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  • Next Race: Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records
  • The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
  • The Date: Sunday, July 5
  • The Time: 4 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET
  • Radio: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)
  • 2019 Race Winner: Kevin Harvick

Independence Day weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, the series will compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Independence Day weekend, Sunday, July 5 ,at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records.

This weekend’s race will be 400 miles (160 laps) and broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 50 laps each and the final stage will be 60 laps.

This weekend will mark the 27th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The first Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway took place on August 6, 1994; Rick Mast won the pole with a speed of 172.414 mph and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon took home the checkered flag.

The 26 NASCAR Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have produced 19 different pole winners and 15 different race winners. Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick lead the series in poles at Indianapolis with three each. Gordon also leads the series in wins at the Brickyard with five victories (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014).

Five former Indianapolis race winners are entered this weekend, led by seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson with four wins (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012); followed by Kevin Harvick (2003, 2019), Kyle Busch (2015, 2016), Brad Keselowski (2018) and Ryan Newman (2013).

The pole position is the most proficient starting positions in the field, producing five wins. The most recent driver to accomplish the feat was Kevin Harvick last season.  In 2016, Kyle Busch became the first driver in history to sweep both the NASCAR Xfinity Series race from the pole and the NASCAR Cup Series race from the pole in the same weekend at Indianapolis. 

The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Indianapolis is 27th, by Jeff Gordon in 2001. The deepest an active race winner has started is 16th by Jimmie Johnson in 2009.

Denny Hamlin keeps adding up victories

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins this season with four victories in 15 races – a winning percentage of 26.7%.

The Chesterfield, Virginia, native is on pace to tie or better his career-best season (2010); where he started the year with five wins in 15 races and finished the season runner-up in points and a career-high in wins (eight). In 2020, Hamlin has four wins, including his third-career Daytona 500, Darlington, Homestead and Pocono, nine top fives (series-most) and 10 top 10s. He has also spent the third-most time out front leading laps this season with 436 laps led (10.8%).

Of NASCAR’s four ‘crown jewel’ events on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500 and the Brickyard 400) Hamlin has conquered two of them (Daytona, Darlington), but this weekend he could get his third. Hamlin has made 14 series starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway posting five top fives and eight top 10s; including three third-place finishes. He finished sixth in this race last season.

Kevin Harvick looks for back-to-back wins at Indianapolis

Only two drivers have been able to win back-to-back races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2009) and Kyle Busch (2015, 2016) – and this weekend Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick will look to add his name to the list and defend his 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Indianapolis Motor Speedway victory.

Year-in and year-out Kevin Harvick continues to be a force to reckon with in the NASCAR Cup Series and the 2020 season is no different. Harvick sits atop the series driver standings, 52 points up on second place Ryan Blaney following the double header last weekend at Pocono Raceway. Harvick snatched the top spot in the points following the race at Phoenix back on March 8 and has not relinquished it since.

In 15 starts this season Harvick has collected three wins (Darlington, Atlanta, Pocono), eight top fives and 12 top 10s (series-most). Historically, Indianapolis has been a great track for Harvick, in 19 starts he has put up three poles, two wins (2003, 2019), seven top fives and 13 top 10s. His average finish is a stout 8.9 (series-best).   

Johnson’s last chance to tie Gordon in wins at Indianapolis

One team has risen above the rest when it comes to winning in the NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and that team is Hendrick Motorsports with their series-leading 10 victories among three drivers (Jeff Gordon’s five wins, Jimmie Johnson’s four wins and Kasey Kahne’s one win). Now as seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson embarks on his final season, this weekend will be the last time he has a shot a tying his long-time friend and teammate NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for the series-most wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with five (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014).

Johnson and crew chief Cliff Daniels have started finding some success this season, currently 12th in the driver standings 63 points up on postseason cutline. In 15 starts in 2020, Johnson has amassed two top fives and six top 10s. 

Heading into this historic weekend, Johnson’s four Indianapolis wins (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012) lead all active drivers. In total, the Californian has made 18 starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway posting four wins, six top fives and seven top 10s. But, he finished 35th in this event last season due to an incident.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series race is considered one of NASCAR’s “crown jewel” events, and Johnson is one of only four drivers in history to have won all four – the DAYTONA 500, the Charlotte 600, the Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500 – joining Kevin Harvick, as well as NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt.

  • Next Race: Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard
  • The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
  • The Date: Saturday, July 4
  • The Time: 3 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
  • Radio: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 151.22 miles (62 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 62)

Xfinity Series goes road racing at Indianapolis

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will tackle the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the first time in series history this weekend in the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on Saturday, July 4  at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The inaugural road course event for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is part of a NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader that will also feature the IndyCar GMR Grand Prix – an event that was delayed from its originally scheduled date in May by the COVID-19 pandemic and is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course will provide a whole new set of challenges for drivers and teams as the series will hit the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course for the first time this weekend.

Also, for the first time since the break from the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be allowed to practice prior to race. They will get two practice sessions on Friday, July 3. The first will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET and the second will be at 3 p.m. ET.

Saturday’s race will be 62 laps for 151.22 miles with the first two stages being 20 laps each and the final stage is 22 laps. 

Last weekend, the Xfinity Series took on Pocono Raceway, also known as The Tricky Triangle, where Chase Briscoe was victorious for the fourth time this season after overcoming a late-race tire incident.

Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain came up short but did get to take home the $100,000 for the second week in a row in the final Dash 4 Cash installment of the season.

Myatt Snider was the highest-finishing rookie at Pocono in fourth.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice Available on NBC Sports App and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will have its first two practices this weekend since March 6 at Phoenix Raceway. Fans can watch both first (1:30-2:25 p.m. ET) and final practice (3-3:55 p.m. ET) on the NBC Sports App and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. The occasion marks the first time TrackPass will feature national series action. TrackPass is scheduled to air all NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series practice and qualifying sessions during the NBC portion of the schedule.

Road course ace Austin Cindric

Austin Cindric is still on the hunt for his first win in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and what better place than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

For Cindric, a win at Indy would mean a lot. Not only would it be his first win this season, but it would also lock him into the 2020 Playoffs. Plus, he would become the first ever winner in the Xfinity Series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. To top it off, he’d get the win for his team owner, Roger Penske, who is the newest owner of the speedway.

“Indianapolis means a lot to me personally and a lot to my family personally, so going to that place and being a driver instead of a spectator, I feel like is always weird, but I’m really looking forward to it and I wouldn’t want anything more than to be able to bring that first race win back home for Roger now at his racetrack,” Cindric said.

Both of Cindric’s career wins in the Xfinity Series came last year and were at road courses. The first was at Watkins Glen International and the second was at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has six top fives and eight top 10s so far this season. He has an average start of 7.8 and an average finish of 11.3 and he has led 249 laps. Last weekend at Pocono didn’t go as planned for Cindric and the No. 22 team as he finished 29th after being involved in a wreck on Lap 52.

He’s sitting in fourth in the points standings for the series – the second highest-ranked driver without a win and he has run upfront – leading the third-most percentage of laps this season (12.24%) sitting behind a pair of JR Motorsports teammates Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier.

This weekend’s Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (3 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the first start for every driver at the newly added track.

Smaller team success at Pocono

Pocono Raceway produced a top 15 with a lot of unfamiliar faces. Smaller teams, like Jeremy Clements Racing, Our Motorsports and JD Motorsports all had drivers finish in the top-10.

Due to the craziness of the Xfinity race at Pocono, drivers who tend to run in the top 20 had a chance to run up closer to the front and gain a lot of momentum. For example, Jeremy Clements finished in third, marking only the fourth top five of his 10-year career as an owner and driver for his own team.

“Just showing up and racing like this is definitely difficult for a team like us,” said Jeremy Clements. “We have zero engineering, no sim, no nothing. You just guess,” Clements explained. “We weren’t that great today, but we did make the most of it. We capitalized on that last restart. We dug ourselves a hole at the beginning of the year with blowing up, getting wrecked. This is definitely what we needed to get back up there.”

Brett Moffitt finished in seventh for Our Motorsports. This is the team’s first season in the Xfinity Series and marked their first top five and third top 10 this season. All of those finishes came with Moffitt behind the wheel.

Jesse Little finished in 10th for JD Motorsports, marking his career-best finish. JDM is in their 23rd Xfinity Series season and Little’s finish was the first top-10 for the team so far this year. JD Motorsports has 42 career top 10s and six top-fives.

  • Next Race: Buckle Up In Your Truck 225
  • The Place: Kentucky Speedway
  • The Date: Saturday, July 11
  • The Time: 6 p.m. ET
  • TV: FS1
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 225 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)
  • 2019 Race Winner: Tyler Ankrum

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