Indianapolis Event Info:
Date: Sunday, July 26
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Speedway, Indiana
Format: 160 Laps, 400 Miles, Stages: 50-100-160
TV: TNT
Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 1:00 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (TruTV, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 1:30 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Race (TNT, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
RFK Racing STORYLINES:
Brad Keselowski sits on the Chase bubble, 58 points outside the cut line. With momentum of a strong North Wilkesboro run, 7th and leading several laps, the 2012 champ is looking to mount a charge toward NASCAR’s Championship Chase. Opportunity lies directly ahead as he finished among the top-10 last season at each of next three tracks on the schedule, Indy, Iowa and Richmond.
Chris Buescher has a healthy 123-point cushion in the race to the Chase. Still, he is not satisfied and is hoping to climb the standings while building momentum before the regular season closes. Repeatedly he’s said the 17-team is close to victory, could it come this week in the Crown Jewel Brickyard 400?
Ryan Preece is aiming to make a late regular season rally to score a post season berth. With finishes of 11th or better in three of the last five races he has begun to make a charge. Determined, and with some strong tracks ahead there is opportunity. In 2025 he finished top -5 at Indy and Iowa, and won the pole at Richmond. Those are the next three tracks before he heads to his home track of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Pace Laps:
- The NASCAR Cup Series will run on the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the 30th time. After brief transition to the Indianapolis road course from 2021-2023, NASCAR returned to the traditional course in 2024.
- Chris Buescher started 7th in last year’s Brickyard 400 and finished inside the top 15, Buescher has an average starting spot of 19.6 and an average finish 18.6.
- Brad Keselowski won the Brickyard 400 back in 2018 after starting sixth, making a pass on Denny Hamlin with two laps to claim victory.
6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: Body Guard by Fastenal
17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Kroger / Minute Rice
60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Thornton’s
Keselowski at Indianapolis
Starts: 13
Wins: 1 (2018)
Top-10s: 7
Poles: —
- Keselowski is one of only three drivers entered in this week’s Brickyard 400 who has won a NASCAR Cup Series race on the 2.5 mile Indianapolis oval.
- Keselowski enters the weekend as a prior winner at the Brickyard, having won the 2018 Brickyard 400. Otherwise, he has seven top 10s overall, including four finishes of fifth or better.
- The 2012 Cup Champion has led laps in eight events at Indy with a 12.9 average finish dating back to 2010.
- Despite no pole at the Brickyard, Keselowski has six top-10 starts, including a career-best third in 2014.
- Keselowski won the Xfinity Series event at Indy back in 2012, leading 33 laps in the No. 22 car.
Buescher at Indianapolis
Starts: 7
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
- This weekend marks Buescher’s eighth start on the oval track at Indy. He carries a 18.6 average finish into the weekend with a career-best ninth back in 2017.
- Buescher’s best qualifying effort at Indy came last season when he rolled off 7th.
- Buescher also ran a pair of Xfinity events at Indy back in 2014-15, earning finishes of 11th and 16th, respectively.
Preece at Indianapolis
Starts: 4
Wins: —
Top-10s: -1
Poles: —
- Preece is set for his fifth Cup start at IMS oval this weekend, where he posted a career-best finish of 4thh at the track in 2025.
- He holds a 21.5 average finish in the Indianapolis oval.
- Preece has also made two career NXS starts at Indy, 2016 and 2018.
RFK Historically at Indy
Cup Wins: —
- Chasing History: Indianapolis is one of just three active NCS tracks that RFK has not visited Victory Lane at, along with Nashville Superspeedway and Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Despite not earning a victory, RFK has finished in the second position on four separate occasions (1998, 2003, 2006 and 2008) with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards.
- Ragan’s Row: Former RFK driver David Ragan earned the organization’s first pole position at the famed 2.5-mile speedway in the 2011 running of this event. Overall, RFK has had one of its Fords on the front row at the hallowed speedway four times.
- Tale of the Tape: RFK has made 104 starts in the NCS at Indianapolis dating back to 1994. In that span, RFK has 18 top-five (two last season) and 33 top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 18.4.
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
North Wilkesboro: Keselowski 7th, Preece 10th, Buescher 20th.
Points Standings (17: 9th, 60: 18th, 6: 19th): Buescher sits 123 points above the cutline while Preece is 48 points behind Austin Cindric for the final playoff spot. Keselowski remained is 19th and 58 points back.
