What to Watch: Tradition, prestige rising as Cup Series braces for Brickyard return

Brickyard 400

(⏰ Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET | NBC | NBC Sports App | IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101

Location: Speedway, Indiana
Track length: 2.5 miles
Race purse: $9,596,601
Race distance: 160 laps | 400 miles
Stages: 50 | 100 | 160
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Starting lineup: Tyler Reddick rolls to pole position
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
Defending winner: Michael McDowell, August 2023

Key things to watch

Friday, Saturday sessions

An extended practice gave Cup Series drivers a chance to get reacclimated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, which will host the NASCAR crowd for the first time since 2020. Tyler Reddick was the best of the bunch in the 50-minute session — both in single-lap speed and the consecutive 10-lap average chart — putting his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota out front early on.

That speed held up in Saturday afternoon’s Busch Light Pole Qualifying, with Reddick putting down a 181.932 mph lap to secure his second pole position of the season. Denny Hamlin made it a 1-2 Toyota sweep of the front row, and three Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet drivers completed the top five — Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson, in that order. | Friday recap | Saturday recap

Big story line

Indy oval overtures and more playoff positioning

The Brickyard 400 is back, and several NASCAR Cup Series drivers making the media rounds during Friday’s opening day welcomed the change. The three years of racing on the combination oval and road course layout produced some chaotic moments, but reverting back to the 2.5-mile track has restored a measure of tradition and — to some — prestige.

“Excited to be back on the oval,” said Chase Briscoe, a Hoosier native and driver of Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 Ford. “Every race car driver dreams of getting to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when you grow up in Indiana; it’s just that much more special. I’ve always said I don’t care what we’re racing on, I just want to race at IMS, whether it’s the road course or the oval, the dirt track over there in the parking lot. But I would be lying if I said there wasn’t more significance in history and just meaning running the oval.”

The schedule-makers’ Indy road-course dalliance means that 10 Cup Series drivers will be making their first Cup start on the rectangular 2.5-mile oval this Sunday. The 400-miler will also represent the first IMS oval go for the Next Gen race car that debuted in Cup for the 2022 season.

What’s old might be new again, but the pressure of making the Cup Series Playoffs has been a constant this season. For the fifth consecutive week, it’s a new driver in the “last one in” slot on the provisional playoff grid — a succession that’s gone from Bubba Wallace (after Iowa) to Joey Logano (post-New Hampshire) to Alex Bowman (Nashville), Chris Buescher (Chicago) and the current 16th driver in the field, Ross Chastain. Three drivers have netted their first wins of the season in the last five weeks.

Chastain’s gap over the elimination line has shrunk from plus-93 three races ago to just 27 points above the current first-driver-out resident: Wallace. Further back, it’s Briscoe (75 points back) and two-time Cup champ Kyle Busch (102) who are almost certainly in the must-win camp.

That journey continues in Sunday’s 400 and in the final four regular-season races that follow after a two-week Olympic break.

History tells us…

Indianapolis is a prime title indicator. The winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to secure the Cup Series championship that season nine times. The last to do it was Kyle Busch in 2015, and in total, 10 of the 15 Indy winners are also Cup Series champions.

Another common trait among Brickyard winners is a premium starting spot. The race has been won from the pole position five times, and the race winner has started among the top 10 in 17 of the 27 oval events.

He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…

KYLE BUSCH. The recent gloomy cloud of subpar finishes has to end at some point, right? The occasion of NASCAR’s return to the oval configuration coincides with Busch’s 700th Cup Series start, and his appearance on the Vegas boards at 30-1 opening odds makes him an intriguing choice.

It’s a new car (Next Gen) and a new team (Richard Childress Racing) for Busch’s return to the Brickyard oval, but his track record here remains an impressive one. He’s a two-time Brickyard winner (2015-16), and has finished among the top 10 in 12 of his 16 Indy starts — a 75 percent clip. His slip in the points has forced him into virtual must-win territory, and the No. 8 Chevrolet group may take big swings to find Victory Lane. | Brickyard odds

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• Jeff Gordon reflects: First-ever Brickyard win “pretty amazing and a lot to tell” | Read article
• Inside the chase: Regular-season title hunt heats up at Indy | Read article
• Kyle Busch’s blast: Warning issued to LaJoie after Pocono pileup | Read article
• ‘We’re here to win’: Chastain a bubble dweller in playoff picture | Read article
• Brickyard memories: All the best moments from NASCAR’s Indy history | Photo gallery
• Brazil at the break: Daniel Suárez to race in South America | Read article
• Raining 3s for No. 4: Josh Berry’s car has Caitlin Clark design for Indy | Read article
• Double take: Kyle Larson’s Memorial Day paint scheme returns | Read article
• Power Rankings: A change at the top ahead of Indy; see full Top 20 | Photo gallery
• Turning Point: Reddick rising in regular-season pursuit | Read article
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s 400-miler | Read article
• Field of 16: Shifting probabilities for the playoff picture at Indianapolis | Read article
• 36 for 36: This week’s survivor pool picks for Indy | Read article
• Fantasy Fastlane: Hamlin, Keselowski make the must-start list | Photo gallery
• Fantasy Update: Reddick prominent in lineup selections | Read article
• NASCAR Classics: Dig into the video archives for vintage Brickyard replays | Read article
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs head to Gasoline Alley | Pick your favorite

Fast facts ⏩

Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• Tyler Reddick has gained 49 points on the standings lead in the last four races — all finishes of sixth or better — as he bids for the regular-season title.
• Richard Childress Racing is the only Cup Series team to win on the oval and road-course layouts at IMS.
• Chase Elliott’s pit-road speeding penalty last week at Pocono ended a 92-race streak without one. Chris Buescher now has the best active streak — 52 races without a speeding bust.