TRACK: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile Oval) DISTANCE: 160 Laps – STAGE 1/2 (80 Laps each), FINAL STAGE 107 LAPS, 400 Miles)
WEATHER: RAIN 0%, 93 degrees high

Favorites

Kevin Harvick

He won this race under the same package last year. He has six straight top eight finishes in the Brickyard as a member of Stewart-Haas Racing. In Pocono, he finished first and second respectively.

Kyle Busch

Is it worth the gamble here? Busch, is usually pretty good at Indy. Prior to his recent string of 34th, eighth and 37th place finishes, he had two straight wins and a runner-up before that. In a five year span, he had four top two results. Which Busch shows up on Sunday?

Denny Hamlin

Worth a risk here on him. He’s won four times this season and chasing a crown jewel. Hamlin, has won the Daytona 500 three times. He’s won the Southern 500 twice. He’s won the Bristol Night Race. But, he’s 0-for-14 at Indy. Maybe that changes on Sunday with Hamlin having five top six finishes in his last six tries here and being in the top two in both races last weekend at Pocono.

Brad Keselowski

He’s already won twice this season and looking for a third. Keselowski, was second in this race in 2017 and won in 2018.

Joey Logano

A Daytona 500 winner. A two-time Bristol night race winner. A Brickyard 400 winner? That’s all that’s left for Logano who is currently 0-for-11 at Indy. But, Logano was runner-up last year and has six top eight finishes in seven Indy starts with Team Penske.

Sleepers

Ryan Blaney

Don’t let his stats fool you. He had a top five car in each of the last two Brickyard 400’s. He has arguably the fastest car on the season.

Clint Bowyer

He has two straight fifth place finishes here and three top six results in his last five tries overall.

William Byron

He was fourth a year ago. Worth a gamble here.

Aric Almirola

His stats aren’t great at Indy but he is riding a four race top five streak and looked fast on a similar track last weekend in Pocono.

Brickyard 400 Race Preview

It’s going to be a depressing weekend. Yes, there’s tons of racing on and most of it being at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but none of the racing in Indy will have fans in the stands. This is the one place that you can’t host an event without any fans at.

But, they will do so anyways.

This race is a crown jewel still. Everyone wants to win it. That’s why it’s so darn hard to do so. Just look at the race winners in his long history of this race. There’s not many flukes. Gordon, Earnhardt, Stewart, Jarrett, Elliott, Labonte. They’ve all won here and are in the Hall of Fame. Johnson, Harvick, Keselowski and Busch are all Future Hall of Famers and have won at Indy. The only cases for flukes could be Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray’s triumphs. That’s just four out of 26 years.

So, who will go down in motorsports lore on Sunday at the Brickyard?

It will be the usual suspects. Denny Hamlin (0-for-14) and Joey Logano (0-for-11) will try and earn their first Indy wins. They’ve won Daytona but not Indy. Both have been so strong lately here with Hamlin scoring five top six finishes in his last four Brickyard starts and Logano six top eight’s in his last seven tries.

Can they get their first Brickyard wins?

We know the Toyota’s are always strong, but can they capitalize. What about Jimmie Johnson who’s making his final Indy start? He’s a four-time winner and looking to tie Gordon for the most Indy wins at five. But, he’s finished 23rd, 16th and 35th respectively the last three years.

We know it’s going to be hot being on the 4th of July weekend, but there should still be plenty of fireworks on track too.

Key Stat

Four of the last seven Brickyard 400’s have been won from the front row. Seven of the last eight have been won from the top 5 Rows. The top 12 in owner’s points have the best shot at a win on Sunday.

They Said It

“I’ve never been to an INDY race,” said Denny Hamlin who’s excited to get in town and to see an NTT IndyCar Series race since NASCAR is sharing the weekend with them. “I don’t know what the regulations will be.  I’m sure we’re not going to be able to go down there when they’re on track or in the pits or anything like that.  I don’t know if they practice or not.  I don’t even know what their protocol is.

“Certainly we’d like to go there and check it out for the first time because I haven’t been to one.  Excited to see how it works.”