INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY / LUCAS OIL INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK NOTES
Friday, August 11 – NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series @ LOR, 9 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, August 12 – NASCAR XFINITY Series @ IMS, 5:30 p.m. ET (USA)
Sunday, August 13 – NASCAR Cup Series @ IMS, 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Indiana is the all-inclusive stop for the three major NASCAR series entering a pivotal point in each of the series with playoffs on the line. While the Cup and Xfinity Series look to build at the Brickyard of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Craftsman Truck Series will neighbor them at Lucas Oil Raceway Park.
Chase Briscoe: “I feel like Indianapolis in general, for every race car driver, is special. But, when you’re a Hoosier and grew up about an hour away, there’s even more significance. I put a lot of pressure on myself to go to Indiana and perform. I get to race in front of a lot of fans and family that don’t get to see me the rest of the year. There is definitely a lot of emphasis on that weekend. I think it is for the whole field, but especially if you’re from Indiana.”
Ryan Preece: “For me, I enjoy the road courses, and I think it’s another opportunity – for sure. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Brickyard and the oval, but I think the road racing definitely can kind of put a variable in there that maybe we can squeak one out.”
Austin Cindric: “I’m excited for Indy. I think we certainly have some work to do on our road course package to get us into good enough form to win races. I think we have some good ideas coming into the week. It’s a really important stretch for me, to try to win to get into the playoffs. Winning in Indy would be a double whammy.”
Todd Gilliland: “I think the next three races are super important. Looking at Indy though, this was probably our strongest race last year – unload to finish, and we finished fourth there. I think we can go there and honestly compete – Top-10 or top-five all day. Those are our expectations. We know, to make the playoffs, it’s going to be tough. But, we need to go out there and win one of these next three races. I think Indy can be a really magical place to do that.”
Harrison Burton: “It’s a fun road course, and it’s one of my favorite road courses. My best finish in the Cup Series was there, so I’m trying to back that up when I go. Any time you can get on Indianapolis’ racetrack, it’s a special moment. It’s easy to take that for granted when you race at all these amazing places every weekend. But, it’s always special at Indy.”
GURNEY IS FORD’S ALL-TIME ROAD COURSE WINNER
NASCAR has competed on 16 different road courses during its history and Ford has had 21 drivers win 33 times overall. Dan Gurney leads the way with five, which included four straight wins at Riverside International Raceway from 1963-66 while driving for the Wood Brothers. Mark Martin, on the strength of three straight triumphs at Watkins Glen International from 1993-95, is second.
FORD’S ALL-TIME CUP ROAD COURSE WINNERS
5 – Dan Gurney
4 – Mark Martin
2 – Fireball Roberts, Marvin Panch, Parnelli Jones, Ricky Rudd, Marcos Ambrose
1 – Chuck Stevenson, Eddie Gray, Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt, Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Davey Allison, Geoffrey Bodine, Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney.
FORD’S ACTIVE WINNERS
There are three current drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series race on a road course with Ford. The most recent winner was Ryan Blaney, who captured the inaugural event at the Charlotte Roval in 2018. Kevin Harvick, who goes into this weekend with 25 career Ford victories, got his first with the Blue Oval in 2017 when he won at Sonoma. Joey Logano scored his Cup victory at Watkins Glen International in 2015, which completed a weekend sweep after he won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race one day earlier.
OTHER FORD WINNERS
Besides the drivers mentioned above, Ford has five other competitors who have won on a road course in either the NASCAR Cup or NASCAR XFINITY Series. Brad Keselowski (Watkins Glen NXS with Ford, 2013); Chris Buescher (Mid-Ohio NXS with Ford, 2014); Michael McDowell (Road America NXS, 2016); Chase Briscoe (Charlotte Roval, 2018 and Indianapolis, 2020); and Austin Cindric (Road America NXS, 2020).
HERBST HOT AGAIN
With only five races remaining in the regular season, Riley Herbst has picked a good time to regain the form that saw him start the campaign with six consecutive top-10 finishes. Herbst has registered finishes of fourth, fifth and sixth in his last three races and moved from 11th to 9th in the series point standings. That has resulted in him being 40 points ahead of the cutoff as he looks to join fellow Ford driver Cole Custer, who clinched his postseason spot after winning in Portland and Chicago, in the 12-driver playoff field.
PLAYOFF OPENER
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opens their postseason this weekend as the first of seven races to determine the 2023 champion takes place at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Ford has four drivers contending for the title, including three former series champions. Zane Smith is looking to defend his crown and make the Championship 4 for a fourth consecutive season while Matt Crafton is trying to tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. for the most career series titles with four. Crafton’s ThorSport teammate, Ben Rhodes, could become only the fifth driver to win multiple truck series championships while Ty Majeski tries to claim his first.
FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS
AT THE BRICKYARD
1996 – Dale Jarrett (Oval)
1997 – Ricky Rudd (Oval)
1999 – Dale Jarrett (Oval)
2018 – Brad Keselowski (Oval)
2019 – Kevin Harvick (Oval)
2020 – Kevin Harvick (Oval)
FORD’S NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS
AT THE BRICKYARD
2020 – Chase Briscoe (Road Course)
2021 – Austin Cindric (Road Course)
FORD’S NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT LOR
1999 – Greg Biffle
2002 – Terry Cook
2003 – Carl Edwards
2006 – Rick Crawford
