Credit: INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JULY 27: During the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin is back on top in this week’s Power Rankings after his third-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1. Denny Hamlin:
Hamlin started last after crashing in qualifying, and charged his way to a third-place finish at Indianapolis.
“I just signed a contract extension to remain with Joe Gibbs Racing,” Hamlin said. “I think NASCAR is happy that I signed the extension, if for no other reason than they can be sure I’ll be able to pay my legal bills.”
2. Chase Elliott:
Elliott finished 13th in the Brickyard 400.
“The In-Season Challenge champion was crowned,” Elliott said, “with Ty Gibbs finishing 21st to beat Ty Dillon. It would have been totally appropriate had the Challenge ended in a tie, because nobody cared who won.”
3. Chase Briscoe:
Briscoe started on the pole and won Stage 2 on his way to an 18th-place finish in the Brickyard 400.
“If you think as a fan it’s hard staying awake for the Indy race,” Briscoe said, “you should try staying awake for this race as a driver.”
4. Kyle Larson:
Larson couldn’t chase down Bubba Wallace during two overtime restarts and settled for second in the Brickyard 400.
“Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of my favorite tracks,” Larson said, “as long as I come here just once a year.”
5. Alex Bowman:
Bowman finished ninth in the Brickyard 400.
“Like most NASCAR races at Indy,” Bowman said, “the outcome comes down to fuel mileage. I’m not sure that’s the kind of race that appeals to NASCAR fans, because if you tell a NASCAR fan they’ll have to ‘do math’ to enjoy this race, they’ll certainly ask you to clarify.”
6. Ryan Blaney:
Blaney won Stage 2 at Indianapolis and surged late to finish seventh at Indianapolis.
“I was forced to pit while pit lane was closed at the end of Stage 2,” Blaney said. “I was forced to pit because had I not, I would have run out of gas. So it was a no-brainer. Also, a no-brainer: putting yourself in a position where you have to pit when pit lane is closed.”
7. William Byron:
Byron finished 16th in the Brickyard 400.
“I’m not sure what the television ratings were for the Indy race,” Byron said. “So I don’t know who was watching. As an affiliate of Liberty University, I’m only concerned about one person watching.”
8. Bubba Wallace:
Wallace held off Kyle Larson in overtime at Indianapolis to win the Brickyard 400 and snap a 100-race winless streak. Wallace also clinched a spot in the playoffs.
“I was lucky enough to be able to ‘kiss the bricks,'” Wallace said. “For a minute there, though, I thought I was going to have to kiss the bricks goodbye.”
9. Joey Logano:
Logano blew a right-rear tire with 26 laps to go while running as the de facto leader, ruining his chances for the win. He limped home to a 32nd-place finish.
“I heard a pop,” Logano said. “I guess that was my tire, or my bubble bursting, or both.”
10. Christopher Bell
Bell: Bell finished eighth at Indianapolis.
“Congratulations to Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs,” Bell said, “for winning the race and the In-Season Challenge, respectively, despite my best efforts to prevent them from doing so.”
Bubba Wallace persevered through two overtime shootouts and a late fuel-mileage battle with Kyle Larson to win the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 27.
The 31-year-old Wallace from Mobile, Alabama, led twice for 23 of 268 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started alongside pole-sitter Chase Briscoe for his career-best starting spot at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. After spending a majority of the event racing upfront and leading four laps through the event’s first two stage periods, Wallace’s key moment to victory occurred when he pitted during a late cycle of green flag pit stops with nearly 40 laps remaining. Following the pit stops, Wallace cycled into the lead with 18 laps remaining.
Then, despite having his steady advantage stalled due to a late caution for precipitation followed by a brief red flag delay period, Wallace proceeded to fend off Kyle Larson at the start of two overtime shootouts. Despite enduring concerns of not having enough fuel to retain the lead, Wallace had enough horsepower and fuel within his tank to cycle his way around Indianapolis during the two overtime shootouts. He beat Larson to score his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in nearly three years and achieve his first crown-jewel victory at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, July 26, Chase Briscoe notched his seventh Cup pole position of the 2025 season and his third in a crown-jewel event with a pole-winning lap at 183.165 mph in 49.136 seconds. Joining Briscoe on the front row was Bubba Wallace, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 183.117 mph in 49.149 seconds.
Prior to the event, Denny Hamlin dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session. The following names which included Michael McDowell, John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith and Jesse Love also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Chase Briscoe launched his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead of Bubba Wallace and the field through the frontstretch as he proceeded to lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field behind jostled for early spots, Briscoe proceeded to lead through the remaining two turns before he cycled back to the frontstretch and led the first lap over Wallace while Tyler Reddick, William Byron and Erik Jones were scored in the top five, respectively.
Over the next four laps, Briscoe maintained a steady advantage over Wallace while Reddick, Byron and Erik Jones continued to follow suit in the top five, respectively. By then, the top-10 spots were occupied by Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar, Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger, respectively, while Kyle Busch, rookie Shane van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson were racing in the top 15 ahead of Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon and Alex Bowman, respectively. While Denny Hamlin was battling to crack the top-30 mark after starting in 39th place in a back-up car, his driver, Reddick, overtook his other driver, Wallace, for the runner-up spot while teammate Briscoe retained the lead by three-tenths of a second at the Lap 10 mark.
Just past the Lap 15 mark, Briscoe led a 10-car breakaway, with the pack running within four seconds of the leader Briscoe and racing in a single-line formation. Behind Briscoe were Reddick, Wallace, Byron, Jones, Ty Gibbs, Buescher, Hocevar, Cindric and Allmendinger, respectively, while the next two competitors in the running order (Kyle Busch and van Gisbergen) trailed by more than seven seconds.
A lap later, the event’s first caution flew when Ross Chastain, who was mired in 34th place, was bumped by Michael McDowell and sent sideways through Turn 3 before he made contact against the outside wall and was left with a wrecked No. 1 Busch Light Lime Chevrolet entry. The incident occurred after Chastain had blocked McDowell entering the turn.
During the event’s first caution period, a majority of the field led by Briscoe peeled off the racetrack to pit their respective entries for the first time while Austin Cindric, teammate Joey Logano and Josh Berry remained on the track. Following the pit stops, where most of the front-runners opted for a two-tire pit service, Briscoe exited pit road first and he was followed by Wallace, Reddick, Erik Jones, Byron, Buescher, Kyle Busch, Allmendinger, Hocevar and Larson, respectively.
The start of the next restart on Lap 22 featured teammates Cindric and Logano dueling for the lead exiting the frontstretch before Cindric muscled his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry ahead through the first turn. As the field fanned out, from the frontstretch through the backstretch, Cindric led the next lap over Logano, Briscoe, Wallace, Berry and Jones while Reddick tried, but was overtaken by Byron amid a bold block through the frontstretch for seventh place. With a series of on-track battles ensuing within the field through every turn and straightaway, Cindric led Logano by eight-tenths of a second at the Lap 25 mark.
Through the first 35 laps, Cindric extended his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Logano while third-place Briscoe trailed by more than four seconds. Behind, Wallace occupied fourth place ahead of Berry while Jones, Byron, Reddick, Buescher and Kyle Busch trailed in the top 10.
During the next five laps, Wallace lost fourth place to Berry and Jones would pressure him for fifth place. Meanwhile, Cindric stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Logano before the latter pitted his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry for the first time a lap later. Cindric then surrendered the lead to pit another lap later, which allowed Briscoe to cycle back into the lead, before Berry pitted during the next lap.
Then, with five laps remaining in the first stage period, Erik Jones pitted his No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE entry for four fresh tires and fuel from fourth place under green. By the time Jones exited pit road and blended back on the racing surface in 35th place, he managed to remain ahead of the leader, Briscoe, and on the lead lap category. Meanwhile, Briscoe led by more than a second over both Wallace and Byron while Reddick and Buescher followed suit in the top five, respectively.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 50, Briscoe captured his second Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Wallace followed suit in second place along with Byron, Reddick and Buescher while Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, Larson, Austin Dillon and Allmendinger were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, In-Season Challenge competitors Ty Gibbs and Ty Dillon were scored in 14th and 29th, respectively, while Cindric, Berry, Logano and Jones were mired in 31st, 33rd, 34th and 35th, respectively.
Under the first stage break period, a majority of the field led by Briscoe returned to pit road for service. The rest, that included Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley, Cindric, Bery, Logano and Jones, remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid mixed pit strategies, Hocecar, who opted for a two-tire pit service, exited pit road ahead of Briscoe, the latter of whom was the first to opt for a four-tire pit service. Byron, Reddick, Wallace, Kyle Busch, Larson, Suarez and Buescher exited pit road in the top 10, respectively.
The second stage period started on Lap 55 as Preece and Bowman occupied the front row. At the start, a big check-up within the middle of the pack ensued that resulted in Ricky Stenhouse Jr. making hard contact against the frontstretch’s outside wall while some, including the Dillon brothers, were left with damage to their respective entries. Amid the chaos, the field fanned out and a bevy of on-track shuffling of positions ensued, from the first two turns to the backstretch, while Preece maintained the lead over Bowman. Preece proceeded to lead the next lap over Bowman, Haley, Hocevar and Cindric while Byron, Wallace, Logano, Buescher and Berry were in the top 10.
By Lap 60, Preece was leading by four-tenths of a second over Bowman while Haley, Cindric, Byron, Hocevar, Wallace, Logano, Buescher and Berry were up in the top 10 ahead of Larson, Gibbs, Briscoe, Hamlin, Jones, Reddick, Todd Gilliland, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Zane Smith, respectively.
Three laps later, Preece surrendered the lead to pit his No. 60 Castrol Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry under green, which allowed Bowman to cycle into the lead. Bowman and Haley then both pitted under green two laps later while Cindric assumed the lead. Amid the pit stops, Haley and Preece, the latter of whom endured a slow pit service, lost a lap to Cindric while Bowman managed to remain on the lead lap. Meanwhile, Cindric continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second by Lap 70 while Byron, Hocevar, Wallace and Logano trailed in the top five.
At the halfway mark on Lap 80, Cindric continued to lead by more than six seconds over teammate Logano, Wallace and Buescher while Berry trailed by seven seconds in fifth place. By then, teammates Larson and Byron pitted their Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entries over the previous two laps while Cole Custer, who had a flat right-rear tire, managed to limp his No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry back to pit road without drawing a caution. In addition, Hocevar pitted his Spire Motorsports entry at the halfway mark before Berry, Elliott and Busch pitted their respective entries during the next lap.
Then on Lap 83, the leader Cindric fell off the pace after he blew a right-rear tire exiting the frontstretch. As Cindric continued to limp his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry for a full lap before he pitted, his teammate Logano, Buescher and Ty Gibbs pitted their respective entries under green while Wallace cycled into the lead. As Cindric managed to pit his entry, Hamlin also pitted while Wallace proceeded to lead by the Lap 87 mark. Wallace then pitted on Lap 87 along with Jones, which enabled Briscoe to cycle into the lead.
Then on Lap 89, the caution flew when Jones, who had pitted, had the right-front center wheel pop out and he went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 3, which left him with severe right-side damage and a broken right-front hub to his No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE entry. During the caution period, some led by Briscoe and including Redick, Zane Smith, Shane van Gisbergen, Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Katherine Legge, Preece and Haley pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track.
With the race restarting with four laps remaining in the second stage period, Blaney muscled ahead with the lead through the first turn while Byron, Larson and Keselowski went three-wide in a battle for the runner-up spot. Larson proceeded to claim the runner-up spot and Hamlin would navigate his way into third place while Byron and Keselowski dropped to fourth and fifth in front of a stacked field. As the field continued to jostle for spots, Blaney led the following lap.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 100, Blaney captured his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Larson followed suit in second ahead of Hamlin, Byron and Keselowski while Bowman, Hocevar, Logano, Buescher and Wallace were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 23 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.
During the latest stage break period, Blaney pitted for fuel prior to pit road being accessible for the field. Once pit road became accessible for the field, some like Bowman, Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland and Legge pitted their respective entries while the rest, led by Larson, remained on the track.
With 55 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Larson and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out to three lanes as Larson managed to muscle ahead of Hamlin through the first two turns to retain the lead. Larson proceeded to lead Hamlin and teammate Byron through the backstretch and Turns 3 and 4 before he cycled back to the frontstretch and led the following lap. As Larson led, a bevy of on-track battles with the field fanning out continued to ensue as Hamlin, Byron, Hocevar, Logano, Wallace, Briscoe, Buescher, Reddick and Preece followed suit in the top 10.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Larson was leading by half a second over Hamlin while Byron, Hocevar and Wallace continued to trail in the top five ahead of Wallace, Reddick, Buescher, Preece and Bell, respectively. Behind, John Hunter Nemechek was scored in 11th place ahead of Briscoe, Berry, Haley and Zane Smith, while Chase Elliott, van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Bowman and Keselowski were mired in the top 20 ahead of Gilliland, Cindric, Blaney, Legge and Cole Custer.
Seven laps later, a late cycle of green flag pit stops and pit strategies ensued. Berry pitted his No. 21 PPG Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry from the top-13 mark. His Penske-aligned teammate, Logano, pitted a lap later before Byron and Briscoe strategically pitted under green with 42 laps remaining. Shortly after, Wallace and Buescher also pitted while Larson continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin with 40 laps remaining.
As the laps dwindled, teammates Bell and Ty Gibbs pitted their respective Toyotas with 40 laps remaining before the leaders Larson, Hamlin, Hocevar, Reddick, Preece and Bowman all pitted their respective entries under green. As the pit stops amongst the field continued, Haley, who has yet to pit, was leading with 38 laps remaining ahead of van Gisbergen, Keselowski, Gilliland and Blaney while Logano, who pitted five laps earlier, was racing ahead of Wallace, Reddick, Larson, Berry, Byron, Hamlin, Briscoe and Bell on the track.
With 30 laps remaining, Haley continued to lead by more than a second over Keselowski while Gilliland, Blaney and Legge, all of whom have yet to pit, raced in the top five. Meanwhile, Logano occupied sixth place in front of a hard-charging Wallace while Reddick, Larson, Berry, Byron, Hamlin, Briscoe, Bell and Buescher trailed in the top 15, respectively.
Then four races later, Logano blew a right-rear tire going through the backstretch and he limped his entry back to pit road without drawing a caution. This allowed Wallace to move into a prime position for the lead in sixth place while Haley, Keselowski, Gilliland, Blaney and Legge continued to race in the top five. As Logano pitted to have the flat tire changed, his event went from bad to worse when he struggled to launch due to a loss of power. Eventually, Logano proceeded under power while the leaders Haley and Keselowski pitted under green with 23 laps remaining. This allowed Blaney to cycle into the lead and Legge was in second place while Wallace trailed by more than 22 seconds.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Blaney retained the lead by more than 18 seconds over Legge while Wallace reeled in on Legge for the runner-up spot. A lap later, Wallace overtook Legge for the runner-up spot while Reddick and Larson trailed Wallace by four seconds. Then, with 18 laps remaining, Blaney pitted his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry from the lead. This allowed Wallace to cycle to the lead while teammate Reddick, Larson, Berry and Byron moved up the leaderboard in the top five.
With 15 laps remaining, Larson, who overtook Reddick for the runner-up spot two laps earlier, trailed the leader, Wallace, by more than five seconds. As Reddick, Byron and Hamlin occupied the remaining top-five spots ahead of Berry, Briscoe, Bell, Buescher and Hocevar, Wallace, who was racing on fumes with his fuel tank, continued to lead by more than four seconds over a hard-charging Larson with 10 laps remaining.
Then, with six laps remaining, the caution flew due to on-track precipitation. At the time of caution, Wallace was leading by more than three seconds over Larson while Byron, Hamlin and Berry were racing in the top five. Not long after, the field led by Wallace was navigated to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period. Once the red flag lifted and the field led by Wallace returned to the track under a cautious pace, some, including Reddick, Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, Allmendinger, Herbst and Ty Dillon pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Wallace remained on the track. By then, the event was set to restart in overtime.
At the start of the first overtime attempt, Larson, who restarted alongside Wallace on the front row and the outside lane, dueled with Wallace exiting the frontstretch, but Wallace used the inside lane to side-draft Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry through the first two turns. This allowed Wallace to retain the lead as the field fanned out through the backstretch. Then as Wallace continued to lead Larson, the caution returned and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt when Bell turned and sent Zane Smith sideways exiting the backstretch. Smith would then get hit by Reddick before his wrecked No. 38 Aaron’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry received more on-track hits from Logano and Jesse Love.
During the second overtime attempt, Wallace managed to muscle ahead of Larson for a second time from the inside lane and he retained the lead for a full lap as the rest of the field behind fanned out and jostled for late spots. When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Wallace remained in the lead over Larson.
Amid concerns of not having enough fuel to make it through double overtime attempts, Wallace was able to keep his No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE entry under power for a full lap and in front of a hard-charging Larson through every turn and straightaway. When Wallace returned to the frontstretch, he was able to beat Larson by two-tenths of a second to achieve his first checkered flag in nearly three years.
With the victory, Wallace notched his third career win in the NASCAR Cup Series division and his first since he won at Kansas Speedway in September 2022, which snapped a 100-race winless drought. In addition, Wallace became the 17th competitor overall and the first African-American competitor to achieve a NASCAR victory at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in Indianapolis.
The victory was also the first for rookie Cup crew chief Charles Denike, the ninth of the 2025 season for the Toyota nameplate and the first elusive for 23XI Racing. The victory comes as 23XI Racing is currently competing as a non-chartered team amid their off-track, antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR due to a dispute over NASCAR’s Charter Agreement.
Above all, Wallace, who came into Indianapolis 16 points above the Playoff cutline, officially became the 13th competitor to be guaranteed a spot to the 2025 Playoffs based on winning a race through 22 scheduled events.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I’m wore out,” Wallace said on the frontstretch on TNT. “I thought about every which way to Sunday besides driving a race car under that red flag. Oh my gosh. [I’m] Just so proud of this team. That adrenaline rush is crazy because I’m coming off that right now, and I’m wore out. I just want to thank everybody behind me right here, all these [No. 23] guys, all these men and women at AirSpeed for making this possible. Welcome to Victory Lane, [son] Becks. That’s pretty cool. Officially.”
“To overcome so much and to put these people here in Victory Lane, that’s what it’s all about,” Wallace added. “It’s about these people that continue to pushing me, believe in me and man, just so proud. I appreciate all you guys. To win here at the Brickyard, knowing how big this race is. Knowing all the noise that’s going on in the background. To set that all aside is a testament to these people here on this No. 23 team. It’s been getting old runing on the [Playoff] cutline.”
Finally, Wallace took a moment to evoke a shoutout to his skeptics by stating, “I’m already winning at life. I got the best wife, best life, the best kid. People are always gonna say something. I am excited to see how fast the goalpost has moved, so I get to go and chase that now.”
As Wallace celebrated his first Brickyard 400 victory both in Victory Lane and the frontstretch by kissing the bricks, Ty Gibbs also emerged victorious as he claimed the inaugural In-Season Challenge championship by finishing in 21st place. Gibbs’ lone In-Season Challenge rival, Ty Dillon, ended up in 28th place on the track. Gibbs’ bonus for the title: $1 million.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“It’s great!” Gibbs said. “[I] Want to first say, all glory to God. One million dollars is a lot of money, so I’m going to donate $10,000 to whichever charity Ty Dillon wants to give to. It’s his choice, but we had a fast SAIA Toyota Camry. It’s awesome to win it!”
Kyle Larson, who led 19 laps and was striving to become the fourth competitor to win back-to-back Brickyard 400s, settled in second place while Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace’s co-owner at 23XI Racing, settled in third place after the latter rallied from starting at the rear of the field in a back-up car.
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski navigated their way to finish fourth and fifth, respectively. Todd Gilliland, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and Carson Hocevar completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, Chase Elliott settled in 13th place while William Byron, who ran out of fuel on the final lap, fell back to 16th place. In addition, pole-sitter Chase Briscoe, who pitted prior to the second overtime restart, ended up in 18th place behind Katherine Legge.
There were 15 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps. In addition, 22 of 39 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 22nd event of the 2025 Cup Series season, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by four points over teammate William Byron, 15 over teammate Kyle Larson, 20 over Denny Hamlin, 62 over Christopher Bell and 71 over Tyler Reddick.
Results:
1. Bubba Wallace, 23 laps led 2. Kyle Larson, 19 laps led 3. Denny Hamlin, one lap led 4. Ryan Preece, 12 laps led 5. Brad Keselowski 6. Todd Gilliland 7. Ryan Blaney, 14 laps led, Stage 2 winner 8. Christopher Bell 9. Alex Bowman, two laps led 10. Carson Hocevar 11. Justin Haley, 15 laps led 12. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap led 13. Chase Elliott 14. Chris Buescher 15. Austin Cindric, 40 laps led 16. William Byron 17. Katherine Legge 18. Chase Briscoe, 34 laps led, Stage 1 winner 19. Shane van Gisbergen 20. Cole Custer 21. Ty Gibbs 22. Josh Berry 23. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down 24. Jesse Love, one lap down 25. Kyle Busch, two laps down 26. Riley Herbst, two laps down 27. Daniel Suarez, three laps down 28. Ty Dillon, three laps down 29. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident 30. Michael McDowell, six laps down 31. Zane Smith – OUT, Accident 32. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident 33. Noha Gragson, 15 laps down 34. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Electrical 35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 67 laps down 36. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident 37. Cody Ware – OUT, Fatigue 38. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident 39. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, for the second annual Iowa Corn 350. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, August 3, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Monterey, CA - 2025 GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY - Monterey, CA(Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)
MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, July 27, 2025) – Brazil’s Caio Collet completed a doubleheader sweep of the INDY NXT by Firestone weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, thrusting himself into championship contention with three races to go.
The HMD Motorsports driver led all 35 laps in each of the Grand Prix of Monterey races, slicing his deficit to series leader Dennis Hauger by more than half as Hauger stumbled in Race 2. With nine laps remaining, Hauger had contact with Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes, sending both cars to gravel pit. Hauger finished 16th in the 19-car field.
Hauger entered the weekend with a 94-point lead on Collet, who was in third place behind Hughes. But that advantage has been sliced to 42 heading to the Aug. 10 race at Portland International Raceway. Hauger finished second in Race 1. Hughes finished sixth and 15th in the two races and trails Hauger by 89 points.
Collet scored his third win of the season and his fourth overall. He also became the 12th consecutive series pole winner to win the race.
“It’s incredible and also we had some luck today as well for the championship,” Collet said. “Hopefully I’m in the fight right now, and we’ll keep it going.”
Collet admitted gratification when he came around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course and saw Hauger and his car stuck in the gravel.
“It’s hard not to think about the championship when you see your main rival going off (the track),” he said. “Obviously, there was still racing left. There’s always bad luck (in racing). I had it happen at Barber (Motorsports Park on May 4); now it’s happened to him.
“It’s a championship and hopefully we can fight until the end.”
Josh Pierson of HMD Motorsports finished second for his second straight podium result. He had not had a top-three finish in his first 32 series races; now he has them in consecutive races. Abel Motorsports driver Callum Hedge finished third, making it his first podium of the season and second of his career.
For the second consecutive day, Lap 1 presented trouble, and it seemed to start when Hauger dropped right-side wheels into the gravel, which kicked up dust. Deep in the pack, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Bryce Aron ran over the back of HMD Motorsports’ Liam Sceats. Tommy Smith’s HMD Motorsports car was collected. Smith later had contact of his own, bouncing off the tire barrier in Turn 6.
On a mid-race restart, Abel Motorsports’ Jordan Missig spun in Turn 11, creating a chain reaction as the trailing Smith got hard on the brakes. Behind them came three HMD Motorsports drivers — Nolan Allaer, rookie Juan Manuel Correa and rookie Hallie Deegan – with the latter two receiving the most damage.
The ensuing restart had Abel Motorsports’ Myles Rowe spinning during a passing attempt on Hedge. In front of them was the skirmish between Hauger and Hughes. On the restart with five laps to go, Rowe had contact with Andretti Global’s Salvador de Alba in Turn 5, earning Rowe a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact.
The championship pursuit is down to three races. Next up is the Grand Prix of Portland (1 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft Quick Lane Nitro Mustang Dark Horse Funny Car team turned in a solid performance this weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, advancing to the second round of eliminations and posting the top speed of the event in qualifying.
Qualifying began Friday at Sonoma Raceway with a solid baseline pass of 3.959 seconds at 321.35 mph in Q1. Despite the car making a hard move to the right, Tasca managed to keep it in the groove and secure a provisional 10th-place spot. In Q2, the Mustang began to haze the tires around half-track, forcing Tasca to lift and clock a 4.390 at 201.52 mph, dropping him to 11th.
Saturday brought a sharp turnaround. The team took a strategic approach in Q3, installing a lower-output blower and pulling back power, which resulted in a clean 3.918-second run at 336.49 mph, the fastest speed recorded by any Funny Car over the weekend. In Q4, Tasca backed it up with another clean pass at 3.926 seconds and 333.82 mph, locking in the No. 9 qualifying position heading into Sunday.
In round one of eliminations, Tasca squared off against No. 8 qualifier Dan Wilkerson. Despite overpowering the track mid-run and needing to pedal the car, Tasca crossed the stripe first with a 4.085 at 280.14 mph, while Wilkerson suffered a catastrophic engine failure. “We got lucky on that one,” Tasca said. “Hard to see Dan blow up again, glad he’s okay.”
The second round featured a heavyweight matchup with No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan. Tasca laid down another strong pass, 3.936 at 333.49 mph, but lost in a razor-close holeshot finish to Hagan’s 3.937 at 331.36 mph and quicker 0.080 reaction time.
“All the hard work and perseverance paid off this weekend,” said Tasca. “It’s disappointing to go out on a holeshot, but overall, I’m proud of our performance and the consistency we showed. We’re making progress and ready for the next one.”
Tasca Racing now turns its focus to Brainerd, MN, the next stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour, looking to build on the momentum and continue the fight for a championship.
BEARD MOTORSPORTS Brickyard 400 Date: July 27, 2025 Event: Brickyard 400 Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangular oval) Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps) Note: Race extended eight laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Beard Motorsports Finish:
● Jesse Love Jr. (Started 35th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 167 of 168)
Notes:
● Love made his fourth career Cup Series start and second with Beard Motorsports from 35th on the grid. He held that relative position over the opening green-flag run of the race, which ended on lap 19 when the spinning car of Ross Chastain brought out the first caution flag of the day. Love reported being a little tight in traffic during the opening run but overall felt pretty happy with the handling of the No. 62 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet. He pitted for four tires and fuel before restarting 32nd on lap 23.
● After dropping a pair of positions on the ensuing restart, Love climbed to 27th by the end of Stage 1 on lap 50, reporting that as more and more rubber was laid down on the racing surface, he felt the track was “coming to us.” Love pitted for four tires and fuel during the stage break, again reporting he was happy with the car’s balance.
● Stage 2 went green with Love in the 32nd spot, from where he advanced steadily to 19th by the time he pitted under green for four tires and fuel on lap 80, 20 laps ahead of the second stage break. He rejoined the race in 31st, one lap down, with the top 16 cars yet to make their green-flag stops. Love reported still being a tad tight in traffic but also still feeling good with the overall handling of the No. 62 Chevrolet.
● The caution flag flew on lap 90, 10 laps ahead of the stage break, with Love running 25th. He found himself in 24th, the first car a lap down, as cars throughout the field employed varying pit strategies during the caution. The No. 62 team opted to stay out on track as it was in position to earn the “lucky dog” free pass back onto the lead lap if Love could hold his spot over the final laps of the stage. The race returned to green on lap 96, with four laps to go in the stage, and from there Love couldn’t hold off a handful of cars that did pit and restarted on fresh tires. He finished Stage 2 in 27th, one lap down.
● Love started the final stage 27th, the third car one lap down, and drove up to 25th when he came down pit road for a two-tire, green-flag stop on lap 140. Rain that wetted a portion of the track brought out the red flag with four laps to go in regulation. When the race went back to green for the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish on lap 161, Love restarted 25th and emerged from multicar mayhem on that lap with slight front-end damage and was able to continue. He restarted 23rd for the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish on lap 166 and took the checkered flag in 24th, his best finish in four career Cup Series starts, all this season.
Race Notes:
● Bubba Wallace won the Brickyard 400 to score his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Indianapolis. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Larson was .222 of a second.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 30 laps.
● Only 22 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Chase Elliott remains the championship leader after Indianapolis with a four-point advantage over second-place William Byron.
Jesse Love Jr., driver of the No. 62 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet:
“It absolutely smoked us getting trapped a lap down pretty early. We short-pitted trying to gain some track position under caution. But unfortunately a caution came out right before the stage break and that knocked us a lap down. Yeah, super unfortunate that happened but I felt like we could have somehow battled back into the top-20. We had a good bit of speed and I felt like we had the right strategy after that. Just a bummer that happened early on, but still a really cool day in the Cup car and we felt competitive.”
Next Up:
Beard Motorsports is scheduled to make its next appearance at the Aug. 23 Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Driver and sponsor information are to be announced.
Tony Stewart & Matt Hagan Top Fuel | Funny Car DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by POWEREDGE July 25-27 | Sonoma, California
Event Recap
Tony Stewart, driver of the Mobil 1 Dodge//SRT Fuel Dragster:
Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.759 ET at 328.62 mph) Maintained No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.727 ET at 325.06 mph) Maintained No. 5 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.700 ET at 331.28 mph) Scored two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session Secured No. 5 qualifying position based off of Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Stewart ran a 6.668 ET at 97.81 mph. Got eliminated following Round 1 on Sunday: Round 1: 10.343 ET at 68.96 mph, lost to Josh Hart (3.746 ET at 329.26 mph) Currently second in the Top Fuel championship standings, 48 points behind Top Fuel leader Shawn Langdon
Matt Hagan, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.916 ET at 329.26 mph)
Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session
Earned No. 1 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.861 ET at 332.59 mph)
Scored three bonus points for quickest run of the session
Maintained No. 1 provisional qualifying position based off of Friday’s Q2 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.913 ET at 330.72 mph. Q3 also served as Round 1 of the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Hagan faced Alexis DeJoria. Hagan’s run defeated DeJoria’s 4.316 ET at 211.00 mph.
Secured No. 1 qualifying position based off of Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 3.926 ET at 330.07 mph. Q4 also served as the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Finals, where Hagan faced Ron Capps. Capps’ 3.904 ET at 324.20 mph defeated Hagan.
Advanced to the Semifinals on Sunday:
Round 1: 3.884 ET at 333.91 mph, defeated Jeff Diehl (8.446 ET at 75.02 mph)
Round 2: 3.937 ET at 331.36 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (3.936 ET at 333.49 mph)
Semifinals: 3.937 ET at 327.11 mph, lost to Austin Prock (3.927 ET at 333.91 mph)
Currently second in the Funny Car championship standings, 201 points behind Funny Car leader Austin Prock
Notes of Interest
Hagan earned his first No. 1 qualifier of the 2025 season and it marked the 51st No. 1 qualifier of his career. Hagan made his 16th start at Sonoma Raceway and 2025 was his third No. 1 qualifier at the track. His previous No. 1 starts came in 2009 (4.068 ET at 307.51 mph) and 2013 (3.986 ET at 320.51 mph). Hagan qualified No. 1 for the first time in his pro career at the 2009 DENSO Nationals.
Hagan participated in his seventh Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season. His previous appearances in the specialty race came at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Chandler, Arizona, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina, the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois, the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire, and the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Washington.
By advancing to the Semifinals, Hagan secured his position in the NHRA’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Hagan will face a rematch against Austin Prock at Brainerd International Raceway.
Hagan represented Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage (JHG) on his Funny Car. JHG was formed in 2021 and brings a passion and flare to the automotive world. They aim to inspire, drive and celebrate progress. JHG spans across Jason Johnson’s car collection featuring more than 200 sought after vehicles from classics, to hot rods and supercars. Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage’s mission is to preserve and showcase the automotive industry. The vehicles are driven to and displayed at events by Johnson and his team with the goal of growing interest and keeping car culture thriving. Johnson’s history in the industry began with Mather Auto Dismantler, Mather Mini Trucks and U-Pull It in Northern California. He later held an instrumental role in the growth and success of Copart, Inc., a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. JHG also serves as a primary sponsor of Elite Motorsports in the NHRA Pro Stock series.
Stewart represented Mobil 1, the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand. He has been with the brand for 14 years and debuted a new red, white and blue scheme for Mobil 1 at this year’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
Tony Stewart, Driver of the Mobil 1 Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster “We definitely didn’t want to lose first round, but to go this far into the season and have a streak of first-round wins like we had is something to be proud of for our organization. I’m really proud of our guys and Neal (Strausbaugh – crew chief) and Mike (Domagala – co-crew chief). It’s always tough when you’re the first pair of the day out on the racetrack. You don’t get a read off of cars in front of you. We just stubbed our toe in the first round. It’s a hiccup, but I feel like our team still had a lot of gains internally. We had a lot of attrition in parts the last two events and this weekend got us back on the right side of that. I feel like we’ve been trying to address issues and get ahead of it and I think we’re in a better spot. Even though the results didn’t show this weekend, there’s still a lot of confidence for the crew chiefs moving forward. I feel like we’ve addressed some big issues that have been plaguing us the last couple events. We’ll go to one of my favorite tracks in Brainerd and then head to the U.S. Nationals. I’m excited about the next couple races.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car “We had a great weekend overall. We obviously would have liked to have been able to pull the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Funny Car in the winner’s circle. We were on another backside of a good drag race by a hundredth out there. Those races are tough, but they have to fall our way eventually. I don’t know what we have to do to win a round against those guys (Austin Prock), but it’ll come. We can’t race them every weekend, so it’ll fall in our favor one way or another. I’ll probably get to shave the mustache now, so I’m kind of excited about that. We’ll flip a coin and see whether I’ll keep it or not. I loved all the media getting behind it and JHG got behind it. It was a lot of fun being in wine country and making some good memories. We’ll look ahead to Brainerd and plan on doing some testing there on Monday also. We’re getting closer to Indianapolis and the Countdown, so hopefully we can be chasing a championship.”
Next Up
The next event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule is the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals August 14-17 at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota.
MONTEREY, Calif. - JULY 27: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NTT IndyCar Series Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on July 27, 2025, in Monterey, California. Photo: Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment
The Alex Palou show continued, Sunday, in Monterey, California.
The driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda led 84 of the 95 laps to win the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
“Amazing,” he said. “It was another magical day for us, the 10 car and CGR. I think this was probably one of our best weekends ever.”
It’s his 18th career victory in 95 career NTT IndyCar Series starts.
“Yeah. I mean, we started very good in practice,” he said, “but we had to make a couple big changes for qualifying, and they worked really well. Got the pole there.
“Then today we had a lot of pace. I was super comfortable with the car. Car balance was amazing. Strategy, pit stops. And we were fast on both soft or hard tires. It was one of those days where it felt like we had a big pace advantage, and we were able to — I’m happy that we were able to capitalize and get that win.
“Yeah, could not be happier.”
Christian Lundgaard brought his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet home to a runner-up finish Colton Herta rounded out the podium in third in his Andretti Global Honda.
“I think with the amount of deg that we had,” Lundgaard said, “the alternates weren’t — they were lasting from a pace perspective, but again, balance was very tough at the end of stints, and I knew that from my own first stint.
“Really it was just a very similar race for me compared to Barber. Used the undercut and attack. Obviously it worked. I knew I had to surprise him. So I did it into 11 instead of waiting for the main straights.
“Always fun racing.”
Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon rounded out the top-five.
Callum Ilott, Will Power, Marcus Armstrong, Christian Rasmussen and Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top-10.
Alex Palou whoops field at Laguna Seca
Race summary
Palou led the field to green at 3:31 p.m. ET. Caution flew on the first lap when Kyffin Simpson got into the back of Felix Rosenqvist and sent both of them into the Turn 6 tire barrier.
Back to green on Lap 6, caution flew on Lap 11 when Jacob Abel suffered a rear brake failure, went off track and hit the tire barrier in Turn 2.
Back to green on Lap 14, green flag stops commenced on Lap 22. Palou pit from the lead on Lap 25. Caution flew on Lap 26 when Kyle Kirkwood turned Rinus VeeKay in Turn 3 and his car got stuck in the gravel. During which time, IndyCar held the yellow flag for a lap and a half. Kirkwood received a stop and go penalty for avoidable contact. Nolan Siegel inherited the lead, as a result.
Back to green on Lap 29, Palou overtook Siegel on the outside in Turn 3 for the race lead on Lap 37. He pit from the lead on Lap 51 and cycled back to the lead on Lap 52.
The final cycle of green flag stops commenced on Lap 68. Palou pit from the lead on Lap 72. Marcus Ericsson ran wide on the Rahal Straight and stalled his car on track near Turn 7 on Lap 77. It sat there for at least a full lap before INDYCAR threw the caution.
Back to green with 14 laps to go, caution flew with 10 to go when Santino Ferrucci spun out and parked his car in the gravel at the top of the corkscrew.
Back to green with eight to go, Palou drove on to victory.
Alex Palou whoops field at Laguna Seca
Nuts and bolts
The race lasted two hours and five minutes, at an average speed of 102.051 mph. There were two lead changes among two different drivers and five cautions for 13 laps.
Palou leaves Laguna Seca with a 121-point lead over O’Ward.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to action on August 10 at Portland International Raceway.
INDYCAR results from Laguna Seca. Palou up by 121 points on O’Ward. He clinches after Portland (next race in two weeks) if he is up by 108 points. @IndyCarOnFOXpic.twitter.com/TXmWTJP8MI
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, July 27, 2025) – Bubba Wallace overcame two rivals – Kyle Larson and a dwindling gas tank – in double overtime to earn a dramatic and historic victory Sunday in the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Wallace edged 2024 Brickyard 400 winner Larson by .222 of a second in the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota fielded by 23XI Racing, co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, to snap a 100-race NASCAR Cup Series winless streak dating to fall 2022. Wallace, who earned a spot in the NASCAR playoffs with the victory, became the first African American driver to win the NASCAR crown jewel event at IMS.
“That adrenaline rush is crazy,” Wallace said. “I’m worn out. Unbelievable. To win here at the Brickyard, knowing how big this race is, knowing all the noise that’s going on in the background, to set that all aside is a testament to these people here on this 23 team. It’s been getting old, running on the (playoffs) cut line.
“How many days since my last win? Zero.”
Hamlin completed a climb from the 39th and last starting spot to finish third in the No. 11 Progressive Toyota. Ryan Preece placed fourth in the No. 60 Castrol The Engine Ford, and 2018 Brickyard 400 winner Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five in the No. 6 Body Guard Ford.
Ty Gibbs finished 21st in the No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota to earn a $1 million bonus for Joe Gibbs Racing as the winner of the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge, a single-elimination tournament that started four races ago with 32 drivers. Ty Dillon, Gibbs’ rival for the prize, finished 28th in the No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet.
Wallace took the lead for good in the race, scheduled for 160 laps, when leader Ryan Blaney pitted in the No. 12 Menards/Delta Ford on Lap 143. At that point, Wallace was 4.911 seconds ahead of teammate Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 Xfinity Mobile Toyota and appeared to be on cruise control to victory.
Larson jumped to second in the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Hendrick 1100 Chevrolet by Lap 146 but was 5.047 seconds behind Wallace. Then Larson began to chip away at Wallace’s lead, trimming the gap to 3.180 seconds by Lap 154.
It appeared Larson would run out of laps to catch Wallace, but Wallace had another problem – he might run out of gas. Wallace made his final pit stop on Lap 117, and the expected distance for a full tank of fuel was approximately 40 laps. Larson made his final stop on Lap 121 and appeared to have enough fuel to run at full tilt to the finish.
Another wrinkle was added to the drama of the closing laps when light rain started to fall in Turn 1 of the giant, 2.5-mile oval, triggering the fifth caution period of the race on Lap 156. The rain then intensified, and the red flag was shown and all cars came to pit road on Lap 157, with no service allowed under red-flag conditions.
The race was headed to overtime, increasing the anxiety for Wallace and crew chief Charles Denike. The first restart came on Lap 162, with Wallace starting on the inside and Larson on the outside. Wallace pulled ahead in Turn 2, but the caution flag flew for the sixth and final time when Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota hit Zane Smith’s No. 38 Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford from behind, sending it into the outside wall on the back straightaway.
Wallace and Larson took the same track positions on the second restart on Lap 167, and Wallace pulled away in Turn 1. This time, there was no caution during the first lap of the green-white-checkered finish to halt the race for a third restart. Larson looked high and low for a spot to pass Wallace on the 168th and final lap, but Wallace provided no opportunity.
Not only did Wallace have enough fuel to take the checkered flag, he also performed multiple, smoky burnouts in his car on the front straightaway after his cooldown lap.
Austin Cindric led the most laps (40) in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, all in the first 83 laps of the race. But his chances to claim a Brickyard victory for Team Penske ended while leading on Lap 84 when his right rear tire went flat while approximately six seconds ahead of teammate Joey Logano in the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford.
Pole sitter Chase Briscoe, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, led 34 laps but finished 18th in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota.
MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, July 27, 2025) – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca remains Alex Palou’s best track, and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ champion designation almost certainly will stay with him as well.
The driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda proved both with a dominating drive in the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey. In leading 84 of the 95 laps, Palou won on the California road course for the second consecutive year – again from the pole – and scored his third win here in the past four years.
Palou’s command of the sport is most evident in the season standings, where collecting the weekend’s maximum number of points, coupled with the fourth-place finish of Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, swelled his lead to a whopping 121 points. Only three races remain.
The winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge still has work to do to clinch his third consecutive series championship and fourth in five years, but the effort required will be minimal. Effectively, O’Ward needs to win out for Palou to be threatened. Everyone else has been eliminated from contention.
“It’s been an awesome weekend, an awesome year (and) today was something else,” Palou said. “It’s super fun to be here – one of my favorite tracks for sure. I couldn’t be happier right now.”
This win gave Palou his eighth win in 14 races this season. Only three drivers in the sport’s history – A.J. Foyt in 1964, Al Unser in 1970 and Mario Andretti in 1969 – have won more races in a single year. Foyt and Unser hold the season record with 10 wins. Andretti had nine. Palou is one of six drivers with eight; he is the first to do so since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007.
The win also was the 19th of Palou’s still-young career – the 28-year-old Spaniard has made just 95 starts. Only 23 drivers in open-wheel racing history have been to victory lane more often, and the next race is at Portland International Raceway, a track where Palou won in 2021 and 2023.
Palou relinquished the lead on this 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course only to pit. Interestingly, the first time the driver taking the top spot was Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel, who led the first 11 series laps of his career. On Palou’s second stop, Team Penske’s Will Power was briefly ahead of him, but Power pitted before he could officially lead a lap.
Palou’s margin of victory was 3.7965 seconds, but he frequently led by more than that. He lowered his average finish in five starts at this track to 1.6, the lowest of any driver in any event on the current calendar.
“It was not easy,” he said. “We had to push; we had to try to be ready for those (late caution periods). We knew that we were not on the (freshest) of tires … but luckily we had enough pace to open a small gap and get the win.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard finished second with Colton Herta of Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian third. The two had a memorable mid-race moment when Lundgaard muscled his way to the inside of Herta in the track’s final corner.
There were two incidents on the opening lap. First, a tussle between Conor Daly and rookie Robert Shwartzman shoved the latter into the Turn 3 gravel pit. Three corners later, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson ran into the back of Felix Rosenqvist, knocking the Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian driver through the gravel and against the tire barrier. Simpson ricocheted off the wall, sending his car into another part of the tires.
On Lap 11, Dale Coyne Racing rookie Jacob Abel appeared to have a mechanical failure as his car completely missed Turn 1 and sailed into the gravel. Later, Kirkwood ran into the back of Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, drawing the penalty that effectively ended Kirkwood’s championship hopes.
The two late caution periods were the result of the Turn 6 off by Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson and AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci spinning at the top of the Corkscrew.
After five races over four July weekends, the series will take a short break before resuming Palou’s march to the Astor Challenge Cup. The BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland will be Sunday, Aug. 10 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
Accident Derails Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Team’s Run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Finish: 38th Start: 20th Points: 30th
“Man, I hate it for Get Bioethanol and everyone on this No. 3 team. Our Chevrolet was good and I was happy with the balance. We earned points in the first stage and I felt like we had a car capable of finishing inside the top-10. It was a chain reaction with the field checking up on the restart and there was nothing we could do. Smashed our entire nose in and our day was done.” -Austin Dillon
Strong Run for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Chevrolet Team Stalled by Damage in On-Track Incident
Finish: 25th Start: 12th Points: 15th
“We did the best we could with a tough situation today. We could fire off strong for the first five laps in our zone Chevrolet, then started to lose grip. Thought we would be okay and ran in the top six for the beginning of the race. The field got bunched together on a restart and we ended up with damage that ruined our chances of a decent day. Had we executed the way we needed to execute, we would have been there, but we will keep working together to get to where we need to be.” -Kyle Busch
