One of NASCAR‘s crown jewel races will also be the final chance to make the 2018 playoffs. The Brickyard 400 is the last chance for many drivers to get their name on the Chase Grid.
The official name of the race this year is the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard. However, like most NASCAR fans I will always simply call it the Brickyard 400. NASCAR drivers and teams simply call it “a race we want to win!” The race is held at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That ranks it at the top of the list of races each year that is a coveted win to add to a team’s list of accomplishments.
This year the race is positioned as the final race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season. That makes it even more important as it is the last chance to either gain playoff points or just make the playoffs. That added pressure will likely turn a race that is already a challenge because of the massive track into an even more potentially dangerous race for drivers and teams.
Drivers will have to be mistake-free from start to finish for a shot at racing for the win at the end. Teams will have to have the cars set for speed, acceleration and handling to give the drivers a legitimate shot at competing. The teams will have to be not only mistake-free during pit stops … They will also have to be fast at servicing the cars on pit road. We saw last weekend at Darlington that a quick pit stop can win the race. This week that race win could not only be the bragging rights of winning the Brickyard 400, it could also be the ticket to NASCAR’s playoffs.
Let’s take a look at what the drivers and teams will be facing at the Indy Speedway and in the Brickyard 400 race.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Data
Track Size: 2.5-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 9 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 9 degrees
Banking/Straights: 0 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 3,330 feet
Backstretch Length: 3,300 feet
Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Data
Season Race #: 26 of 36 (09-09-18)
Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles
Stages 1 & 2 Length: 50 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 60 laps
Here’s a look at the top active drivers at the Indy Speedway.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Kyle Busch…………………………. 106.9
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 103.6
Matt Kenseth………………………… 99.5
Kevin Harvick……………………….. 98.0
Kyle Larson………………………….. 96.8
Kasey Kahne………………………… 94.9
Denny Hamlin……………………….. 91.5
Joey Logano…………………………. 91.2
Brad Keselowski……………………. 89.3
Erik Jones……………………………. 88.5
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2017 races (13 total) among active drivers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The tradition of kissing the Yard of Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was started by Dale Jarrett and his crew chief Todd Parrott (pictured above) after winning the Brickyard 400 in 1996. The active driver who has kissed the bricks more time than any other driver is Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie has kissed the Yard of Bricks after winning the Brickyard 400 four times in his career.
Kyle Busch has scored two Brickyard 400 wins and is the only other active driver with multiple wins in the race on his resume.
Kasey Kahne got his first and only Brickyard 400 win last year. The only other active drivers to have a Brickyard 400 win are Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman.
Ten drivers have clinched their spots on the Chase Grid by winning at least one race during the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Four drivers have clinched their spots on the Chase Grid based on points acquired during the regular season. You can see who those drivers are on the Chase Grid Outlook at the bottom of the page.
Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman are above the cutoff line for the 16 driver Chase Grid heading to Indianapolis this weekend. Here is how these two can lock their position in NASCAR’s playoffs.
Jimmie Johnson:
If there is a repeat winner (or a win by any of the drivers above the cutoff line currently) Jimmie will clinch a Chase Grid spot no matter where he finishes in the race.
If there is a win by a driver below the cutoff line Jimmie will need to finish the race with 37 points to clinch his spot in the playoffs.
Winning the race would lock Jimmie’s spot on the Chase Grid.
Alex Bowman:
If there is a repeat winner (or a win by any of the drivers above the cutoff line currently) Alex will clinch a Chase Grid spot no matter where he finishes in the race.
If there is a win by a driver below the cutoff line Alex will need to finish the race with 20 points more than Jimmie Johnson (or 19 points if Alex finishes in the top six) to clinch his spot in the playoffs.
Of course winning the race would also lock Alex’s spot on the Chase Grid.
The drivers that can only make the playoffs by winning the Brickyard 400 are:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, David Ragan, Michael McDowell, Kasey Kahne, Darrell Wallace Jr., Ty Dillon and Matt DiBenedetto.
There is an 80% chance of rain predicted for Indianapolis Sunday thanks to tropical storm Gordon. That means there is a good chance the race may get pushed back to Monday when there is only a 20% chance of rain predicted. We will have to wait to see what happens with the weather and the race at 1:00 PM central time (2 PM eastern time) Sunday, September 9th for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
By: Buck Stevens
