INDIANAPOLIS — There’s been plenty of news coming out of the NASCAR world this week as we lead into Sunday’s Verizon 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio Network).
Gragson Out at Legacy, Headlines Silly Season Movement
Silly season is starting to get into full swing this week with Front Row Motorsports announcing that they have exercised their options for both Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland for the 2024 season. That would leave Zane Smith looking elsewhere now.
One potential could be Legacy Motor Club so long as Smith isn’t retained by Ford either.
On Tuesday, Legacy Motor Club announced that Mike Rockenfeller would replace Noah Gragson in the No. 42 Chevrolet for the next two NASCAR Cup Series races at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen. Two days later, they found out they’d need to find someone else for the final 11 races as Gragson told the team that he won’t be returning.
Gragson was suspended by his team, Legacy Motor Club last weekend for a costly social media mistake. While most wondered how long “indefinitely” was when NASCAR stepped in to also suspend Gragson as well, we now knew the other day at least two weeks.
Now, he’s not coming back at all.
This puts an early end to Gragson’s dismal rookie season with the team as he sits 33rd in points. He missed a race at Sonoma for concussion like symptoms stemming from a crash a World Wide Technology Raceway. His best finish is 12th to where the other races he’s finished 20th or worse.
There’s even become some chatter that he’d be let go by the team at seasons end after just one season and replaced by John Hunter Nemechek for 2024. Now with this move, it opens up a seat not only now, but definitely for next year too.
With Martin Truex Jr. announcing last Saturday that he’s coming back to the No. 19 Toyota with JGR in 2024, it leaves an Xfinity Series championship front runner in Nemechek looking as well as a Craftsman Truck Series championship front runner in Smith searching for future rides.
Restart Zone Moved As NASCAR Makes Procedure Changes For Indy
Turn 1 has been a hectic place for NASCAR on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway layout. So, NASCAR has adapted.
With so much chaos in that first right hand corner, especially late in races, NASCAR has moved the restart zone back to between Turns 13 and 14 now. Their hopes are for it spreading the pack out some as while the leaders are taking off, those a few rows back are still going through that sequence of corners which would allow for less dive bombs and maneuvers that they shouldn’t be making.
If it still doesn’t work, then NASCAR said that they’d consider going to single lane restarts forgoing double file restarts too.
Also, NASCAR has mandated that if someone goes through the Turn 1 runoff like Ross Chastain did last year, they have to adhere to a stop and go before rejoining the track. While Chastain noted then that he had to take that evasive action to avoid a crash below him, NASCAR doesn’t want to see anyone get an advantage by doing so.
You can still use that access route to avoid carnage, if needed, but you can’t gain an advantage either.
The other change is that before we get to Turn 7 will be the choose rule. They didn’t have this rule in place for road courses last season.
Brickyard 400 Chatter
It’s the worst kept secret in racing right now. In 2024, it’s sounding like NASCAR will be returning to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and not the 2.439-mile road course layout. We’ve heard chatter about that for months now and quite honestly, the talk sped up even more recently with Goodyear announcing a tire test for on Monday around the 2.5-mile oval in anticipation of a return one day.
Denny Hamlin then came out this last weekend and told a group of reporters in Michigan about returning to the oval next season too.
The 2024 season will mark 30 years since the inaugural race at Indy. The last three, counting this weekend, have occurred on the road course however. In saying that, the move was done to spice up the event again.
While most blame the 2008 tire debacle on the demise of the Brickyard 400, I was also quick to point out that the crowds were dwindling in the years prior too. That just gave everyone a new excuse.
See, the racing on the oval wasn’t great. We all knew that. This track wasn’t made for stock cars. Plus, with this race being run in extremely hot temperatures, the luster wore off and it became an event for diehards. The tire problem was just the nail in the coffin but the coffin was already being built.
As the year went along, the crowds diminished to less and less with most of this place being empty. So NASCAR adjusted. With a market for more road courses, that’s the direction that they went in.
The drivers felt like it lessened the importance of coming here. If you’re going to come to Indy, you should come to the oval. That’s what motorsports is all about. It cheapens the value by not doing so.
“I love the shared weekend. Look race car drivers like being around race car drivers. I like watching other divisions race I just don’t like racing on a road course,” said 3-time Brickyard 400 champion, Kevin Harvick. “I feel like it’s a parking lot track but doesn’t flow very well. It’s not a very it’s just not a very good course. I mean, it’s not Road America and it’s not Sonoma and it’s not Watkins Glen and it’s, you know, it’s just just not a good track.
“Running on the roval is embarrassing for our series.”
He would know. He won the last two Brickyard 400’s here.
What do others feel?
Christopher Bell put it bluntly. He likes the oval. It’s the history and prestige of it. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. says it doesn’t feel as much like a special event anymore.
“I mean, it doesn’t feel like it near as much as the oval does,” he says. “You know, I mean, it’s run on the ovals. I mean, just super historic. Right. And, you know, it’s the brickyard 400. So yeah, I mean, it’s it’s like Bristol, right like you want to win at Bristol, whether it’s dirt concrete and you want to win here at Indy whether it’s real course or oval, but the feel of it is not as is not the same.
“So yeah, I still enjoy it though. It’s still cool being here. At the same time you still get to kiss some bricks, right?”
Drivers say we should appreciate the prestige and importance of running at Indy on the oval and overlook the bad racing. I don’t disagree. It’s an event. A crown jewel. They all want to win here.
AJ Allmendinger is great here on the road course and said that even being the inaugural road course winner here last year, it was still special. Was it a Jeff Gordon or Ray Harroun moment? That’s up for debate but he also feels like if you want to run the oval again, fans need to show out.
You can’t come back and no one comes. The crowd was more of an embarrassment for the series on the oval than running on the road course. For a race that used to pack the place, the empty grandstands weren’t appealing.
NASCAR made it clear that they’re going to go to where they’re wanted. If fans don’t show, they won’t come. It has to look visually appealing as a big event.
The massive facility ate up the estimated 50k crowds in the final years of the oval. A similar crowd on the road course doesn’t look as bad and keeps Indy as a date on the NASCAR calendar.
By revolving the road course and oval as a rotating system, it could spice up the oval crowd. If you don’t show, you won’t see it for a few more years….
So, they’ll get their wish in 2024. A possible return.
Playoff Cut Line
AJ Allmendinger (2nd, 1st in NXS, 1st, 7th in Cup) is good here. Austin Cindric (won NXS, runner-up last year in Cup) is also strong. Ty Gibbs was ninth in two of the three road races this season. Michael McDowell was eighth last year and seventh in each of the last two road races this year. Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland landed top five finishes a year ago too.
Can one of these drivers turn the playoffs upside down with a win on Sunday?
The 16th and final spot changed hands again on Monday with McDowell having another dismal week with a 24th place effort. He was also 22nd in Richmond and now falls from +17 entering Richmond to +18 entering Michigan to -3 entering Indy.
That’s also because Gibbs has gotten hot. He’s made up 31 points in two weeks in going from 28 points down to three points up. He’s done so without a top 10 finish too (15th, 11th). He’s just getting stage points and not making mistakes.
Bubba Wallace has also made up a lot of ground too. He went from +27 to +58 in two weeks but the most growth came between Richmond and Michigan in going from +27 entering to +54. He still gained four points in Michigan. Now, he just needs to maintain.
Daniel Suarez was a big winner too in going from -34 to -3. That’s a 31-point gain in Michigan and is back within striking distance. Allmendinger continues to drop (-24). Alex Bowman (-44), Cindric (-53) and Chase Elliott (-55) are now in really must win mode over the final three weeks.
Who will stand out over the next three weeks of wildcard races (2 road course, 1 superspeedway).
Right now, Brad Keselowski is +168 after being +122 two weeks ago. Kevin Harvick is +180 and so long as we don’t see another new winner, both are good.
Road Racing Aces
We already know how good Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric are with road racing backgrounds. Then you have Chase Elliott whos’ won 7 times on road courses, most among all active drivers. Martin Truex Jr. is next best with 5. Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson each have 4. 3 of Tyler Reddick’s 4 career wins have come on these tracks including just last year here.
That’s 8 drivers right there with chances to win on Sunday.
Then you have a talented cast of ringers too.
Among the 39 cars competing here this weekend, some of them have some international flair. Shane van Gisbergen is back in the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse and Project 91. He shocked the world with an upset win in Chicago.
While most admitted that it should have been more speculated that he could do that, I mean he’s used to these types of cars on street courses to where the field wasn’t, it was still the first time in 60 years that a driver won in his NASCAR debut too.
How will he fare in a second start?
He’ll more have international flavor with him this time too. Jenson Button is back in the No. 15 Ford for Rick Ware Racing. However, Kamui Kobayashi (No. 67 Toyota), Brodie Kostecki (No. 33 Chevrolet) and Mike Rockenfeller (No. 42 Chevrolet) are also making their NASCAR debuts too.
Can they make a name for themselves like van Gisbergen did last month?
Kostecki is with RCR, the winning team from last year. Kobayashi has Tyler Reddick, the winner driver last year, as a teammate.
This group could compete on Sunday but I’m curious after van Gisbergen had a surprising advantage in Chicago, if these guys to on a more typical road course at Indy.
Most INDYCAR driver call this a very European like circuit which you’d think would favor these four too.
That makes for 13 drivers that are strong on these tracks.
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