NASCAR Cup PR

There have been 25 race trophies awarded this season – 25 opportunities to lock in a Playoff berth – but for the four drivers on the bubble, the last two Playoff positions will depend on their outing in Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard powered by Florida Georgia Line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Jimmie Johnson on one final race to make the playoffs: “Our Ally team displayed a tremendous effort in Darlington. We have a great thing going right now on our team – everyone is pulling in the right direction. There is some pressure to go out and win this weekend, but that is what we do every weekend. We go to a track with the intention to contend for wins. If I look back over the first half of the season, I see a lot of races where we gave away a few points. It’s kind of unfair to put all the pressure on one race in Indy, but that is where we are right now. It’s a great track to win at. We know what we have to do this weekend.”

When Paul Menard looks back on his 2011 win in the Brickyard 400, at Indianapolis, there’s one memory that means even more now that he’s the driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford Mustang.

Indianapolis Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads next to “The Brickyard” for its regular-season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 8. Despite a disappointing finish at Darlington, ending a streak of six consecutive top-five finishes, Hamlin and team will look for a strong finish to the regular season before playoff racing begins.

Richard Childress Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ... In 69 previous Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has posted two pole awards (Kevin Harvick in 2003 and Jeff Burton in 2006), three wins (Dale Earnhardt in 1995, Harvick in 2003 and Paul Menard in 2011), 12 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes. RCR Chevrolets have also been atop the leaderboard for a total of 268.

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Indianapolis, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 32.0, an average finish of 29.0, and he’s completed 422 of 661 (63.8 percent) career laps at the Brickyard.

Southeastern Equipment & Supply, Inc., the unmatched leader in reconditioned and new floor scrubbers, will team up with Front Row Motorsports (FRM) and Matt Tifft at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 8. Southeastern Equipment will serve as the primary sponsor of Tifft's No. 36 Ford Mustang, while Minuteman and Meijer will serve as associate sponsors.

Stenhouse has six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at IMS with an average starting position of 21.3 and average finishing position of 27.5.

The final race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season headlines this weekend’s activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the 16-driver field that will contend for the championship is set.  Five Ford drivers have clinched spots while three more are in contention for the final two positions.  Here’s a look at Ford’s Brickyard history in NASCAR.

Newman will make his 19th Cup start at Indy on Sunday. In 18 prior events, he has one win at The Brickyard with five top-10s, three top fives and an average finish of 16.4.