INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Reddick nailed his qualification run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and that puts the pole winner in a unique position for Sunday’s 30th Anniversary of the Brickyard 400.
Reddick is one of just three drivers that has won a race on the IMS road course when he drove to victory in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard in 2022. The other NASCAR Cup Series winners on the IMS road course were AJ Allmendinger in 2021 and Michael McDowell in 2023.
Click here for qualifying results.
Now that the Brickyard 400 has return to the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, Reddick could make history on Sunday as the only drivers that could win on both the oval and road course in NASCAR.
He took a major step to that goal in Saturday’s pole qualifications when the 23XI Racing driver knocked his team owner, Denny Hamlin, off the pole as the final car on the track.
Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota nailed the fastest lap at 181.932 miles per hour. Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing was on the pole prior to that run at 181.492 mph.
It’s an all-Toyota front row at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday as Reddick delivered a great run when it mattered the most.
“Everyone is pushing so hard in turn four, and I was trying to be mindful of that, we didn’t lose momentum in Turn 1 and that was a key, but the rest of the lap was really, really stout,” Reddick said of his pole run. “I’ve been very fortunate to come here and have speed on the road course and it’s great to have that speed on the oval, too.
“I’m excited to see what Sunday has in store.”
This is Reddick’s eighth pole in 168 NASCAR Cup Series races, his second pole and 14th top-10 start in 2024 and his first pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Reddick’s team is co-owned by former basketball great Michael Jordan and Hamlin. This was a rare chance when Reddick was able to knock Hamlin off the pole at the end of qualifications.
“I’ve always been on the other end of this,” Reddick said. “It’s nice to be on the other side for once. It’s great to go toe-to-toe with him.”
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott was third in the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet at 181.803 mph. He starts alongside teammate William Bryon in the No. 24 Chevrolet at 180.155 mph.
Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson rounded out the top fifth. He starts fifth, the same starting position he had in the 108th Indianapolis 500.
Larson’s speed on Saturday was 181.298 mph in the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet.
There is a bit of a comfort level for Reddick to have his team owner start alongside, but the driver realizes at some point Hamlin will switch from “Denny the Team Owner” to “Denny the Driver” in a hard-fought battle for the victory.
“Well, if I tear it up, he’s paying for it,” Reddick said. “It’s his car. I try not to use that against him.
“I honestly feel like we race each other very fair, but hard. I’ve learned a lot about racing from him as well. I feel like we have a good level of trust and respect for one another, but obviously, when we come to a place like this (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), I know how badly he wants to win here. And I know how bad I want to win here.
“It’ll just be something we’ll have to manage throughout the day, and we’ll just see how it goes. Obviously, he and the 11 team are stout. The 5 (Kyle Larson), the 9 (Chase Elliott), those are guys that have been good all year long.
“But yeah, I wonder if that’s something he thinks about while we’re racing. Like ‘man, if he uses me up?’ Is he thinking about fixing up his race car or worried about his race?”
Reddick is already a winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with his 2022 win on the road course. But he is quick to admit that the challenge and prestige is conquering the oval.
“I have been excited to return and race on this oval, but I’ve been torn, naturally, because we’ve ran the road course here and have been very strong,” he explained. “I got my second career win here, so I was a little conflicted, but certainly I could see it in my team and at the shop – a lot of individuals that have ran the Brickyard for a lot of years, on the team, are really excited to return.
“You could see it in the fans, and in some ways, myself. It was a different feeling coming here and running the road course than it is when you run the oval, so I’m glad we are able to come back and give it another shot, especially on the 30th year of running here. There is a lot of huge moments that have happened here, so I’m glad to be back on the oval and excited for what the day may hold for us tomorrow.”
With the Next Gen car that is used in NASCAR Cup Series Racing, it corners better — which is a benefit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but handles differently aerodynamically which will continue to make it a track positions race.
That is why it’s important to start on the pole to win the race.
“It’s a big deal,” Reddick said. “Just starting towards the front is huge, but any additional spots we can get, once we got inside the seventh/eighth window is going to be huge for stage points in the beginning if it plays out, somewhat naturally, but also pit road here is narrow.
“These cars are wider than the Gen 6 car, and the Gen 6 race here that I was a part of, pit road was sketchy already, so expect pit road to be pretty chaotic already for the majority of the field and us having the option to choose first is going to really help us, I feel.”