NASCAR Preview: Brickyard 400
- Ashton Hughes
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Five races remain in the regular season as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400.
Track Preview
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a 2.5-mile oval located just outside Indianapolis, Indiana. Known for the Indianapolis 500 that takes place every May, it is one of the most famous racetracks in the world. The oval circuit has a rectangular shape, with two long straightaways and two short chutes. The corners are banked at nine degrees.
The Brickyard 400 is a crown jewel event for NASCAR. The first running took place in 1994. From 2021-2023, the Indianapolis race was held on the venue’s road course.
The race is scheduled to include 160 laps. Stage 1 and Stage 2 will both be 50 laps, and Stage 3 will be 60 laps.
Weather Forecast
The weather report indicates mostly sunny skies with no precipitation expected. Temperatures throughout the race will be around 30 degrees Celsius.
The race is scheduled to begin on July 26 at 14:00 ET (11:00 PT, 19:00 BST).
The Storylines
Denny Hamlin appears to be the heavy favourite coming into the Brickyard 400. His average finish in 2026 so far is 8.6, including a second place result last weekend at North Wilkesboro. On the Indianapolis oval, he has amassed seven top-five finishes and finished third in the event last year. In the 2020 race, Hamlin crashed from the lead with seven laps to go following a tyre failure. Currently leading the Cup Series standings, it looks to be his race to lose.
Bubba Wallace won the Brickyard 400 last year and could do it again in 2026. Some of his strongest performances have come at Indy, where he has an average finish of 3.0 in the two races since the Next Gen car was introduced. He has finished in the top 10 in each of the last four races on the Indianapolis oval.
Kyle Larson won when NASCAR returned to the oval in 2024, but his average finish of 15.9 this season leaves something to be desired. He has been mired in incidents throughout the year and is seeking a breakthrough victory. He could do it this weekend if it all comes together.
Ryan Blaney has an average finish of 5.0 on the Indianapolis oval in the Next Gen era and has recorded eight top-10 results in the last nine races in 2026. His lowest finish in that string of events is eleventh last weekend at North Wilkesboro. He could find his way to the front again at the Brickyard.
The only active driver besides Larson and Wallace to have won on the Indianapolis oval is Brad Keselowski, doing so in 2018. Keselowski finished fifth at Indy in 2025, but he has found victory lane just once in the last five years, winning at Darlington in May 2024. He has shown speed on occasion, leading laps at several tracks, but success has eluded him. With two top-20 results over the last 10 races, it is not likely he will return to the winner’s circle this weekend.
The NASCAR In-Season Challenge wraps up this weekend, with Ryan Blaney facing Todd Gilliland in the final round. Gilliland was the number 25 seed entering the Challenge last month but has been the underdog story throughout. Blaney was the number three seed. He is the favourite for the prize, but nothing is guaranteed in racing. Whichever driver finishes in a better position than their opponent will receive $1,000,000 USD.
Written by Ashton Hughes, Edited by Tarun Suresh
Comments