NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Brickyard 400
The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, July 27
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,055,250
TV: TNT Sports, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: IMS, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 400 miles (160 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)
Indianapolis Storylines and Insights:
- This weekend marks the 29th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval (1994-2020, 2024-2025). From 2021-2023, the series ran three races on IMS road course.
- Five races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season before the Playoffs – Indianapolis (2.5 mile oval), Iowa (7/8 mile short track), Watkins Glen (2.45 mile road course), Richmond (3/4 mile short track) and Daytona (2.5 mile drafting track).
- The stages for the Brickyard 400: 50-100-160.
- Chevrolet won 12 consecutive Brickyard 400s from 2003 to 2014 but won only two of the last seven.
- Three organizations won nine of the last 10 Brickyard 400s: (Hendrick Motorsports-four wins, Stewart-Haas Racing-three wins, Joe Gibbs Racing-two wins).
- The driver who led the most laps won only three of the last nine Brickyard 400s.
- The final lead change came in the last eight laps five of the last seven Brickyard 400s.
- Six Brickyard 400s went into overtime including five of the last seven.
- Toyota only has two wins at Indianapolis (oval and RC), both were by Kyle Busch in 2015 and 2016.
- Richard Childress Racing is the only team to win on the Oval and the Road Course at Indianapolis in the Cup Series.
- Katherine Legge is set to become the 21st driver to start in both the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400.
- A driver won their way into the Playoffs in the final five races of the regular season every year since 2020.
- Bubba Wallace has been on the regular season Playoff bubble (16th or 17th in the standings) more than any other driver in the Next Gen era (23 times).
- William Byron’s average finish of 25.33 over the last six races ranks 31st among full-time drivers.
- Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with seven wins in Crown Jewel races.
- Denny Hamlin can become the fifth driver all time to complete the Grand Slam of Crown Jewel events with a win this weekend, joining Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt.
- Three drivers won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season, most recently Jamie McMurray in 2010.
- Three drivers won the Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400 in the same season, most recently Jeff Gordon in 1998.
- Three former Brickyard 400 winners are active this weekend: Kyle Busch (2015, 2016), Kyle Larson (2024) and Brad Keselowski (2018).
- Chase Briscoe won the pole for both the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 this year.
- Only one driver won their first Cup race in the Brickyard 400: Paul Menard in 2011.
- Kyle Busch has not led a lap in the last nine races, tied for the longest streak in his career (June-August 2005).
- A driver won on the Indianapolis oval from below the cutline once in Playoff history – 2017, Kasey Kahne won from 181 points below the cutline.
- Only one driver has pointed their way into the Playoffs this late in the regular season – 2019, Clint Bowyer was 2 points below the cut after race 24.
- In 2024, three drivers that were above the cutline this late into the regular season ended up missing the Playoffs – Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace.
- Chase Elliott moved from 104 points back in fourth to leading the regular season points by 16 in the last five races.
- Ty Gibbs finished in the top-10 in the last three races of 2025, the longest active streak by any driver.
NCS Clinch Scenarios Following Dover Motor Speedway:
Already Clinched
The following five drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Shane Van Gisbergen.
Can Clinch Via Previous Wins
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Shane Van Gisbergen:
- William Byron: Would clinch regardless of finish
- Ryan Blaney: Could only clinch with help
- Chase Briscoe: Could only clinch with help
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs or Kyle Busch:
- William Byron: Would clinch with 12 points
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Michael McDowell:
- William Byron: Would clinch with 8 points
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by AJ Allmendinger:
- William Byron: Would clinch with 6 points
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Erik Jones:
- William Byron: Would clinch with 2 points
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by John Hunter Nemechek or somebody lower in the standings:
- William Byron: Would clinch regardless of finish
Can Clinch Via Win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:
- William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry
The following drivers could clinch with a win:
- Tyler Reddick: Would clinch with 58 points
Understanding the In-Season Challenge:
- The top 32 in driver points following Nashville were eligible for the In-Season Challenge (Shane van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Riley Herbst and Cody Ware failed to qualify among full-time drivers).
- The three races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono established the seeding for the challenge based on the best driver finishing positions over those races.
- The five races (or Rounds) for the In-Season Challenge are Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover and Indianapolis.
- The drivers will compete in a bracket-style tournament until the final two drivers face off in the finale at Indianapolis with the best-finishing driver winning $1 million. The two drivers in the final round of the 2025 In-Season Challenge are Ty Dillon vs. Ty Gibbs.
Tale Of The Tape – In-Season Challenge Round 5 Matchup: Dillon Vs. Gibbs
- Ty Dillon – No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – (No. 32 seed)
- Dillon has made 266 career Cup Series starts, including five at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
- In five starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he has put up two top 15s and an average finish of 17.2 (10th-best among active drivers).
- Dillon has a best finish of 13th at Indianapolis in the Cup Series.
- His lone win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series came at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval).
- Dillon beat the following drivers to make the final round: Denny Hamlin (Rd. 1), Brad Keselowski (Rd. 2), Alex Bowman (Rd. 3) and John H. Nemchek (Rd. 4).
- Ty Gibbs – No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – (No. 6 seed)
- Gibbs has made 108 career Cup Series starts, including one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
- In his series debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Gibbs started sixth and finished 23rd.
- Gibbs has a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course).
- Gibbs beat the following drivers to make the final round: Justin Haley (Rd. 1), AJ Allmendinger (Rd. 2), Zane Smith (Rd. 3) and Tyler Reddick (Rd. 4).
— NASCAR —