: Brenden Queen.
The three-time Hampton Heat winner was occupied with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park the same evening. While Queen was in Indianapolis, eight-time Langley track champion Greg Edwards turned laps in his No. 03 Dodge, all while getting his own car dialed in for tomorrow’s race.
When Queen does arrive at Langley, he will be pursuing a pivotal milestone in the crown jewel race. A victory Saturday night will put Queen atop the Hampton Heat all-time wins list with four, breaking a tie he has held with C.E. Falk III since 2024.
Lee Pulliam seeks to claim his second Hampton Heat victory in his third start. (Photo: Kaydee Gawlik/NASCAR Regional)
Lee Pulliam looks to shake off poor start to Virginia Triple Crown
The last time Lee Pulliam attempted the Hampton Heat at Langley was back in 2019, when he finished sixth after leading 36 laps.
A past Hampton Heat winner in 2015, Pulliam enjoyed a decent practice session on Friday after placing 13th of 32 cars in his No. 8 NASCAR Channel Chevrolet. Despite this, Pulliam has faith in his JR Motorsports crew to get the car to his liking for the 200-lap feature so he can properly rebound from an early crash at South Boston Speedway.
“To have the honor to be able to drive for JR Motorsports and do it at such a prestigious event is something I don’t take for granted,” Pulliam said. “I’ve run two Hampton Heats and had a shot to win both of them, but there’s a lot of cool memories here over the years. A special place and a special team to drive for.”
Trevor Ward looks to take control of the Virginia Triple Crown standings with a win in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway. (Photo: Krista Jasso/NASCAR)
Trevor Ward looks to solidify Virginia Triple Crown points lead
“We’ve been [to Langley] four times total and had two top 10s out of the four,” Ward said. “We’ve got a new car we’re bringing out for this race that hasn’t had a lap on it. Obviously, it’s a little nerve-wracking because we want to keep these points going for the Triple Crown and top it off at Martinsville.”
Langley Speedway points leader Woody Howard was second quickest in Hampton Heat practice on Friday. (Photo: Kaydee Gawlik/NASCAR Regional)
Langley points leader Woody Howard starts weekend on strong note
It has been 17 years since Woody Howard won his lone Hampton Heat at Langley to date, yet the veteran racer showed on Friday he is more than capable of earning another one.
Howard, who currently holds a 13-point lead in Langley’s track standings, only trailed Connor Hall in practice times on Friday afternoon. The last thing Howard wants is to follow Hall across the start-finish line in Saturday’s 200-lap feature, but that is only fueling his motivation towards becoming only the third driver to win the Hampton Heat multiple times.
“It’s probably an advantage for us that we race [at Langley] on a regular basis,” Howard said. “We’ve been trying to chase Connor [Hall] every week and we’re working hard to catch him. I feel like we’re in a good place. [The Hampton Heat] is as tough as it’s ever been, but if we pull off a win Saturday, it would be right up at the top of my list for wins in late model racing.”
See the full starting lineup for tonight’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (8 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Series points leader Layne Riggs will lead the field to green.
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — As Alex Bowman begins to plan for life after NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports must begin preparing for life after Alex Bowman in its No. 48 Chevrolet.
Bowman will step away from full-time Cup Series competition after the 2027 season, he and the team announced Thursday, bringing the eight-time winner back for next year’s campaign on a one-year contract extension.
His impending departure means a rare, coveted opening at NASCAR’s winningest organization, backed by Hendrick Motorsports’ 15 NASCAR Cup Series championships and 322 race victories.
The immediate focus lies upon Bowman himself, who emphasized in a Friday press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that retiring within this time frame was always part of his long-term plan. Bowman, 33, has missed parts of three seasons in the past five years, including a four-race absence this spring due to vertigo. The physical toll of those injuries is not driving his decision to step away, Bowman said, but it is reinforcing that the time is right.
“I think with what went on in March, I feel like in my head, I had looked at this year being it quite a bit and talked about that,” Bowman said. “But yeah, just trying to make the best decision for me and obviously the best decision for Hendrick Motorsports. I think I really want to end on a more positive note than how this year’s been, so that gave me a little more motivation to come back and go one more year.”
Bowman’s commitment to drive for another full season allows Hendrick Motorsports to find its next potential star at a company with a history of high achievers: seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson; four-time champ Jeff Gordon; two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.; defending and two-time champion Kyle Larson. The next year and a half remains Bowman’s to write, but team president and general manager Jeff Andrews will be one of the major players responsible for signing that team’s next driver.
“We’re fortunate enough that we don’t go through this all that often at Hendrick Motorsports,” Andrews said Friday. “And when these cycles do happen, obviously there’s a process there of looking for someone for the right fit, not only from a performance standpoint, but for our company and our culture. And so again today, as you mentioned, is about Alex and the near future will be about Alex and his story, and we’ll begin that process on what’s next for the 48 team in 2028 very soon.”
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media
More time in the bank with Bowman behind the wheel allows more opportunities for young prospects around the sport to develop before landing in one of the most desirable seats in motorsports.
Connor Zilisch, a rookie at Trackhouse Racing, has quickly garnered the most attention as a possible replacement at Hendrick Motorsports when Bowman departs. One source confirmed Hendrick is one of many teams in the garage that have taken an interest in Zilisch despite his rookie-year struggles. Zilisch’s time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series was spent at JR Motorsports, a Hendrick-affiliated program, establishing an early relationship within the Chevrolet powerhouse.
Zilisch has had a miserable stretch of races at the Cup level, finishing outside the top 30 in five of the last eight races. But his talent and potential are well established, evidenced by a 10-win slate in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series one year ago and a rousing resume to accompany the stats. With more time to flourish in the Cup Series — perhaps bolstered by the upcoming slate of full 50-minute practice sessions — Zilisch could develop into Hendrick’s next long-term driver.
Another prime prospect is Corey Day, who currently drives for Hendrick Motorsports in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Day has won at both Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway this season and has quickly grown into a legitimate contender as a stock-car racer, adapting to the craft after years spent in the dirt-racing scene. Through 21 starts this year, Day sits fourth in the standings with six top fives and 14 top 10s to his credit and just three races remaining in the regular season. Day’s development has come under Hendrick’s watchful eye and would therefore be a likely contender for the No. 48 seat in 2028 if progress continues.
The phone has already begun ringing at Hendrick Motorsports as drivers and agents around the garage recognize the rare opportunity that has presented itself for the 2028 season. Until then, Alex Bowman will be able to write his final chapter in his own words, using the next year and a half to potentially leave on a high note.
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Tyler Reddick couldn’t have scripted a much better start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. But after making history by becoming the first driver in the 78-year history of the series to win the opening three races of a single season, the five-time 2026 winner has stumbled through a six-race skid, turning a dominant campaign into one filled with questions.
“You want to be in the right place, going in the right direction as you start The Chase,” Reddick said on Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, moments after concluding a frustrating practice session that still was good enough for eighth on single-lap speed. “We really need to get out of whatever hole we’ve found ourselves in.”
No driver over the last 39 seasons enjoyed a better start than Tyler Reddick’s opening 14 races in 2026. His 5.6 average finish, highlighted by nine top-five finishes, was the best through the first 14 races of a season since Dale Earnhardt posted a 4.8 average in 1987. That blistering run produced an average of 44.6 points per race through the opening 15 events.
The last six races have told a much different story. Reddick has averaged just 17.5 points per race during that span, watching a commanding 129-point lead atop the regular-season standings disappear. He now trails Denny Hamlin by 68 points in the battle for the No. 1 seed for The Chase.
The sheer pace of Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota hasn’t been nearly as dominant over the last seven races as it was during the opening 14 events. Misfortune has also played a major role. Reddick was an innocent victim in a restart stack-up at Michigan International Speedway, suffered a downed tire while battling for the victory at Naval Base Coronado and endured mechanical issues at both Sonoma Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway. Last weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Reddick was collected in an incident with Alex Bowman while the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entered pit road.
“It has been a little bit of hit or miss at times,” Reddick said of the No. 45’s pace. “We just have to figure it out.”
It hasn’t all been doom and gloom for the No. 45 team, but the recent stretch has been far from ideal. Reddick believes there is still time to track the No. 11 car down for the top Chase spot.
“If we run like we did the first 14 races of the season, absolutely,” Reddick said. “We’ve been going the wrong way for a while, and some of it is just racing. A couple of times we haven’t had the speed that we’ve come to expect out of ourselves. A little bit of both, but a lot of it has been crazy circumstances.
“It’s not over until The Chase starts. We will just keep fighting as hard as we can and not settle for days like today.”
Friday’s practice session wasn’t ideal for Reddick. He clocked in eighth on single-lap speed — Toyota owned the top five between Joe Gibbs Racing and Legacy Motor Club — but fought an ill-handling machine. It was out in left field so much that he even joked with his crew chief, Billy Scott, that it felt like he had never visited the famed 2.5-mile speedway before.
“The last few years we’ve come here and felt good about what we had and knew where we needed to go from practice into qualifying,” Reddick said. “Today, I felt like I had never raced here before. Just lost. Struggling to find speed, struggling with the balance of the car. It was like I never raced here before.”
Spirits remain high, however. 23XI Racing enters Sunday’s Brickyard 400 as the defending winner with Bubba Wallace scoring his most recent checkered flag. Reddick was in the mix throughout the race, placing fourth in the opening stage but wrecked out in overtime.
Reddick intends to spend the rest of Friday debriefing with 23XI and revisiting past setups from Indianapolis over the prior two seasons.
“Yes, Bubba won and had a successful weekend, but we felt good about our car too,” Reddick said. “Whether it’s his race, our first 30 to 40 laps of last year’s race, we have some good stuff to go through.”
Christopher Bell set the pace in NASCAR Cup Series practice, leading a Toyota sweep of the top five in Friday afternoon’s session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota posted a best lap of 183.512 mph in the first on-track activity ahead of Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the 2.5-mile oval.
John Hunter Nemechek was second-fastest in the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota, clocking in at 183.180 mph. Ty Gibbs ranked third in practice, with Erik Jones and Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin completing the top five in that order.
A handful of drivers encountered trouble early on in the 50-minute session. Defending Brickyard 400 winner Bubba Wallace was the first to find a snag with a scrape of the outside retaining wall in Turn 1. He took his No. 23 Toyota to the garage, where his 23XI Racing crew went to work on the car’s right-side damage. Wallace was back on track with 20 minutes to go in practice, recording the 20th-fastest lap overall.
Ryan Preece’s No. 60 RFK Racing Ford also slowed when his left-rear tire went down with 22 minutes left in practice.
The Cup Series returns to the track for Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET, truTV, HBO Max, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
