INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time in four years, the NASCAR Cup Series will run the traditional oval configuration at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A Triumphant Return
After the 2020 oval race saw limited passing and a plethora of tire failures, NASCAR decided to experiment at IMS in 2021. It switched to the road course variation, the same circuit that the NTT IndyCar Series runs.
The three races saw plenty of drama. In its first rendition, Chase Briscoe turned Denny Hamlin from the lead with two laps to go while Briscoe had already been assessed a penalty. He had to serve a stop-and-go, handing the race to a lurking A.J. Allmendinger for his second Cup Series victory. Tyler Reddick prevailed in overtime in 2022, while Michael McDowell dominated in an upset victory last season.
But by returning to the oval, the Cup Series gets back its fourth “crown jewel” for the 30th anniversary of the first race at the Brickyard. Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon won in 1994, and to celebrate and come full circle, team owner Rick Hendrick will drive the pace car ahead of Sunday’s race.
Kevin Harvick won the last two races on the oval.
The Summer Of Team Penske
Since the calendar flipped to June, it’s been all about Team Penske.
While they might have flown under the radar to start the season, all three drivers have scored victories since June 2. Austin Cindric won at World Wide Technology (Ill.) Raceway, capitalizing on teammate Ryan Blaney’s fuel miscalculation. Two weeks later, Blaney got one back with his first victory of the season in the inaugural Iowa Speedway race.
At the end of June, Joey Logano outlasted five overtime attempts to steal a win at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. Last week at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Blaney led the final 44 laps for his second victory of the campaign.
The organization has won four of the last seven points-paying events, while Logano also brought home $1 million in May with a triumph in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
Points Tighten At The Top And The Bottom
The points continue to tighten for the regular-season championship and the cutline.
Six drivers are within 63 markers at the top, led by Chase Elliott with 703 points. Kyle Larson, who finished 13th last week at Pocono, is three points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick just 15 points out of the lead.
Denny Hamlin, who finished second last week after five consecutive finishes outside the top 10, is fourth in points and 20 out of the lead. Before his skid – many of which were events outside of his control – he led the series. William Byron (-57) and Martin Truex Jr. (-63) are fifth and sixth, respectively.
Shifting down the playoff grid, Ross Chastain dropped to 16th after crashing early at Pocono. He holds the final playoff spot by 27 points over Bubba Wallace. Chase Briscoe is 18th at 75 points below the cutline.
Kyle Busch is 19th at 102 points below the cut, facing a likely must-win scenario to make the playoffs. Contact with Corey LaJoie in a restart at Pocono resulted in a multi-car pileup in turn one, ending his day early.
Speaking to reporters after the race, Busch implied he believed the contact from LaJoie was intentional.
“Sometimes, some don’t lift. Kamikaze,” he said.
Busch joined The Pat McAfee Show on Friday.
“(LaJoie) texted me and then he called me. I didn’t even reach back out because he changed his story four times,” Busch explained. “I’m like ‘You’re a liar, you wrecked me.’ I get it, it’s fine. Payback is coming.”
A Break Ahead
After Sunday’s race in Indianapolis, it’s a welcomed two-week break for Cup Series teams as NBC broadcasts the 2024 Olympics. The next event isn’t scheduled until Sunday, Aug. 11 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
The break concludes a stretch of 22 consecutive race weekends, dating back to the Daytona 500 in February. Afterward, it’ll be a 14-race dash to the championship in Phoenix.
In each of the last two seasons, an off week was scheduled after Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Before that, teams were accustomed to multiple off weeks throughout the season, including Easter.
Craftsman Truck Series teams will get two weeks off, although multi-week breaks aren’t out of the ordinary for NASCAR’s third-highest series. The Xfinity Series has close to a month off and won’t return until Saturday, Aug. 17 at Michigan Int’l Speedway.
Race Information
Sunday’s race is set for 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Stage breaks are after laps 50 and 100. The purse is $9,596,601.