One of the most prestigious races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season is this weekend. Which driver and team will get to kiss the bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway following the Brickyard 400?
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the most historic tracks in auto racing. Because of that fact, every driver wants to win a race there. Since the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the track in 1994 it is a race that every driver, team and owner circles on the schedule as one to win. It ranks in the top three along with the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 as a race that “if I can win there, no matter what else happens it will be a memorable season” for the team.
I was at the inaugural Sprint Cup race (and the next nine as well) when it was simply called the Brickyard 400. Since then due to sponsorships the official race name has grown. The race is officially called the Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard this year. While I completely support honoring Navy Veteran and Navy Achievement Medal recipient Jeff Kyle and mean no disrespect to him, the race will always be to me simply the Brickyard 400. You can learn more about American Hero Jeff Kyle here.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is unlike any other track on the NASCAR schedule. The Sprint Cup cars will need handling, power and speed for a driver to have the opportunity to win the race. The 2.-5-mile track has 3,300 foot long straights with no banking and four turns with just nine degrees of banking.
The handling will be crucial to get through the turns without the car spinning. Power will be essential to accelerate out of the turns on to the straits. Speed will be needed to make a pass as the cars rocket down the front and back straights.
The crews will need to execute pit stops with near perfection. While the length of the track can allow for a green flag pit stop without losing a lap, any mistake in the pits could cost valuable positions on the track that can be hard to get back.
Here is a look at the top ten in driver ratings over the past ten races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
#1 – Jimmie Johnson – 108.1 driver rating with 4 wins
#2 – Jeff Gordon – 105.6 driver rating with 5 wins
#3 – Kyle Larson – 104.4 driver rating with 0 wins
#4 – Tony Stewart – 101.9 driver rating with 2 wins
#5 – Kasey Kahne – 100.1 driver rating with 0 wins
#6 – Kyle Busch – 98.5 driver rating with 0 wins
#7 – Matt Kenseth – 96.6 driver rating with 0 wins
#8 – Kevin Harvick – 92.7 driver rating with 1 win
#9 – Greg Biffle – 92.3 driver rating with 0 wins
#10 – Denny Hamlin – 90.6 driver rating with 0 wins
Jeff Gordon was the winner of the Inaugural Brickyard 400 and is the defending winner of the 2014 Brickyard 400. He has the most career wins at the track in 21 Sprint Cup races that have been held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jeff would be a good bet to win his sixth Brickyard 400 and lock himself onto the Chase Grid for his final full-time Sprint Cup season by getting his first win of 2015.
Jimmie Johnson his at number one on the driver rating list and number two in career wins at Indianapolis. Jimmie has four wins this season and is currently the number one seed on the Chase Grid. He is one of three drivers that have clinched their spots on the Chase Grid (as long as they attempt to qualify for the remaining races in the regular season) along with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick. Jimmie would be a favorite to grab his fifth Brickyard 400 win and fifth win of 2015 to further solidify the top seed for the Chase.
I am going to call Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch my dark horse picks for this week’s race. Kevin is #8 on the driver rating list for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a single win in his career. Neither Dale Jr. nor Kurt are in the top ten or have a Brickyard 400 win. Kevin and Dale Jr. have clinched their spots on the Chase Grid. Kurt only needs to gain another 18 points over 30th place in the points to clinch his spot on the Chase Grid.
That means these three drivers will only have one thing on their minds for the remaining Sprint Cup races in the regular season, WIN. Each win from the 2015 season will add three bonus points to the drivers for the start of the Chase. All three drivers have a pair of wins this season. That means the only way to start the Chase with an advantage over the other two will be to gain more wins. I believe they will all be taking gambles and pushing hard to get that win this weekend in Indianapolis.
Of course all the other drivers will also be pushing hard to get the win and punch their ticket to the Chase. Time is running out for the drivers not locked on the Chase Grid to make sure they get a chance to race for the championship. That could make this weekend’s race very interesting and exciting to watch.
We will see which NASCAR driver and their team gets to kiss the bricks Sunday, July 26th when the Brickyard 400 gets under way starting at 2:30pm central time.
By: Buck Stevens
