1. Kyle Larson: Larson, sidetracked early in the race by a loose wheel, mounted a late charge at Indianapolis to win the Brickyard 400, his fourth win of the year.
“I heard the Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen stayed up until 3 a.m. sim racing on race day before the Hungarian Grand Prix,” Larson said. “I think I can safely say that’s the second dumbest thing a driver has done while sim racing.”
2. Ryan Blaney: Blaney ran a query Brickyard 400 on his way to a third-place finish.
“I got turned sideways by contact on a Lap 110 restart,” Blaney said. “But I was able to save it and continue. That put me in a truly unique situation because I was able to look sideways at the driver that nearly wrecked me without having to move my eyes.”
3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 1 at Indianapolis and finished 32nd after being caught up in an accident on the first overtime restart.
“Fuel mileage always plays a huge part at Indianapolis,” Hamlin said. “So, you don’t necessarily have to save the best for last, but you do have to save something for last.”
4. Tyler Reddick: Reddick started on the pole at Indianapolis and finished second in the Brickyard 400.
“Every driver dreams of kissing the bricks at Indianapolis,” Reddick said. “Heck, for all I know, some drivers may dream of kissing bricks in general. I commend them for their fine taste in masonry.”
5. Christopher Bell: Bell finished fourth in the Brickyard 400, posting his seventh top-five of the season.
“I don’t think the Kyle Busch-Corey LaJoie feud carried over to Indianapolis,” Bell said. “One thing’s for sure–those two aren’t fighting for wins. If anything, they’re fighting for relevance.”
6. Chase Elliott: Elliott overcame an early penalty to salvage a 10th-place finish.
“I certainly didn’t agree with NASCAR’s reasoning for the penalty,” Elliott said. “You could tell by the number of ‘F’ words I used when reacting to it over the team radio. I thought it was a pretty good English lesson for all the kids watching because I used the ‘F’ word as a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb, and as the name I use to refer to NASCAR officials.”
7. Alex Bowman: Bowman’s race ended on Lap 162 during an overtime start when he was collected in a big pileup behind the leaders. He finished 31st, six laps down.
“Jimmie Johnson was racing at Indy in the No. 84 car,” Bowman said. “I feel honored to drive the No. 48 Hendrick car that Jimmie made famous. He’s not making that No. 84 car famous, but he is making it winless.”
8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski was leading and in fuel-saving mode when Kyle Busch spun to bring out a caution, a caution that possibly cost Keselowski the win. On the subsequent restart, Keselowski ran out of gas and settled for 21st.
“It’s certainly not the first time Kyle Busch has ruined my day,” Keselowski said. “How many days of mine has Kyle ruined? It would be the number of days I’ve known Kyle Busch.”
9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex made contact with Kyle Larson on Lap 106, and Truex slid up the track and hard into the wall. Truex was running fifth at the time of the accident and dropped all the way down to 32nd after a lengthy pit stop. He eventually finished 27th.
“I don’t know who to blame,” Truex said. “But Ross Chastain was nearby, so I guess I’ll blame him. And who on earth would dispute a claim that Chastain caused an accident?”
10. William Byron: Byron was collected in a Lap 75 incident when Ryan Preece made contact with Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet, sending Byron hard into the inside wall. Byron was done for the day and finished 38th.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Byron said. “All I know is that I was an innocent participant. And it’s a good thing ‘Liberty University’ wasn’t on my car, because that would have opened the door to a lot of ‘Jerry Falwell, Jr. claimed he was an innocent participant’ jokes.”
Two months after having a Memorial Day Double Duty attempt spoiled due to Mother Nature despite campaigning in his first Indianapolis 500 attempt, Kyle Larson earned his redemption at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by winning his first Brickyard 400 title on Sunday, July 21, amid two overtime attempts.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led twice for eight of 167 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started in fifth place and endured a race-long afternoon featuring various pit strategies from start to finish as he was shuffled from the front to the middle of the pack and vice versa.
Running in third place as he tracked Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney for the win in the closing laps while also trying to conserve his fuel tank to the finish, an opportunity presented itself for Larson, who rallied from an early slow pit service, to strike after a late on-track incident involving Kyle Busch sent the event into overtime. Then after Keselowski ran out of fuel before the first overtime attempt, Larson, who moved up and started alongside Blaney on the front row, managed to snatch the lead from Blaney before a multi-car wreck sent the event into a second overtime attempt. Then during the latest overtime attempt, Larson fended Blaney and held off a late charge from pole-sitter Tyler Reddick for one lap just before Ryan Preece wrecked on the backstretch, generating a race-ending caution on the final lap. From there, Larson had enough fuel in his low tank to claim the checkered flag and add the Brickyard 400 to his extensive racing list of accomplished victories in the event’s historic return.
With on-track qualifying on Saturday, July 20, to determine the starting lineup, Tyler Reddick notched his second Cup pole position of the 2024 season after he posted a pole-winning lap at 181.932 mph in 49.469 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 181.492 mph in 49.589 seconds.
Before the event, Austin Cindric dropped to the rear of the field due to repairs made to his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse after scraping the outside wall during his qualifying run. Martin Truex Jr. was also sent to the rear of the field before the event’s start due to an inspection violation from an unapproved adjustment that occurred on Saturday. To go along with starting at the rear of the field, Truex was assessed a drive-through penalty through pit road at the event’s start.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin dueled for the lead through the first two turns and ahead of a tight two-by-two formation from within the field before Reddick muscled his No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE ahead entering the backstretch. With the field behind jostling for early spots for two remaining turns, Reddick proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Hamlin while Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell and William Byron followed suit in the top six.
As Martin Truex Jr. served his pass-through penalty through pit road prior to the second lap, Reddick retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Elliott, Larson, McDowell and Byron followed suit in the top six. With nearly the entire field running in a single-line formation through every turn and straightaway, Reddick remained in front by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Reddick stabilized his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Elliott followed by Hamlin, Larson and McDowell while Byron, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek were racing in the top 10. Behind, Austin Dillon trailed in 11th place ahead of Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Harrison Burton while Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie, AJ Allmendinger, Chris Buescher and Noah Gragson were mired in the top 20 ahead of Chase Briscoe, rookie Zane Smith, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland and rookie Carson Hocevar. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson occupied 26th place ahead of rookie Josh Berry, Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon and Erik Jones while Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric and Daniel Hemric were mired in the top 35. In the process, Truex trailed in 39th place, dead last, by 41 seconds.
Ten laps later, Reddick continued to lead by half a second over Elliott as he also led an eight-car breakaway that included Hamlin, Larson, McDowell, Blaney, Byron and Gibbs, with the latter trailing the lead by more than five seconds. Meanwhile, ninth-place Stenhouse led a second wave of competitors comprising of nine competitors, including Nemechek, Austin Dillon, Logano, Bowman, Wallace, Burton, Bell and LaJoie, all of whom were separated by four seconds of one another, with Stenhouse trailing the lead by 14 points, while 18th-place runner Buescher led a third wave of competitors comprising of nearly the rest of the field as Buescher trailed by lead by 21 seconds. In the process, AJ Allmendinger dropped to 38th place and was pinned a lap down due to pitting a few laps earlier under green to address his ill-handling No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. In addition, Truex was mired in 37th place and trailing the lead by more than 40 seconds.
Anther three laps later, pit strategies commenced as Hamlin surrendered third place to pit his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE under green. The following lap, teammates Elliott, Larson, Byron and Bowman pitted their respective Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets. In the process, Hamlin managed to cycle his way past all four Hendrick drivers as they were exiting pit road while Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over Blaney by the Lap 25 mark.
Blaney would then pit his No. 12 Menards Toyota Camry XSE from the runner-up spot as Stenhouse, Burton, Buescher and Truex all pitted their respective entries. Soon after, Elliott was penalized for a blend line violation, where Elliott attempted to cross the blend line and enter the track early in Turn 2, which was a violation and forced Elliott to pilot his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through pit road at pit road speed. Amid Elliott’s penalty, Reddick continued to lead by more than a second over McDowell while Gibbs, Nemechek and Austin Dillon were scored in the top five.
By Lap 35, Reddick stabilized his advantage to over McDowell as Gibbs, Nemechek, Logano, Wallace, Bell, Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe followed suit in the top 10. By then, more names including Zane Smith, Ryan Preece, Berry, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Justin Haley, Jimmie Johnson, Hocevar, Daniel Hemric and Ross Chastain all pitted under green. More names including Gragson, Ty Gibbs and Cindric pitted during the proceeding laps before Reddick surrendered the lead to pit under green on Lap 37. McDowell, who inherited the lead in the process, pitted his No. 34 Horizon Ford Mustang Dark Horse the following lap as more names including Nemechek, Wallace, Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Logano and Suarez all pitted. Amid the pit stops, Austin Cindric was penalized for speeding on pit road.
Nearing the Lap 40 mark, Christopher Bell, who inherited the lead, pitted under green along with LaJoie as Brad Keselowski assumed the lead. Then once Keselowski pitted under green by Lap 41, Hamlin, who managed to overtake Reddick as a result of pitting earlier and gaining the lost ground on the track when Reddick pitted latter, cycled into the lead as Larson, Blaney, Byron and Reddick were scored in the top five.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 50, Hamlin fended off a late charge from Larson to capture his sixth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Larson settled in second place ahead of Blaney, Byron and Reddick while McDowell, Bowman, Gibbs, Stenhouse and Gragson were scored in the top 10. By then, 33 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap while select notables including Ty Dillon and Cindric were scored a lap down. Meanwhile, both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing competitors including Keselowski and Buescher were also off the lead lap category due to late issues. Keselowski was mired in 36th place after he was assessed a late blend line violation penalty. Meanwhile, Buescher was in 38th place after pitting under green with smoke coming from his No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track. Following the pit stops, where mixed strategies ensued, Gibbs and Wallace exited pit road first and second following two tire services. Hamlin followed suit on four fresh tires along with Larson, Burton, Byron, Bowman, Bell, Stenhouse and Blaney. Soon after, Ross Chastain and Erik Jones pitted to top off their respective entries on fuel.
The second stage period started on Lap 55 as Reddick and McDowell occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick briefly muscled ahead of McDowell through the first turn until Nemechek, who restarted behind Reddick, made his move beneath Reddick and assumed the lead entering Turn 2 and the backstretch. With Nemechek leading the race, the rest of the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes and dueled in close-quarters racing for a full lap. A majority of competitors racing in the mid-pack region continued to fan out and duel against one another for positions before all settled in a long single-file line by Lap 57.
Amid the early battles, Nemechek retained the lead and he would proceed to lead at the Lap 60 mark by a second-and-a-half while Reddick, Kyle Busch, LaJoie, McDowell and Wallace occupied the top-six spots on the track. With Logano, Hamlin, Byron and Larson rounding out the top 10, Blaney was mired in 11th ahead of Gibbs, Gilliland, Hocevar and Bell while Elliott was back in 18th place behind Jimmie Johnson. In addition, Truex was up to 22nd place as he was racing behind Bowman and Gragson.
By Lap 65, Nemechek continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than two seconds over Reddick while Kyle Busch, LaJoie and McDowell continued to run in the top five ahead of Wallace, Logano, Hamlin, Byron and Larson.
Two laps later, the caution flew due to a tire carcass that came off of the left rear of Cody Ware’s No. 15 Peoria TT Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the backstretch. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Nemechek pitted while the rest led by Busch and Wallace remained on the track. Not long after, Larson pitted for a second time to ensure the right-rear tire of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was tightened. McDowell and Haley had also pitted with Larson.
With the race restarting on Lap 73, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Busch, who was running tight on fuel, rocketed ahead of Wallace and Gilliland with the lead through the first two turns. Entering the backstretch, however, the caution quickly returned when Preece, who was in 18th place, made contact with both Burton and Byron, where Preece got squeezed in between both, as Byron, who had made earlier contact with Chase Briscoe entering the backstretch, veered right into the outside wall before he came back across the middle of the track and got T-boned by Allmendinger as Byron spun his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and hit the inside wall head-on while Allmendinger also made contact with the wall. The incident was enough to knock Burton, Allmendinger and Byron out of contention while Preece continued.
During the caution period, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Wallace and Gilliland remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 78 featured a side-by-side duel between Wallace and Elliott through the first two turns as both continued to drag-race against one another through the backstretch. Wallace would then manage to muscle his No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE ahead of Elliott through Turn 3 while Hamlin went three-wide on Logano and Gilliland to boost his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE into third place. With LaJoie missing his lane and going wide while losing a handful of spots in the process, Wallace would proceed to lead the halfway mark on Lap 80 as Elliott, Hamlin, Gilliland, Nemechek, Logano, Reddick, Blaney, Stenhouse and Bell were scored in the top 10 while LaJoie fell back to 11th place in front of Briscoe and Truex.
At the Lap 85 mark, Wallace stretched his advantage to more than a second over Elliott while third-place Elliott only trailed Elliott by six-tenths of a second. A lap later, Gilliland surrendered fourth place to pit his No. 38 gener8tor Ford Mustang Dark Horse under green, but he lost a lap in the process due to a slow pit service as Wallace continued to lead by more than a second over Elliott at the Lap 90 mark. With Hamlin occupying third place, Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney were scored in the top five as Nemechek, Reddick, Stenhouse, Truex and Bell were running in the top 10.
With three laps remaining in the second stage period, Logano surrendered a top-five spot to pit his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse under green, where he would then manage to regain speed and remain on the lead lap ahead of the leader Wallace, who continued to lead Elliott on the track.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 100, Wallace captured his first Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Elliott followed suit in second ahead of Hamlin, Blaney and Nemechek while Reddick, Stenhouse, Truex, Bell and Briscoe were scored in the top 10. By then, 32 of 39 starters, including Logano, were scored on the lead lap.
During the stage break, a majority of the field led by Wallace pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track. Not long after, Reddick pitted for a second time to address a loose left front wheel.
With 56 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Hamlin and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin rocketed ahead with the lead while Stenhouse quickly overtook Nemechek to take the runner-up spot. As the field behind jostled for spots through the backstretch, the caution then flew when Truex, who was mixed in a tight three-wide battle with Larson and Chastain for sixth place exiting the backstretch, made contact with Larson, which got Truex loose as he slid his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE sideways and slapped the outside wall in Turn 3. In the process, Josh Berry got hit by Ty Gibbs and he ended up sliding and hitting the outside wall, which damaged the front nose of the No. 4 Panini/Caitlin Clark Ford Mustang Dark Horse and took Berry out of contention while Truex continued.
During the caution period, some including LaJoie, Reddick, Erik Jones, Wallace, Gilliland, Preece and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period with 51 laps remaining did not last a single corner as Hocevar, who was running in the middle of the pack, made contact with Blaney, which generated a domino effect as Blaney then got turned into Austin Dillon and made contact with Jimmie Johnson, who made contact with Logano in the process as both Johnson and Logano wrecked hard against the Turn 1 outside wall while Blaney, Dillon and Hocevar continued. At the moment of caution, Hamlin had retained the lead while Nemechek, Briscoe, Stenhouse and Chastain were scored in the top five.
During the caution period, some led by Hamlin, who was on the edge of a fuel window, pitted while the rest led by Nemechek and Chastain remained on the track. By the time his pit service was complete, where he spent a little extra time in his pit stall to top off on fuel, Hamlin was the sixth competitor to exit pit road and dropped to 19th place in the running order.
As the race restarted under green with 46 laps remaining, Chastain gained a strong launch from the outside lane to boost his No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead over Nemechek through Turn 1. With Chastain leading through Turn 2 and the backstretch, Nemechek followed suit in second ahead of Alex Bowman, who boosted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into third place ahead of teammates Larson and Elliott while Gragson, Hocevar, Reddick, Keselowski and Justin Haley were mixed into the top 10. By the following lap, Hamlin moved up to 15th place as Suarez executed a bold three-wide move over both Briscoe and Stenhouse for 22nd place during the next lap.
With 40 laps remaining and a majority of the field monitoring their fuel tank and strategy for the finish, Chastain was leading by two-tenths of a second over Nemechek followed by Bowman, Larson and Elliott while Gragson, Hocevar, Reddick, Keselowski and Haley occupied the top 10 on the track ahead of Blaney, Daniel Hemric, Gibbs, Zane Smith and Hamlin. Meanwhile, Bell, Gilliland, McDowell, Wallace and Preece were in the top 20 ahead of Kyle Busch, Suarez, Cindric, Briscoe and Stenhouse while Austin Dillon, LaJoie, Ty Dillon, Cody Ware and Erik Jones were mired in the top 30.
Two laps later, Nemechek and Bowman pitted their respective entries from second and third, respectively. Both of their pit stops occurred a lap after McDowell had pitted as the leader Chastain along with Haley pitted during the next lap. As a result, Larson assumed the lead ahead of teammate Elliott and Gragson before he pitted under green with 37 laps remaining, which handed the lead to Elliott.
Then just as Elliott and Reddick pitted their respective entries under green, the caution returned with 36 laps remaining due to Truex spinning from the bottom to the top of the track entering Turn 3, where he hit the wall and flat-spotted his left-rear tire. By then, Gragson was leading ahead of Hocevar, Keselowski, Blaney and Hemric. During the caution period, Gibbs pitted his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE while pit road was closed due to an engine concern, and the hood was lifted as his pit crew diagnosed the issue before Gibbs, who was still dealing with the issue, proceeded. During the caution period, Gragson and Hocevar pitted while the rest led by Keselowski and Blaney remained on the track.
With the event restarting with 31 laps remaining, Keselowski and Hemric led the field to the green flag as both dueled for the lead through the frontstretch before Keselowski drifted up and cleared Hemric to lead in his No. 6 Body Guard Ford Mustang Dark Horse through the first two turns. Through the backstretch, Blaney moved up to second and Hemric battled Zane Smith for third place while the field behind fanned out and jostled for late positions through two and three lanes deep. As a series of battles continued to occur around every turn and straightaway, Keselowski retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Blaney with approximately 30 laps remaining as Smith, Hemric and Hamlin trailed in the top five.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Keselowski continued to lead by half a second over Blaney while Smith, Hemric and Hamlin continued to follow suit in the top five. Behind, Bell, Gilliland, Kyle Busch, Cindric and Wallace occupied the top 10 as Preece, Larson, Suarez, Reddick and Stenhouse trailed in the top 15 ahead of Briscoe, LaJoie, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Chastain.
Five laps later and with the entire field running in a single-file line, Keselowski stabilized his lead to four-tenths of a second over Blaney as Smith, Hemric, Hamlin, Bell, Gilliland, Busch, Cindric and Larson followed suit in the top 10, with Reddick, Wallace, Preece, Suarez and Briscoe scored in the top 15.
Another two laps later, a heated battle between Larson and Busch ignited as both swapped spots before Busch overtook Larson to assume seventh place. With Gilliland being dispatched by both, Busch was trying to close in on Bell for sixth place and Reddick trailed Larson in ninth place while Keselowski continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Blaney, Smith, Hemric and Hamlin. Larson would then overtake Busch again on the track for seventh place with 16 laps remaining before he overtook Bell for sixth place with 15 laps remaining as he proceeded to set his sights on Hamlin.
Then with 13 laps remaining, Larson gained a huge advantage to overtake Hamlin for fifth place through the first two turns. Hamlin would then fend off Busch for sixth place while Larson continued his march to the front as he had Keselowski, Blaney, Smith and Hemric in front of him. Larson overtook Smith for fourth place while Hamlin was being blocked by Smith, as Blaney was trying to gain a run to overtake Keselowski for the lead with 10 laps remaining. By then, the top-four competitors including Keselowski, Blaney, Hemric and Larson were separated by eight-tenths of a second as Larson was trying to gain a run on Hemric for third place while Blaney could not gain a run on Keselowski for the lead.
With nine laps remaining, Larson overtook Hemric for third place just past the backstretch. With Hemric then pitting under green, Larson started to gain a run on Blaney for the runner-up spot while Keselowski continued to lead during the next lap.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Keselowski continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Blaney as Larson followed suit by less than half a second, with the latter two continuing to intimidate one another and the leader Keselowski questioning whether he had enough fuel to finish. Meanwhile, Hamlin was mired in fifth place behind Smith while Reddick was in seventh place behind Kyle Busch.
Then with three laps remaining, the caution flew and the race was sent into overtime when Kyle Busch, who was trying to gain a run on Hamlin for fifth place exiting the backstretch, went up the track and made contact with Hamlin as Busch spun his No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up towards the outside wall and made contact with the wall. During the caution period, some led by Zane Smith and including Hamlin, Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Haley, Cody Ware and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest led by Keselowski and including Blaney and Larson remained on the track.
The start of the first overtime attempt featured Larson and Blaney occupying the front row as Keselowski peeled off the racetrack as he ran out of fuel. At the start, Larson and Blaney dueled for the lead in front of the stacked field into Turn 1 just before the caution returned for a vicious multi-car wreck just past the frontstretch when Hemric bumped and sent Nemechek into the inside wall, where both came back across the track and collected Bowman, Briscoe and Hamlin while the rest of the competitors running in the mid-pack region scattered to avoid the carnage. Amid the carnage, Larson had assumed the lead from Blaney, who was left fuming on the radio and the advantage Larson gained to start on the preferred inside lane after Keselowski ran out of fuel, just as the race was placed into a red flag period for 17 minutes.
Once the track was cleared and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, none of the front-runners led by Larson and Blaney pitted while a select few, including Haley and Briscoe, pitted.
The start of the second overtime attempt featured Larson and Blaney occupying the front row, where Larson dueled and muscled ahead of Blaney to retain the lead through the first two turns as Reddick bolted his way past Blaney for the runner-up spot. As Larson led the field through the backstretch, trouble ignited as Preece got bumped by Chase Elliott and spun towards the inside wall just entering the backstretch. Amid Preece’s incident, the race remained under green flag conditions as Larson proceeded to lead through the next two turns.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Blaney trailed by nine-tenths of a second. Then two corners later, the caution flew and the race ended as Preece was unable to limp his No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang Dark Horse away from his wreckage. With the caution ending the race, Larson was able to coast his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 around the Indianapolis circuit for a final time with enough fuel in his tank before he made his way back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag for his first victory at the Brickyard and fourth of the 2024 Cup Series season.
With the victory, Larson achieved his 27th career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his first since winning at Sonoma Raceway in June and his third crown-jewel victory overall, including the Coca-Cola 60 and the Southern 500, as he became the first four-time race winner of the 2024 season. The victory was the 10th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the ninth of the season for Hendrick Motorsports (HMS, with HMS notching its 11th career win at Indianapolis as Larson became the 16th competitor overall to win the Brickyard 400, while crew chief Cliff Daniels achieved his 20th career victory as a Cup Series crew chief.
“[The Brickyard 400 win]’s for sure up there [on my list of accomplishments],” Larson said on the frontstretch on NBC. “This is just such a prestigious place and such hallowed ground. Pretty neat just to get an opportunity to race here on the oval again. What a job by our [No. 5] team. [They] Never gave up at all. We had the pit stop issue there early on and just fought and dug and had things work out. I love you, Indiana fans. I know you guys love me, too. How about we come back next May and try to kiss these bricks on the IndyCar? I’d love to do [the double again]. We’ll work on it, so I hope we can announce something soon and see you all next May.”
The 2024 Brickyard 400 victory also served both as a redemptive and proud moment for Larson, who was unable to complete a Memorial Day Double Duty attempt between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May due to on-track precipitation that caused him to miss the latter event while he ended up finishing in 18th place during the Indy 500 while driving for Arrow McLaren’s NTT IndyCar Series team. Ironically, Larson’s race-winning No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sported the exact blue, white and papaya orange scheme he attempted to compete with at the Coca-Cola 600, but Xfinity Series veteran Justin Allgaier ended up competing in when Larson opted to race the Indy 500 before traveling to Charlotte for the 600-mile event.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[The Brickyard 400 victory] does [make up the month of May], I guess a little bit,” Larson added. “I wished we could’ve gotten to do both [races] and run the [Coca-Cola] 600 because we had a phenomenal papaya orange car for that race, too, but I think everything just comes full circle and everything’s meant to be. Today definitely felt meant to be for us, with the way strategy was working out, Brad [Keselowski] running out of fuel, me inheriting the front row, all that. A lot had to fall into place and thankfully, it did. I just can’t believe it. It’s just surreal to win here and can’t wait to kiss these bricks with my team, [owner] Rick Hendrick, whose here finally, my family, my friends, everybody. My parents are here, so we’ll be celebrating these next couple weeks.”
As Larson celebrated on the frontstretch and kissed the yard of bricks with his team, Ryan Blaney, who ended up in third place behind Tyler Reddick, was left displeased over having a first Brickyard 400 victory slip from his grasp through two overtime attempts.
“[Losing]’s no fun,” Blaney said. “We had a really good shot to win today. Gosh, our car was fast. I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. I knew [Keselowski] was probably gonna run out if [the race] went green. We came down to the [first overtime] restart and I couldn’t believe [Keselowski] stayed out. I knew there was no way they were gonna make it, so I obviously chose the top [lane] because [Keselowski] might run out in the restart zone and he runs out coming to the green, so he gets to go to pit road and [Larson] gets promoted [to the inside lane front row]. Luck of the day right there, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t even know what to be mad about. I’m mad at losing this race because I thought we were in a perfect position. It stinks to lose’em that way, but appreciate the effort. I hate we don’t get to celebrate with Mr. [Roger] Penske and everyone at [Team] Penske here. That stings a lot…[I’m] Not going to sleep very good tonight, I can tell you that. Just wasn’t meant to be.”
Meanwhile, Reddick was pleased with his runner-up result that marks his third top-three result in a span of four races in 2024 and keeps him in the hunt for the regular-season championship, though he was also left a little disappointed over falling short of having a perfect weekend at the Brickyard after winning the pole and being the fastest during Friday’s practice session.
“It was a great recovery for us,” Reddick said. “Obviously, a lot of cars and a lot of things had to happen for us to get second. Honestly, it was a good day, but obviously the return to the Brickyard, it’s tough coming up short one spot, but once we got off Turn 2 there, I knew I was pretty much it and [Larson] was gonna have to make a mistake. Glad we got a good recovery. Another solid points day. In a big picture, it was a great day for our team.”
Christopher Bell came home in fourth place while Bubba Wallace, who won the second stage, recorded a strong fifth-place result as he is currently only seven points below the top-16 cutline in his efforts to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.
Todd Gilliland, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were 18 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 32 laps. In addition, 24 of 39 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 22nd event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by 10 points over teammate Chase Elliott, 15 over Tyler Reddick, 43 over Denny Hamlin and 73 over Ryan Blaney.
Results.
1. Kyle Larson, eight laps led
2. Tyler Reddick, 40 laps led
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Christopher Bell, two laps led
5. Bubba Wallace, 26 laps led, Stage 2 winner
6. Todd Gilliland, one lap led
7. Austin Cindric
8. Daniel Suarez
9. Noah Gragson, three laps led
10. Chase Elliott, one lap led
11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
12. Carson Hocevar
13. Austin Dillon
14. Corey LaJoie
15. Ross Chastain, eight laps led
16. Michael McDowell, one lap led
17. Zane Smith
18. Cody Ware
19. Ty Dillon
20. Justin Haley
21. Brad Keselowski, 35 laps led
22. Chris Buescher
23. Ty Gibbs
24. Chase Briscoe
25. Kyle Busch, one lap down, five laps led
26. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident
27. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down
28. Erik Jones, two laps down
29. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident, 16 laps led
The NASCAR Cup Series’ teams and competitors will be taking the next two weekends off due to the Paris Summer Olympics before returning to action at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, for the Cook Out 400. The event is scheduled to occur on August 11 and air at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.
While Kyle Larson left the 2024 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the overall race winner, Bubba Wallace left Indy feeling like a winner and with a relieved smile across his face after finishing in fifth place, which enabled him to gain valuable ground toward his 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff hopes.
The 30-year-old and two-time Cup Series winner Wallace from Mobile, Alabama, commenced his fourth start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series level by rolling off the starting grid in 17th place. Ironically, Wallace also started 17th during the 2020 season, where Indy held the Brickyard 400 on the oval-shaped circuit before transitioning to the venue’s road-course circuit over the next three seasons.
After spending the early portions of the event racing within the top 15, Wallace cycled towards the front and the top-five category as pit strategies amongst the field ensued. Despite pitting under green nearing the Lap 40 mark, Wallace would cycle up to 11th place when the first stage period concluded on Lap 50.
Despite being one spot short of collecting a first wave of stage points during the first stage period, Wallace and his No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE team led by crew chief Bootie Barker struck back through pit strategy by inheriting the lead on Lap 76 and during a caution period amid a multi-car wreck that knocked William Byron, AJ Allmendinger and Harrison Burton out of contention. With Wallace leading for the next restart period on Lap 78, he would fend off Chase Elliott and stretch his fuel tank to the maximum distance as he led to the second stage’s conclusion on Lap 100, where he would collect his first elusive stage victory of the 2024 season. With this accomplishment, Wallace notched his first stage victory in a Cup Series race since Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October 2022.
Restarting within the mid-pack region for the final stage after pitting during the second stage’s break period, Wallace would spend the remainder of the event dodging a series of late-race carnages while trying to play the fuel strategy game to his favor. During the process, he methodically worked his way back up the leaderboard and within the top-15 category. Initially poised for a potential top-10 spot, an opportunity for Wallace to gain more spots and stretch his fuel tank to the distance both occurred when Kyle Busch wrecked with three laps remaining in the event’s scheduled distance.
With the event going into overtime, Wallace muscled away from a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch to make his way up to sixth place just as the event was sent into a second overtime attempt. For the second and final overtime attempt, Wallace, who restarted seventh, gained two spots on the track after overtaking Austin Cindric and Todd Gilliland through two turns. Running in fifth place on the final lap, the event’s race-ending caution flew as Ryan Preece wrecked and stalled his car in the backstretch. Having enough fuel to return to the frontstretch, Wallace claimed the checkered flag in fifth place, three spots behind teammate Tyler Reddick, for his fourth top-five result of the 2024 Cup Series season.
With the result, Wallace, who led a total of 26 of 167 over-scheduled laps en route to his fifth-place run at Indy, recorded his second top-five finish in four career starts in the Brickyard 400 and his first of the 2024 season since finishing fourth at Martinsville Speedway in April. The result also marked his 20th top-five finish in his 241st career start in the Cup level, 129th driving for 23XI Racing, as Wallace currently has eight top-10 results added to his 2024 season.
In addition, Wallace, who came into Indianapolis trailing the top-16 cutline to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs by 27 points despite finishing 10th during last weekend’s event at Pocono Raceway, is now only seven points below the cutline and 16th-place occupier Ross Chastain, who ended up 15th place. As NASCAR takes a two-week break from on-track competition due to the Paris Olympics before returning in the second weekend of August, Wallace, who made his first Cup Playoff appearance on points and proceeded to finish 10th in the final standings in 2023, took a moment to savor the relief of gaining ground towards the cutline before the break as he also sets his sights on having a fun, positive approach towards the remainder of the season.
“[The] Team stuck with me and gave me all the right tools to work on and gave us good track position in the middle [of the race],” Wallace said on NBC. “Finally got a stage win. [It’s] Been 10 years since I got one of those. All in all, just a solid day. Definitely what we needed. [I] Can have a big sigh of relief going into the Olympic break here. It’s just nice to come out of here with a smile, enjoy the two off weeks,…just to have fun. That’s what I wanted to do last week and continue that for the next, what do we got? Fourteen [races] left? All about having fun.”
With four races remaining until the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field is determined, Bubba Wallace’s quest to make the Playoffs continues with the next scheduled event at Richmond Raceway for the Cook Out 400. The event is scheduled for August 11 and will air at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, July 21, 2024) – Less than two months separated agony from ecstasy for Kyle Larson at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Larson left IMS on May 26 disappointed after finishing 18th in his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge start after qualifying fifth and leading four laps in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” On Sunday, Larson stood triumphantly on Victory Podium and kissed the fabled Yard of Bricks after completing a wild climb to an overtime victory in the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG.
“This is just such a prestigious place, such hallowed ground,” Larson said. “Pretty neat just to get an opportunity to race here on the oval again. What a job by our team. Never gave up at all. We just fought and dug and had things work out.
“I love all you Indiana fans, and I know you guys love me, too. How about we come back next May and try to kiss these bricks in an Indy car? I think everything comes full circle, and everything’s meant to be. And today definitely felt meant to be for us.”
Larson, who started fifth, won the race under caution in the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet on the second attempt in overtime. Pole sitter Tyler Reddick finished second in the No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota. Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney finished third in the No. 12 Menards/Atlas Ford fielded by IMS owner Roger Penske’s team.
2021 Cup Series champion Larson earned the record-extending 11th Brickyard 400 victory for Hendrick Motorsports on a day in which team chairman Rick Hendrick led the field to the green flag as the honorary driver of the Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car.
This was the first win on the iconic 2.5-mile oval for Larson, as the Brickyard 400 returned to that circuit for the first time since 2020 after three years on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at the Racing Capital of the World. But it was the second IMS victory for Larson, who won the Driven2SaveLives BC39 USAC Midget race in 2021 on The Dirt Track at IMS, a quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3.
Larson’s path to victory was paved by equal parts of aggression and good luck. He drove his way through the field after his last pit stop on Lap 123, slicing up and down the entire width of racing surface to gain ground on the leaders.
He took advantage of fresher tires than the leaders to reach the top five by passing Denny Hamlin on Lap 148 and climbed to fourth by passing Zane Smith on Lap 149. By then, Larson latched onto the rear bumper of Daniel Hemric’s No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet. 2018 Brickyard 400 winner Brad Keselowski led in the No. 6 Body Guard Ford, with Blaney second.
But Keselowski made his previous pit stop on Lap 102, and his fuel-saving efforts appeared to maybe need more caution laps to try and stretch to the finish at the regulation distance. That gamble rolled snake eyes when Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Patriotic Chevrolet and Hamlin’s No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota made side-to-side contact in Turn 3 on Lap 158, triggering a caution that forced overtime.
As the field lined up to take the green flag for the first overtime restart on Lap 162, Keselowski took the inside lane, with Blaney to his outside and Larson behind Keselowski in third. But Keselowski’s car began to run out of gas, and he dove into the pits. Larson moved from third to first in the restart order in the inside lane and powered past Blaney in Turn 1 on Lap 162, taking a lead he would never lose.
“I knew the 6 (Keselowski) was probably going to run out if it went green, and at the restart, I couldn’t believe they stayed out,” Blaney said. “I knew there was no way they were going to make it, so I obviously chose the top (lane) because he might run out in the restart zone. And he runs out coming to the green, so he gets to go to pit road and the 5 (Larson) gets promoted. Luck of the day right there, I guess.”
But there still was more drama. As Larson gapped Blaney in the short chute between Turns 1 and 2 on the restart, a five-car chain reaction collision occurred at the end of the front straightaway and in Turn 1. That triggered another caution and then a red flag lasting 17 minutes to straighten a concrete barrier at the exit of pit road moved by contact in the incident.
Larson’s car needed a bump start from a tow truck on the front straightaway to restart after the red flag period ended. At the restart on Lap 166, Larson and Blaney made side-to-side contact before Turn 1, with Larson pulling ahead and staying out front down the back straightaway. Meanwhile, the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford of Ryan Preece spun in Turn 2 and was mired in the infield grass in Turn 2.
The field continued to race under green, with Larson taking the white flag in the lead on Lap 167. Preece tried to drive his car out of the grass but couldn’t due to a flat tire, and the caution flag flew to end the race. Larson had enough fuel to cruise around and take the checkered.
“With the way the strategy was working out, with Brad running out of fuel and me inheriting the front row and all that, just a lot had to fall into place,” Larson said. “Thankfully it did. I just can’t believe it. It’s surreal to win here.”
Reddick, who led a race-high 40 laps, passed Blaney on the last lap to take second place.
The next major spectator event this season at IMS is the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks IMSA sports car event Sept. 20-22 on the IMS road course. Visit IMS.com to buy tickets or for more information.
NASCAR CUP SERIES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT JULY 21, 2024
Kyle Larson, Chevrolet Takes 2024 Brickyard 400 Victory
· In the NASAR Cup Series’ return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson became the next driver to add to Chevrolet’s legacy at the famed 2.5-mile venue – driving his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 to the win in 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400.
· The victory marks Larson’s fourth trip to victory lane in NASCAR’s top division in 2024 – making the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native the winningest driver in the series this season.
· The trip to victory lane is Larson’s 27th triumph in 352 NASCAR Cup Series starts. This marks the 2021 champion’s third crown jewel victory, with his other crown jewel victories including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 2021) and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (Sept. 2023).
· Larson extended Chevrolet’s series-leading win record on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval configuration to 18 victories in 28 NASCAR Cup Series races – a winning percentage of 64.3 percent at the 2.5-mile oval.
· Chevrolet now sits at a double-digit win count in NASCAR’s top division this season, with Larson taking the Bowtie brand to its 10th victory in 22 NASCAR Cup Series this season.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 21, 2024) – Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1, added to Chevrolet’s legacy at the “Racing Capital of the World” by taking the checkered-flag in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The victory – Larson’s fourth win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and his 27th all-time in NASCAR’s top division – comes in NASCAR’s much anticipated return to the track’s famed 2.5-mile oval configuration, marking the crown jewel event’s first appearance in the Next Gen era.
“What a job by our team,” said Larson. “I mean, never gave up at all. We had the pit stop issue there early on. Just fought, dug and had things work out. Just can’t thank them enough. HENDRICKCARS.COM, Valvoline, Chevrolet, JINYA Ramen Bar, Prime; all the fans, too. I love you, Indiana fans. I know you guys love me, too.”
Larson added to an already prestigious list of drivers that have taken the Bowtie brand to victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native delivering Chevrolet its 18th victory in 28 all-time NASCAR Cup Series races at the 2.5-mile oval. This isn’t Chevrolet’s first trip to victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this season. Larson’s victory is the manufacturer’s second crown jewel triumph at the famed oval this season, with Team Chevy’s Josef Newgarden also driving his No. 2 Chevrolet to his second-straight victory in the Indianapolis 500 just a few months ago.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Richmond Raceway with the Cook Out 400 on Sunday, August 11, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Kyle, you just won the Brickyard 400. You’ve won some big races in your career. This is Indianapolis. Is this ranked No. 1 now?
“It’s for sure up there. Like you mentioned, this is just such a prestigious place.. such hallowed ground. Pretty neat to get an opportunity to race here on the oval again.
What a job by our team. I mean, never gave up at all. We had the pit stop issue there early on. Just fought, dug and had things work out.
Just can’t thank them enough. HENDRICKCARS.COM, Valvoline, Chevrolet, JINYA Ramen Bar, Prime; all the fans, too. I love you, Indiana fans. I know you guys love me, too. How about we come back next May and try to kiss these bricks in an INDYCAR?”
Does this make up for the month of May when you left disappointed?
“It does.. I guess a little bit. I wish we could have got to do both and run the 600. We had a phenomenal car for that race, too.
I think everything just comes full circle. Everything is meant to be. Today definitely was meant to be for us. With the way the strategy was working out, Brad (Keselowski) running out of fuel and me inheriting the front row; a lot had to fall into place. Thankfully it did.
I can’t believe it. It’s surreal to win here. Can’t wait to kiss the bricks with my team. Rick Hendrick, who is here; my family, my friends. My parents are here. We’ll be celebrating these next couple weeks.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.
Finished: 37th
Allmendinger on the accident that ended his day early at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
“I just saw everyone start checking up. I actually saw the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) on the bottom, so I went to go to the middle. Right as I went to the middle, the No. 24 (William Byron) was coming across. It’s just kind of the story of the year.. wrong place, wrong time.”
How sketchy was it in the back of the pack?
“I mean on the restarts, everyone is going to be aggressive because you know that’s the time to make up the most starts. It’s tough to pass. I felt like on our No. 16 Campers RV Chevy, we missed it. At the beginning of the race, we were really loose, so we lost some track position. We started getting it back. I felt like we kind of got into that 15th to 20th place range that we thought we would be. It’s just disappointing, but it’s part of it. The way the wreck happened, it was kind of out of my control.”
William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.
Finished: 38th
Byron on the accident that ended the No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 team’s race early:
“We got back there in traffic. It seemed like the pit stop sequence didn’t go our way there. The No. 14 (Chase Briscoe) was just being a squirrel back in the pack. He drove up in front of me. I had to lift way off the corner and I got run over. Hate it for our team. We had an amazing No. 24 Valvoline Chevy. We were running there on the right strategy in the top two or three; got back there in the pack and got wrecked. Appreciate everybody at Valvoline, Chevrolet. We had a great car. We’ll go on over the break and try to get some more wins.”
Is it even more frustrating that it’s the Brickyard?
“Yeah, I mean it sucks. We put a lot of effort into this race, but we put a lot of effort in every week.”
“Our No. 47 Kleenex 100 Years / Donors Choose Chevy was really good. Qualifying was really solid yesterday and that set us up to get points in both stages. The way those cautions fell, we could have done with one less of them. Running in the top-10 there, it sputtered a little bit coming to the white and then the caution came out, so that was a fortunate one.
All-in-all, happy about our day and good momentum going into the off weekends. We have had a solid month-and-a-half; two crashes late in the race, and a set of top-15s. Other than that, we have been battling for top-10s, so really happy.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
Finished: 31st
“Bummer of a day. We didn’t really have a very good day going with our No. 48 Ally Camaro. We were pretty fast in clean air, but just really tight in dirty air. We were stuck in traffic there, and getting blocked all the way down the straightaway for 27th was pretty frustrating. We just didn’t need to be that far back in position. We should have been running better than that and eventually the way the strategy and the cautions fell, we got buried there. We had a lot going on and my ass was on fire at one point, so interesting day, for sure.”
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Camaro ZL1
Finished: 12th
“It was just hard to keep on the right end of it with fuel strategy and everything, but I think we did a really good job. The yellow caught us off guard, but I think that was the difference maker in us making it. Our No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevy was super strong, and to be able to capitalize from Saturday was big. We put ourselves in a hole, but we were able to claw our way up when it was really hard to pass. We put together a really good day for the No. 77 team.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1
Finished: 8th
“The No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevy team did a great job with the strategy. Our car wasn’t horrible, we just never had the track position that we wanted to, to show the speed of the car. We needed to be faster on the straightaways. But all-in-all, I felt like we had a decent Chevy. Still have some work to do, but the team executed a great strategy, so we will take it.”
About Chevrolet
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 Post Race | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Uunday, July 21, 2024
UNOFFICIAL FORD FINISHING RESULTS
3rd – Ryan Blaney
6th – Todd Gilliland
7th – Austin Cindric
9th – Noah Gragson
16th – Michael McDowell
18th – Cody Ware
20th – Justin Haley
21st – Brad Keselowski
22nd – Chris Buescher
26th – Ryan Preece
34th – Joey Logano
35th – Josh Berry
36th – Harrison Burton
39th – BJ McLeod
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Atlas Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 3rd)
“It was hard fought. I thought we had a really good shot to win today. I appreciate Menards and Atlas and Ford and the 12 group for putting us in position. Our car was fast and I thought we had really good strategy. We were the front guy of having to save a little bit of gas but I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. I knew the 6 was probably going to run out if it went green. We came to the restart and I couldn’t believe they stayed out. Ther was no way they were going to make it. So I obviously chose the top because he might run out in the restart zone. And he winds up coming to the green so he gets to go to pit road and the 5 gets promoted. Luck of the day right there I guess. I don’t even know what to get mad about. I am mad about losing this race because I thought we were in the perfect position. Once I lost control of the race, obviously I would have been on the bottom, but I thought the 6 would run out in the restart zone or on the back. It stinks to lose it that way. I appreciate the effort. I hate we don’t get to celebrate with Mr. Penske and with everyone from Penske here. That stings a lot. We just have to keep going, that is all we can do.”
DO YOU SEE ANY WAY TO CHANGE THAT RESTART SITUATION AS LATE AS IT HAPPENED AFTER THE CHOOSE? IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO DO IT?
“Yeah, call it off and rechoose. Because now you promote the third place guy before the second place guy if the leader has problems. That isn’t right. It is just dumb luck. At this race track where the bottom is preferred. I don’t know. I am just upset. That is a heartbreaker. We did everything right today. We were in prime position to win and it just didn’t work out for us. I just got unlucky. I am not going to sleep very good tonight, I will tell you that. I appreciate Team Penske and everybody for the fast car. We have been super fast and it showed again today. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Todd Gilliland, No. 38 gener8tor Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 6th)
“I think our Mustang was really competitive. We were a little tight on exit the whole race, but that is part of it. Our car had good speed when we stayed up there. It was an interesting race. It was hard to pass. We didn’t do good on the strategy for the middle part of the race but then it put us in a position where it worked out for us at the end. Just disapointing a little bit. I was fourth on the last restart and probably should have chose the bottom looking back on it, but that is how it goes sometimes. You live and you learn.”
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 7th)
“I did my race team zero favors today with qualifying as poorly as I did putting it in the wall and then speeding on the first pit stop. Good rally by everybody. I felt like our Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse was quick today, we just had to get it in the right place on the race track. We saved fuel and Brian did the right things with strategy and we earned a good result because of it. I wish it would have gone green there at the end because I think I would have gotten a few more spots with the fuel situation. Overall, a nice reward going into a little break here.”
Noah Gragson, No. 10 Bass Pro Shops Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 9th)
“We struggled at the beginning part of the weekend and definitely grateful to come back. I don’t know officially where we will be with those guys running out of gas off of Turn 4, but we had plenty of fuel. Drew Blickensderfer called a great race and it is always fun to have Bass Pro Shops on the hood. We struggled on Friday in practice and got a little better in qualifying, qualified 21st and we just made progress all day. We got a Stage point in Stage 1. Strategy, you never know when the caution is going to come out, but Drew made some great calls. I had more gas than the rest of them there and for a second I thought it was going to be Nashville 2.0 with a bunch of restarts but we were able to hang on and come out of here unscathed.”
Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Accident Quote)
WHAT HAPPENED? “It seems like they were three wide a couple of rows behind me and the wreck caught me, unfortunately. It looks like Hocevar sent it down the center and just kind of stuffed it in there late. That seems like something he has done a lot recently. Unfortunately it caught up to me. He right reared Jimmie into my left rear and nosed our Shell Pennzoil Mustang into the wall. It is a bummer. You come here to Indy once a year and all you dream of is kissing the bricks. My team gave me a great race car and we were the leader of our strategy and that is kind of all you can hope for, to et to the lead of your strategy. And we were going to have a shorter pit stop and we were going to try to gain some spots the restart as a lot of guys were staying out. We could have a shorter stop than them and that is when we were going to cycle back up to the front, hopefully, but we never got to see it through.”
Josh Berry No. 4 Panini/Caitlin Clark Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Accident Quote)
WHAT HAPPENED? “I am not entirely sure without seeing the replay. It looked like the 19 got spun out and we were all just stacking and I think I got clipped from behind and turned into the wall. It is an unfortunate end. It has been a tough weekend. Today, our car was really competitive. I was happy with the car. We started in the back and never could get the track position. I had a tough day on pit road too. Every time we got to the top 20 we would get knocked back.”
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE LIKE RUNNING THE OVAL HERE?
“It was a lot of fun and honestly I had a good experience today. We passed cars and had a good balance throughout the race. I was happy with it. We needed something strategy wise to go our way to get up front. All in all the guys did a great job. I put us in a hole qualifying but the car was pretty solid today. We have some things to clean up but we will go get ‘em next time.”
REDDICK, BELL AND WALLACE EARN TOP-FIVES IN THE BRICKYARD 400 Reddick leads the most laps from pole and finishes runner-up in Crown Jewel return
INDIANAPOLIS (July 21, 2024) – Starting from pole and leading the most laps (40), 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick came home second in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reddick had speed all day in his No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE, leading the majority of Stage 1 as cars split strategies throughout the stage and race. Towards the end of the 160-lap race, Reddick faced an issue on pit road, but methodically marched his way through the field in the final 30 laps and was within striking distance of his second win at the “Racing Capital of the World,” on the final restart, but settled for second. With the result, Reddick remains 15 points behind the regular season points lead. The runner-up finish was Reddick’s series-leading 15th top-10 finish of the season and fifth top-10 in a row.
Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace also finished the day in the top-five, coming home fourth and fifth, respectively. Both Camry XSEs hung around the top-10 most of the afternoon and converted on solid finishes as cars dove for pitlane over the final few caution flags, to earn their seventh and fourth top-fives this season. The result from Wallace now puts him less than 10 points out of the Playoffs.
John Hunter Nemechek also had a solid day with his No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE, starting 10th and leading 14 laps in Stage 2, but got caught up in a Stage 3 incident, which resulted in a 29th-place finish.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race 22 of 36 – 160 Laps, 400 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kyle Larson*
2nd, TYLER REDDICK
3rd, Ryan Blaney*
4th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
5th, BUBBA WALLACE
23rd, TY GIBBS
27th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
28th, ERIK JONES
29th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
32nd, DENNY HAMLIN
33rd, JIMMIE JOHNSON
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Talk us through your race today and those late-race restarts?
“Yeah, I mean me and Kyle (Larson) just, were the first few cars on that alternate strategy. We had that issue on pit road. I think he had some issue on pit road as well that put him back there. Just didn’t have anything to lose. A great effort by all of us, the car went through the field. Unfortunately, when Kyle got to me and passed me like he did, I wasn’t expecting it. It was really creative, and he continued to catch the rest of the field and pass cars. I wish I could’ve seen that one coming and maybe defended that better. It was a great way to make a pass. It unfortunately means we bring home our Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry second. But good points day. Didn’t score as many as the 5 (Larson), but nonetheless, a fairly-solid points day.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How was the race today?
“It was a little bit of a struggle today for our Rheem Camry, but Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and William (Hartman, engineer) and (Chris) Whitenight (engineer) had a great strategy and we were able to run it out of gas and get a good finish out of it. Something to build on and hopefully we can improve after the break and come out strong for Richmond.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
How was your race?
“We were fifth – what a day. I just did not do a good job on Friday and Saturday and set us behind for track position. I really didn’t know what our car had, but I knew the people we had on it and that is what matters the most. I appreciate Bootie (Barker, crew chief) and the gang for just giving me a car to work with. The No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry was really, really fast. It felt really good. After a few laps, I was like, I don’t know what we have – but it is good to be back on the oval. The finish is making my mood better, but it was really difficult to pass. All-in-all, a good day. A good points day.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Finishing Position: 29th
Walk us through what happened on that incident?
“I changed lanes there after the start/finish line, went to the bottom. I had a pretty good run. Everyone started checking up going into (turn) one. I checked up and I think I got hooked in the left rear here. Not really sure, moved down and I think Daniel (Hemric) got me. It stinks. Our Pye Barker Toyota Camry XSE was really fast today. We led laps. Not leading laps just in a speedway race, actually leading laps there. Proud of all the guys. Proud of the effort. Pye Barker Fire & Safety colors looked really good today. Thank you to everyone. Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development, Inc.). Everyone to keep us safe. That was a really hard hit. But overall, really excited for a couple weeks off after the last few weeks. But, proud I’ve been able to show speed three of the last five weeks. Looking forward to getting back after the break and seeing what we can do.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 32nd
Are you okay and what happened?
“I couldn’t see. There was a car coming across the track and I hit him.”
Why were the restarts so hectic today?
“It was because you couldn’t pass. Yeah, we’re all just running in a line there and saving fuel. It’s like a speedway race. But you know, we were doing everything we could to get to the finish. Didn’t make it.”
What happened there? “I was cruising along on the bottom and got hit in the right rear and got turned into the outside fence at that point. Those restarts are just so aggressive, everybody is pushing to get to the end of the race, and it is go time. Sadly, those pushes didn’t line-up right. I don’t know what started that but something on the outside happened, and they collected me and off and around we went. It was great to be back. Our cars were driving nice all weekend. Unfortunately, in qualifying, we just missed our balance, but very competitive in the race. We drove from 33rd to 17th, and then actually got to 11th there. All-in-all, a strong Carvana Camry, and it felt nice behind the wheel. I’m starting to understand the Next Gen vehicle. I think our group is starting to understand what we need for the cars. It was a great day for us in general. 42 (John Hunter Nemechek) has been in the top-five all day, so hopefully we can have a good finish.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 28 electrified options.
Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.
Toronto, CA - during the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the streets of Toronto. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)
TORONTO (Sunday, July 21, 2024) – Michael Andretti’s raised right arm said it all following the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place, and the team owner could have raised two.
One for Colton Herta, another for Kyle Kirkwood.
The two drivers gave Andretti Global a win for the first time since last year’s rebranding and its first 1-2 finish in a race since Kirkwood and Romain Grosjean delivered in 2023 at Long Beach.
Herta ended a 40-race winless drought by scoring his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in 799 days, and an Andretti car won this event for the ninth time. Andretti won seven times as a driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay went to victory lane for Andretti’s team in 2012.
“We needed this so bad,” Andretti said after the race. “We’ve been competitive all year but we just haven’t been able to get the final result.
“It was a big day.”
Herta effectively led from start to finish, relinquishing the lead only twice to pit. Officially, he paced 81 of the 85 laps, with Kirkwood following him throughout, including on the stops.
For the weekend, Herta had the fastest lap in all three practices, won the NTT P1 Award and then he won the race, a feat that is mind-boggling if not unprecedented. It’s believed no driver in the sport’s history has so dominated an event weekend. Herta now has eight career wins.
“We’ve been knocking on the door to win for so long,” Herta said. “Forty-one starts without a win is a long time, and it’s been disappointing for us. I think we’re a team – Michael is the owner — that demands perfection … (I’m) so happy. The Gainbridge Honda was so fast.”
The separation between Herta and Kirkwood at the finish line was .3469 of a second, but the driver of the No. 27 AutoNation Honda said he was less concerned with passing Herta than keeping third-place Scott Dixon at bay.
“Putting us at risk was just not the move today,” Kirkwood said of the team’s approach. “I played a little bit more defense as you probably noticed over the (late) restarts. Super happy with second place. (Finishing 1-2) was the goal today.”
Kirkwood said Herta earning the pole on Saturday made him “deserving” of the race win.
Dixon finished third to tie Mario Andretti for the most top-three finishes in series history. Each has 141.
Behind those three was something of a mess, including stoppage for a multi-car accident in Turn 1 on Lap 73.
Pato O’Ward was running sixth when he spun his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet halfway around. At that point, there wasn’t much damage to his car, but there soon was. Worse, he was facing traffic and could see oncoming traffic at speed.
Marcus Ericsson veered his No. 27 Delaware Life Honda into O’Ward’s car on the left side of the track, but that wasn’t the end of it. Pietro Fittipaldi was the fifth car in line after Ericsson’s contact, and he struck O’Ward’s car with enough force to lift his off the ground. Santino Ferrucci was trailing Fittipaldi, and his No. 14 AJ FOYT RACING/SEXTON PROPERTIES Chevrolet launched, hitting the fence with the bottom of the car before landing on the track upside down.
Rookie Nolan Siegel and his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet followed Ferrucci into the crash site, and his car struck O’Ward’s as well. Rookie Toby Sowery then hit Siegel with his No. 51 Global Kartin League/Vuzix Honda of Dale Coyne Racing. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Just prior to the accident, rookie Kyffin Simpson hit the Turn 8 wall with his No. 4 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as Alexander Rossi did in Friday’s practice. Whereas Rossi broke his right thumb, Simpson was not injured.
Minutes before that, Felix Rosenqvist overshot Turn 3 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing and drove into the escape area. Ericsson similarly had to take evasive action.
Rookie Theo Pourchaire, who was standing in for Rossi in the No. 7 Ryde Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, had contact with fellow rookie Linus Lundqvist (No. 8 The American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda).
If that wasn’t enough, Team Penske had a disastrous lap with nine laps remaining. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet) bumped Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet) into the Turn 5 wall, leading to a penalty and sarcastic applause from McLaughlin as he waited for his teammate to come back around. They were racing for fourth place.
If that wasn’t bad enough for Team Penske, Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet) suffered a cut tire in the sequence and was forced to pit. Whereas the team had three cars in the top seven at the time, they finished 11th, 12th and 16th as Newgarden later overshot Turn 3.
All three Penske drivers, plus O’Ward, have had designs on overtaking Palou for the series championship, but those hopes too a big hit as Palou drove from the 18th starting position to finish fourth. Palou extended his series lead over Power to 49 points. Dixon is third, 53 points out. Herta moved to fourth, 57 points behind Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda).
The series will take three weekends off as the Paris Olympics are held. The 13th race of the 17-race season will be the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Aug. 17.
Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto Race Results
TORONTO – Results Sunday of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 1.786-mile Streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
(1) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
(2) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 85, Running
(15) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
(18) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
(13) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 85, Running
(6) David Malukas, Honda, 85, Running
(16) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 85, Running
(22) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 85, Running
(5) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 85, Running
(8) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
(7) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
(9) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
(24) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 84, Running
(26) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 84, Running
(21) Toby Sowery, Honda, 84, Running
(4) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 76, Contact
(14) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 72, Contact
(11) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 72, Contact
(23) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 72, Contact
(17) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 72, Contact
(19) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 72, Contact
(20) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 66, Contact
(3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 63, Mechanical
(25) Hunter McElrea, Honda, 57, Contact
(27) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 13, Mechanical
(10) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 4, Contact
(12) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 0, Contact
Race Statistics Winner’s average speed: 91.568 mph Time of Race: 01:39:28.4293 Margin of victory: 0.3469 of a second Cautions: 5 or 15 laps Lead changes: 5 among 3 drivers
Lap Leaders: Herta, Colton 1 – 34 Dixon, Scott 35 – 36 Herta, Colton 37 – 53 Dixon, Scott 54 Ericsson, Marcus 55 Herta, Colton 56 – 85
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings: Palou 411, Power 362, Dixon 358, Herta 354, O’Ward 340, McLaughlin 328, Kirkwood 314, Newgarden 266, Alexander Rossi 265, Ferrucci 231, Lundgaard 229, Ericsson 222, Rosenqvist 221, Armstrong 203, VeeKay 201, Grosjean 199, Rahal 197, Lundqvist 173, Fittipaldi 135, Simpson 133, Robb 121, Rasmussen 109, Canapino 109, Pourchaire 91, Siegel 88, Malukas 82, Jack Harvey 80, Tom Blomqvist 46, Callum Ilott 39, Ed Carpenter 32, Sowery 32, Luca Ghiotto 27, Helio Castroneves 26, Conor Daly 26, Katherine Legge 24, Kyle Larson 21, Takuma Sato 19, Tristan Vautier 12, Colin Braun 10, Ryan Hunter-Reay 6, McElrea 6, Marco Andretti 5
Logo Unveiled for 2025 Brickyard 400 presented by PPG
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, July 21, 2024) – PPG, a global leader in paints, coatings and specialty materials, announced a multiyear agreement to extend its presenting sponsorship of the Brickyard 400, a crown jewel of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
PPG also will continue as the Official Paint and Finishing Supplier of IMS as part of the long-term agreement.
The presenting sponsorship, which began in 2024 with the Brickyard’s 30th anniversary and return to the oval, adds to PPG’s historic legacy with the Brickyard 400. The first seven winners of the Brickyard 400 had their names inscribed on the coveted PPG Trophy.
As part of the extended sponsorship announcement, the logo for the 2025 Brickyard 400 presented by PPG also was unveiled. The logo incorporates the colors synonymous with PPG and its motorsports involvement, which signify the company’s focus to protect and beautify the world.
“For more than four decades, PPG has been one of the most trusted, innovative and dedicated partners in motorsports,” said Roger Penske. “We look forward to building on our long-term relationship with PPG and the opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to feature PPG and their commitment to enhancing our communities across INDYCAR and NASCAR and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
For more than 40 years, PPG also has maintained a partnership across Team Penske’s NASCAR and INDYCAR programs. As part of today’s exciting news, it was announced PPG also returns as a Team Penske partner in the NASCAR Cup Series, serving as an associate sponsor of the No. 2 Ford Mustang driven by 2022 DAYTONA 500 champion Austin Cindric, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driven by reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney and the No. 22 Ford Mustang driven by two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano.
“We are excited to build upon our extensive history with Team Penske, INDYCAR and IMS,” said PPG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Knavish. “To be able to expand and strengthen these relationships speaks to the commitment and success we’ve had together. I look forward to seeing the PPG name on Team Penske cars and at the Brickyard 400 for years to come.”
Team Penske’s most recent NASCAR victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with Cindric at the inaugural race on the road course during Brickyard Weekend 2021 in the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang.
PPG works to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for more than 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, PPG solves customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, PPG operates and innovates in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $18.2 billion in 2023. PPG serves customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.
Josef Newgarden to Continue Racing No. 2 PPG Chevrolet in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
MOORESVILLE, NC (July 21, 2024) – The 40-plus year partnership between Team Penske and PPG – one of the longest-running business relationships in motorsports history – will continue in 2024 and beyond with today’s announcement of a multi-year extension of PPG’s sponsorship across the team’s NASCAR and INDYCAR programs.
The distinctive blue-and-white PPG paint scheme will continue to be featured in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition as two-time series champion and back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner, Josef Newgarden, will race the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet in 2024 and into the future. Under the partnership extension, PPG will continue to serve as an associate partner on the No. 12 Chevrolet driven by two-time INDYCAR champion Will Power, and the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by six-time INDYCAR SERIES race winner Scott McLaughlin. PPG will also continue as a Team Penske partner in the NASCAR Cup Series, serving as an associate sponsor of the No. 2 Ford Mustang driven by 2022 DAYTONA 500 champion Austin Cindric, the No. 12 Ford Mustang driven by reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, and the No. 22 Ford Mustang driven by two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano.
“Our relationship with PPG was really one of the first business-to-business partnerships of its kind in motorsports,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “It began over 40 years ago and we are really proud of everything we have accomplished together on and off the race track. Their commitment to motorsports has been far-reaching. We are looking forward to continuing to wear their colors in the winner’s circle for years to come.”
The Team Penske and PPG partnership began with the 1984 INDYCAR SERIES season. Over the last 40-plus years, Team Penske and PPG have amassed unparalleled successes together. Notable accomplishments include, 17 Indianapolis 500 victories, 11 INDYCAR titles, four NASCAR Cup Series championships, three DAYTONA 500 wins, seven NASCAR Xfinity Series titles, four Australian SuperCars Championship triumphs and a Bathurst 1000 victory.
“I am honored and excited to continue representing PPG in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” said Newgarden. “They are a legacy partner not only of Team Penske, but of the series as well. A company with terrific products deserves a beautiful paint scheme and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet certainly has that. Fans love it as much as we do. I have a lot of wins with PPG and I am looking forward to plenty more in the future.”
Building on the partnership with Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) also announced today that PPG has extended its title sponsorship of the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400, a crown jewel of the NASCAR season, for multiple years. In addition, PPG will continue as the Official Paint and Finishing Supplier of IMS.
“We are excited to build upon our extensive history with Team Penske, INDYCAR, and IMS,” said Tim Knavish, PPG chairman and chief executive officer. “To be able to expand and strengthen these relationships speaks to the commitment and success we’ve had together. I look forward to seeing the PPG name on Team Penske cars and at the Brickyard 400 for years to come.”
Team Penske’s most recent NASCAR victory at IMS came with Cindric in 2021 on the famed facility’s road course behind the wheel of the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang. Team Penske and PPG have visited victory lane together 13 times across INDYCAR and NASCAR competition as a primary partner.
“For more than four decades, PPG has been one of the most trusted, innovative and dedicated partners in motorsports,” said Roger Penske. “We look forward to building on our long-term relationship with PPG at Team Penske for many years to come. We are also excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to feature PPG and their commitment to enhancing our communities across INDYCAR and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
ABOUT PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD®
At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $17.7 billion in 2022. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial, and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.
ABOUT TEAM PENSKE
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 630 major race wins, over 690 pole positions and 44 championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 58-year history, the team has also earned 20 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win, victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a win in Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 race. In 2024, Team Penske currently competes in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the NASCAR Cup Series. Through a Team Penske global partnership, Porsche Penske Motorsport races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the World Endurance Championship this season.
