Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG
Indianapolis, Ind. – July 26, 2026
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 35TH STAGE 1: 29TH STAGE 2: 30TH FINISH: 14TH POINTS: 16TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse team turned a challenging starting position into a solid result Sunday afternoon, using smart strategy and steady execution to rally from 35th on the grid to a 14th-place finish in the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After taking the green flag deep in the field, Cindric methodically worked his way forward while battling changing car conditions throughout the opening two stages. The No. 2 team made routine adjustments during the race as the balance evolved, with crew chief Brian Wilson utilizing a pit strategy before the ends of both Stage 1 and Stage 2 to service the Discount Tire Ford. In the final stage, a caution for debris slowed the field and allowed the No. 2 team to make a fuel-only stop while many competitors took tires. The strategy positioned Cindric inside the top 20 for the restart, and another caution shortly thereafter moved him up to 14th with just over 30 laps remaining. From there, Cindric held his own through the closing laps to secure a 14th-place finish, completing a 21-position climb from where he started the crown jewel event.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Overall, it was a solid recovery from where we started, so that’s something we can build on. The off week comes at a good time for everyone to reset, recharge and be ready to hit the ground running at Iowa to finish out the season. We’ve still got a lot of racing left and plenty to accomplish.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/DELTA FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 13TH STAGE 1: 14TH STAGE 2: 17TH FINISH: 26TH POINTS: 3RD
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Delta Ford Mustang Dark Horse team were involved in a seven-car incident with 41 laps remaining in Sunday’s Brickyard 400, resulting in a 26th-place finish. After starting 13th, Blaney settled into 12th in the running order to begin the opening, 50-lap segment before he was called to pit road for a scheduled four tire stop under green with nine laps to go in Stage 1. The caution flag flew three laps later, setting up a one-lap shootout to the end of the stage as Blaney came away with a 14th-place effort. The late pit stop in Stage 1 allowed Blaney to stay out prior to the ensuing restart, allowing him to work up into the top-10 20 laps into the run before crew chief Jonathan Hassler called him to pit road on lap 90 during the green flag pit cycle. Another caution in the closing laps of the stage ultimately saw the field finish the second segment under yellow with Blaney scored 17th. Blaney continued to work his way back towards the top-10 during the final run of the afternoon as he lined up 13th to take the restart with 41 laps to go, but ended up on the wrong end of a three-wide battle into turn three as contact with the No. 42 sent Blaney sliding up into the outside wall that resulted in damage to the right side of the nose and splitter. The No. 12 made a pair of trips to pit road to repair the damage – and kept Blaney on the lead lap in the process – as he rejoined the field for the final restart of the afternoon scored 31st with 34 laps remaining. Despite the damage, Blaney made up five positions over the course of the final run but ultimately came up two spots short of winning the In-Season Challenge with a 26th-place finish.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “It’s a shame it ended that way. We were scrapping along. I wanted to put together a good run today and have a shot to run well at a place we try to run really well at. Unfortunately, it didn’t go the way we wanted.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 19TH STAGE 1: 16TH STAGE 2: 16TH FINISH: 3RD POINTS: 13TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse team carried their momentum from last week’s win at North Wilkesboro to come away with a third-place finish in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Following a pair of 16th-place results in the first two stages, Logano settled into 13th in the running order at the start of the third segment before the caution flag flew on lap 114. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call for right side tires only as the No. 22 team gained 10 positions on pit road to jump to third on the leaderboard as Logano lined up to take the ensuing restart from the inside of row two with 41 laps to go. The caution flag flew yet again before the field was able to make it back around to the start-finish line, allowing Logano another chance to push his lane clear to the front. Logano made the decision to restart from the outside of row two for the following restart as the field lined up to take the green with 34 laps remaining, this time pushing the No. 67 clear to the lead while Logano settled into third with the laps winding down. As the Nos. 67 and 20 stayed close at the front of the field, the Shell-Pennzoil Ford slowly worked its way into the picture, cutting the deficit down to one second with 14 laps to go. Logano continued to apply the pressure down the stretch, but ultimately settled for a third-place finish. With the result, the No. 22 team gained another two spots in the points standings – and seven spots over the last four weeks – to build a 65-point buffer to the Chase cutline with four races remaining in the regular season.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “We broke up the Toyotas, so that’s good, but we just couldn’t get [to the lead]. I was faster than them, but I got three car lengths back and that was it. I lost the air and that was it. I couldn’t go fast anymore. I needed track position. Track position won the race. You had to be on the front row there and we were one row back, but, overall, I’m proud of what Paul [Wolfe] and Joe [Bisson] and everyone on the team was able to do by giving us a really fast race car again. We’ve just got to qualify better and start towards the front. We missed it on Saturday and you start 19th and you get one or two, but everyone ran the same strategy all day, so there wasn’t much opportunity there. We got to where we had a shot at it, but not good enough.”
Following the off week, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action on Sunday, August 9 at Iowa Speedway. Coverage of the Iowa Corn 350 begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
