AJ Allmendinger wins wild NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course: The first NASCAR Cup Series road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was full of drama – for A.J. Allmendinger, who led only the last two laps of overtime to secure his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday, and for those who fell short of the cherished trophy in an action-packed final few laps. Denny Hamlin was leading the race on the final restart with two laps to go before being hit from behind by rookie Chase Briscoe in Turn 10, just before Briscoe was supposed to serve a penalty for running off-course earlier in the lap. Instead of winning, Hamlin finished 23rd and Briscoe, 26th.[Read More](8-15-2021)
#16-A.J. Allmendinger won the Verizon 200 NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The win is his 1st win of the year and 2nd career win.
#12-Blaney finished 2nd followed by #5-Larson, #9-Elliott, #21-DiBenedetto, #1-Busch, #43-Jones, #77-Haley, #33-Cindric, and #6-Newman.
Driving for Kaulig Racing, this was just the 4th race of the year for Allmendinger. He and the team are not eligible for the Playoffs. The team has not run all the races and Allmendinger is running for points in Xfinity.
Pole winner #24-Byron finished 33rd after being caught in a late race accident.
The race ended after two Overtime attempts.
There was a nearly 20 minute red flag for track cleanup with 4 laps remaining. A piece of curbing came up in turns 5 & 6, causing a number of cars to catch it and spin out.
Under the first overtime attempt, another accident in the same place collected seven drivers and forced another red flag for cleanup.
On the final restart, #11-Hamlin started in front with #14-Briscoe behind him. Briscoe was forced off track. He caught up to Hamlin and spun him out of the lead. Allmendinger took the lead coming to the white flag and held off Blaney for a margin of victory of nearly 1 second.
Stage 1 and 2 were both won by #8-Reddick.
There were 13 lead changes among 11 drivers and 6 cautions for 25 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 69.171mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owners Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Race Fast Facts – Indianapolis:
AJ Allmendinger(i) won the 28th Annual Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, his second victory in 375 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2021.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Ryan Blaney (second) posted his first top-10 finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. It is his 12th top-10 finish in 2021.
Kyle Larson (third) posted his first top-10 finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Chase Briscoe (26th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Allmendinger becomes the fourth different driver since the inception of ‘Select A Series’ to win in the NASCAR Cup Series after not selecting to run for a championship in the series joining Trevor Bayne (Daytona, 2011), Brian Vickers (New Hampshire, 2013), Justin Haley (Daytona, 2019).
(NASCAR)(8-15-2021)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after Indianapolis:
(race 24 of 26 in the regular season)
*Driver has clinched a Playoff spot
1) #5-Kyle Larson* [5 wins], 953
2) #19-Martin Truex, Jr.* [3 wins], 762
3) #48-Alex Bowman* [3 wins], 653
4) #18-Kyle Busch* [2 wins], 796
5) #9-Chase Elliott* [2 wins], 774
6) #24-William Byron* [1 win], 790
7) #22-Joey Logano* [1 win], 763
8) #12-Ryan Blaney* [1 win], 747
9) #2-Brad Keselowski* [1 win], 696
10) #1-Kurt Busch* [1 win], 607
11) #20-Christopher Bell* [1 win], 562
12) #34-Michael McDowell* [1 win], 480
13) #10-Aric Almirola* [1 win], 416
14) #11-Denny Hamlin*, 931
15) #4-Kevin Harvick, 733, +95 ahead of 17th
16) #8-Tyler Reddick, 666, +28
Currently outside the playoffs:
17) #3-Austin Dillon, 638, -28 behind 16th
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Cars to the rear: none reported.
#24-William Byron won the Busch pole for the Verizon 200X NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with speed of 100.044mph for his 2nd pole of the year and 7th of his career.
#14-Briscoe will start second followed by #9-Elliott, #5-Larson, #99-Suarez, #19-Truex, Jr., #22-Logano, #16-Allmendinger, #42-Chastain, #41-Custer, #8-Reddick and #34-McDowell.
See the complete qualifying results and the Verizon 200 Starting Lineup page.(8-15-2021)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
William Byron won the Busch Pole Award for the 28th Annual Verizon 200 at the Brickyard with a lap of 87.765 seconds, 100.044 mph.
This is his seventh pole in 132 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his second pole and 18th top-10 start in 2021.
This is his first pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Chase Briscoe # (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2021 and his first at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Chase Elliott (third) posted his first top-10 start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. It is his 17th in 24 races this season.
Chase Briscoe (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)(8-15-2021)
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Verizon 200 NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have been made.
#5-Klye Larson will have pit stall 1.
#4-Harvick will have the 41st, and final stall.
The selection of stalls was determined by the qualifying formula, even though there is qualifying this weekend.
See all pit choices on Pit Stall chart page.(8-11-2021)
Paint Schemes
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Verizon 200 NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is over after 50 scheduled minutes. The top 5 were:
#19-Truex 98.021
#24-Byron 97.487
#5-Larson 97.445
#11-Hamlin 97.148
#33-Cindric 97.137
Slowest: #66-Hill 92.421
Most laps run: 20, #19-Truex, #8-Reddick, #99-Suarez, #4-Harvick, #9-Elliott
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 3 drivers): #19-Truex, 96.012
See the speeds on the Verizon 200 Practice speeds page.(8-14-2021)
Crew Rosters
Goodyear Tire Notes
The Entry List for the Verizon 200 NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is posted, 40 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are now listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #16-Allmendinger, #33-Cindric, #53-Smithley, #77-Haley, #78-Tilley.
UPDATE: #66-Timmy Hill has been added.
UPDATE 2: Andy Lally will replace Kyle Tilley in the #78.
See the full entry list on the Verizon 200 Entry List page.
There will be one practice session and qualifying for the Indianapolis Race.
2021 Cup Series: Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course TandemDraft Stats