Byron had a close call with his teammate Jimmie Johnson at the beginning of Stage 3 but fortunately carried on and wound up with a fourth-place effort.
Consistency is why Ryan Blaney did not have to worry about making the Playoffs. The No. 12 team had no wins coming into the Indy race but had seven top fives and 11 top-10 finishes.
Kevin Harvick won the 26th annual Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday. He dominated the race leading all but 42 laps en route to his second victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 48th of his career.
Jimmie Johnson was a long shot coming into the Brickyard hoping to make the NASCAR Playoffs. And the No. 48 crew was below the cut line most of the race.
Kevin Harvick qualified on the pole position for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday with a lap of 48.44 seconds and 185.766 mph. This was Harvick's third pole position at The Brickyard.
Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, set the pace for Team Chevy and finished sixth in the first practice on the Streets of Toronto.
Tyler Reddick led practice Friday for the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG, as the NASCAR Cup Series is back on the fabled oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since 2020.
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin, along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, were made available to the media on Friday after practice for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Four Team Chevy drivers posted lap times in the top-10 of the final speed chart, with Bowman leading his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson in fifth and William Byron in ninth, with Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar rounding out the top-10.
The 22-year-old Caruth from Washington DC posted his best qualifying lap at 108.017 mph in 22.863 seconds, which was enough to claim his second Truck career pole by 0.017 seconds over Grant Enfinger.
