Larson Victorious in Return to Indy

(SPEEDWAY, IND – JULY 21, 2024 – RIS) Kyle Larson, in a car wearing flashes of the McLaren ‘papaya’ orange from his attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 “double” in May, won the Brickyard 400 in double overtime. This is Larson’s fourth win of the season, his first at Indianapolis and owner Rick Hendrick’s eleventh win on the “Brickyard.”

Tyler Reddick jumped out to a lead over Denny Hamlin at the drop of the green flag with Chase Elliott and Kylar Larson in pursuit. Elliott moved around Hamlin into second as the field strung out in single-file. Green flag pit stops started about halfway through the first stage, Chase Elliott received a penalty for crossing the outer edge of the warmup lane exiting the pits, insisting over the team radio that he had not exceeded the limits described in NASCAR’s guidelines.

Late pit stops cycled Denny Hamlin into the lead ahead of Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick as the first stage wound down.  Brad Keselowski received the same penalty exiting the pits as Elliott and Denny Hamlin went on to take his first stage win at the Brickyard and seventh of the season. Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick were the rest of the top five under the stage-ending flag at the end of the first 50 laps of the race.

Byron commented on the accident: “We got back there in traffic. It seemed like the pit stop sequence didn’t go our way there. The No. 14 (Chase Briscoe) was just being a squirrel back in the pack. He drove up in front of me. I had to lift way off the corner and I got run over. 

“Yeah, I mean it sucks. We put a lot of effort into this race, but we put a lot of effort in every week.”

“I just saw everyone start checking up. I actually saw the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) on the bottom, so I went to go to the middle,” said Allmendinger after the wreck. “Right as I went to the middle, the No. 24 (William Byron) was coming across. It’s just kind of the story of the year… wrong place, wrong time.

“I mean on the restarts, everyone is going to be aggressive because you know that’s the time to make up the most…. It’s just disappointing, but it’s part of it. The way the wreck happened, it was kind of out of my control.”

After pit stops in the caution, Reddick, McDowell, Nemechek, Logano and LaJoie held the top five slots at the restart with Nemechek moving around into the lead with his lead over Reddick opening to a second and a half in only five laps.

Cody Ware’s flag left rear tire shed its tread to cause a caution on lap 68. Kyle Busch’s team elected to stay on the track and inherit the race lead at the restart. Bubba Wallace ran second to Busch, followed by Todd Gilliland, Chase Elliott and Corey LaJoie.

An immediate caution for a multi-car crash on the back straight sent William Byron and AJ Allmendinger spinning into the inside wall with Byron’s car unable to continue. The crash started when Ryan Preece tried to go three-wide with Byron and Chase Briscoe bumping into each other. 

Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott led the restart with Wallace finally taking the lead as Denny Hamlin used a battle between Joey Logano and Todd Gilliland to sweep into second. Wallace, Elliott, Hamlin, Blaney and Nemechek were the top five at the end of the second stage for Wallace’s first stage win since 2022. Logano pitted just before the pits closed before the end of the stage, staying on the lead lap after exiting the pits and getting up to speed ahead of Wallace.

Seventeen cars stayed on the track during the stage break, with Hamlin, Nemechek, Stenhouse, Truex and Elliott the top five as the field approached the restart for the final stage of the race.

Hamlin and Stenhouse jumped into the lead at the restart but Truex hit the wall then Josh Berry spun into the wall for an immediate caution period.  The caution led to another restart crash, with Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson getting crashed into the outside wall after Ryan Blaney got loose hitting Austin Dillon and sending Johnson and Logano into the wall. “It seems like they were three wide a couple of rows behind me and the wreck caught me, unfortunately,” said Logano. “It looks like Hocevar sent it down the center and just kind of stuffed it in there late. That seems like something he has done a lot recently. Unfortunately, it caught up to me. He right-reared Jimmie into my left rear and nosed our Shell Pennzoil Mustang into the wall. We were going to have a shorter pit stop and we were going to try to gain some spots the restart as a lot of guys were staying out.”

“I am not entirely sure without seeing the replay,” Berry commented. “It looked like the 19 got spun out and we were all just stacking and I think I got clipped from behind and turned into the wall.”

Nemechek and Chastain led the restart, with Chastain taking the lead from the outside, with Bowman, Larson and Elliott making a Hendrick trifecta to fill the top five.

Martin Truex spun in the second turn due to a flat left rear tire with Elliott, Reddick and a couple of other cars on pit road when the caution flew. Truex’ car needed a short push to get out of the grass where it was stuck.

Keselowski and Blaney led Daniel Hemric and Zane Smith to the restart with Keselowski opening a lead of over a half second in the first lap. The gap stabilized a about three-tenths of a second, with Smith, Hemric and Hamlin running in the top five. 

Larson advanced to fourth at ten laps to run, then moved around Hemric for third but Keselowski and Blaney are thought to be running low on fuel while Larson pitted after the other two and should have fuel to spare.

All the fuel calculations got throuwn out when Kyle Busch spun trying to block Hamlin and hit the wall to put the race under caution and into an overtime finish. When the pits opened, Hamlin’s crew called him to the pits for fuel and right side tires, while Zane Smith took on fuel only, along with several other racers.

Keselowski ran out of gas approaching the restart and pulled down pit road, allowing Larson and Blaney to lead the pack but a multi-car crash entering turn one sent Nemechek into the wall after trying to block Hemric. The cleanup was so involved that the race was red flagged for the cleanup and to reset some of the concrete blocks protecting the exit of pit road. With Keselowski’s sudden exit onto pit road, there was some confusion about the control car at the restart.

When the track was finally cleared, Larson and Blaney filled the front row with Larson choosing the inside line, followed by Reddick with Gilliland behind Blaney, giving Blaney another Ford behind him. Larson launched into the led with Blaney dropping to third behind Reddick. Ryan Preece spun and stalled with the yellow flag flying after the white flag marked the last lap, handing the Brickyard 400 win to Larson after his car owner, Rick Hendrick, had served as honorary pace car driver to start the race.

Second place finisher Tyler Reddick commented: “Yeah, I mean me and Kyle (Larson) just, were the first few cars on that alternate strategy. We had that issue on pit road. I think he had some issue on pit road as well that put him back there. Unfortunately, when Kyle got to me and passed me like he did, I wasn’t expecting it. It was really creative, and he continued to catch the rest of the field and pass cars. I wish I could’ve seen that one coming and maybe defended that better. It was a great way to make a pass.”

“It was hard fought,” said third-place Ryan Blaney. “I thought we had a really good shot to win today. Our car was fast and I thought we had really good strategy. We were the front guy of having to save a little bit of gas but I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. I knew the 6 [Keselowski] was probably going to run out if it went green. We came to the restart and I couldn’t believe they stayed out. There was no way they were going to make it. So I obviously chose the top because he might run out in the restart zone. And he winds up coming to the green so he gets to go to pit road and the 5 gets promoted. Luck of the day right there I guess. I don't even know what to get mad about. I am mad about losing this race because I thought we were in the perfect position. Once I lost control of the race, obviously I would have been on the bottom, but I thought the 6 would run out in the restart zone or on the back.

Blaney gave his opinion on preventing future confused restarts: “Yeah, call it off and rechoose. Because now you promote the third place guy before the second place guy if the leader has problems. That isn’t right. It is just dumb luck. At this race track where the bottom is preferred. I don't know. I am just upset. That is a heartbreaker. We did everything right today. We were in prime position to win and it just didn’t work out for us. I just got unlucky. I am not going to sleep very good tonight, I will tell you that. I appreciate Team Penske and everybody for the fast car. We have beensuper fast and it showed again today. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Unofficial Results: Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG, July 21, 2024 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 167, 2, , 2, 8, 5, 49, Running
2) 1, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota, 167, 5, 6, 2, 40, , 46, Running
3) 7, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Atlas Ford, 167, 3, 4, , , , 49, Running
4) 18, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 167, , 9, 1, 2, , 35, Running
5) 17, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota, 167, , 1, 1, 26, 1, 42, Running
6) 24, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 gener8tor Ford, 167, , , 1, 1, , 31, Running
7) 38, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 167, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 25, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, 167, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 21, Noah Gragson, No. 10 Bass Pro Shops Winchester Ford, 167, 10, , 1, 3, , 29, Running
10) 3, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 167, , 2, 1, 1, , 36, Running
11) 9, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kleenex 100 Years/Donors Choose Chevrolet, 167, 9, 7, , , , 32, Running
12) 30, Carson Hocevar #, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 167, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 11, Austin Dillon, No. 3 SENIX Chevrolet, 167, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 19, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 167, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 28, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, 167, , , 1, 8, , 22, Running
16) 8, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford, 167, 6, , 1, 1, , 26, Running
17) 27, Zane Smith #, No. 71 Focused Health Chevrolet, 167, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 36, Cody Ware, No. 15 Peoria TT Ford, 167, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 22, * Ty Dillon(i), No. 33 Titan Risk Solutions Chevrolet, 167, , , , , , 0, Running
20) 35, Justin Haley, No. 51 Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford, 167, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 26, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Body Guard Ford, 167, , , 2, 35, , 16, Running
22) 23, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford, 167, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 6, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 167, 8, , , , , 17, Running
24) 20, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford, 167, , 10, , , , 14, Running
25) 34, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Cheddar's Patriotic Chevrolet, 166, , , 2, 5, , 12, Running
26) 31, Ryan Preece, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 165, , , , , , 11, Accident
27) 14, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, 165, , 8, , , , 13, Running
28) 29, Erik Jones, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota, 165, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 10, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, 161, , 5, 2, 16, , 14, Accident
30) 32, Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet, 161, , , , , , 7, Accident
31) 13, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 161, 7, , , , , 10, Accident
32) 2, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, 161, 1, 3, 2, 21, 1, 23, Accident
33) 33, * Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Carvana Toyota, 110, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 12, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 109, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 37, Josh Berry #, No. 4 Panini/Caitlin Clark Ford, 104, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 16, Harrison Burton, No. 21 Draiver Ford, 74, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 15, AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet, 74, , , , , , 0, Accident
38) 4, William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 73, 4, , , , , 8, Accident
39) 39, * BJ McLeod(i), No. 66 Coble Enterprises Ford, 15, , , , , , 0, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 167 Laps, 417.5 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 29 Mins, 9 Secs.
Average Speed: 119.77 MPH
Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 11, 5, 12, 24, 45, 34, 48, 54, 47, 10
Stage 2 Top 10: 23, 9, 11, 12, 42, 45, 47, 19, 20, 14

Comments: Kyle Larson has won the Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his 27th career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty. for the reason(s) indicated: No. 2 (Unapproved Adjustments) and No. 19 (Unapproved adjustments post inspections, start at the rear, loss of pit selection and a drive through penalty after receiving the green flag).

Cautions: 10 for 34 laps;
Laps: 52-55 (Stage 1 Conclusion [33]);
70-73 (Debris Backstretch [6]);
75-78 (No. 24, 16, 21 Incident Backstretch [2]);
102-104 (Stage 2 Conclusion [38]);
106-109 (No. 19, 4, 54 Incident Turn 3 [15]);
111-114 (No. 84, 22, 77, 12, 3 Incident Turn 1 [15]);
126-129 (No. 19 Incident Turn 3 [51]);
159-161 (No. 8, 11 Incident Turn 3 [17]);
163-165 (No. 11, 42, 14, 48, 31 Incident Turn 1 [Red Flag 00:17:08] [17]);
167-167 ( [None]).

Lead Changes: 18 among 13 drivers;
T. Reddick 1-36;
M. McDowell 37;
C. Bell 38-39;
B. Keselowski 40;
D. Hamlin 41-51;
T. Reddick 52-55;
J. Nemechek 56-69;
K. Busch 70-72;
T. Gilliland 73;
K. Busch 74-75;
B. Wallace 76-101;
D. Hamlin 102-111;
J. Nemechek 112-113;
R. Chastain 114-121;
K. Larson 122;
C. Elliott 123;
N. Gragson 124-126;
B. Keselowski 127-160;
K. Larson 161-167.

Unofficial Points: Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Rank  Driver Car    Starts GL     Points         Ldr     Nxt    Race Wins   Stage Wins  Playoff Pts
 1) Kyle Larson          5          21        1          749     0         0         4          8          28
 2) Chase Elliott        9          22        -1         739     -10       10        1          1          6
 3) Tyler Reddick      45       22        0         734     -15       5          1          3          8
 4) Denny Hamlin     11         22        0         706     -43      28       3          6          21
 5) Ryan Blaney         12        22        2          676     -73      30       2          2          12
 6) William Byron      24       22        -1         654     -95      22        3          1          16
 7) Martin Truex Jr   19        22        -1         653     -96      1          0         3          3
 8) Christopher Bell 20       22        0         651      -98      2          3          9          24
 9) Brad Keselowski 6          22        0         615      -134    36       1          0         5
10) Alex Bowman      48       22        0         606     -143    9          1          0         5
11) Ty Gibbs  54       22        0         587     -162     19        0         2          2
12) Chris Buescher   17        22        0         562     -187     25       0         2          2
13) Ross Chastain    1          22        0         552     -197     10        0         1          1
14) Bubba Wallace   23       22        1          545     -204   7          0         1          1
15) Joey Logano       22        22        -1         525     -224    20       1          1          6
16) Chase Briscoe    14        22        0         469     -280   56       0         0         0
17) Daniel Suarez     99       22        0         460     -289    9          1          0         5
18) Kyle Busch          8          22        0         440    -309   20       0         0         0
19) Austin Cindric     2          22        0         438     -311     2          1          2          7
20) Todd Gilliland    38       22        0         434     -315    4          0         0         0
21) Michael McDowell         34       22        1          404    -345    30       0         1          1
22) Josh Berry #      4          22        -1         388     -361    16        0         0         0
23) Noah Gragson    10        22        1          383     -366   5          0         0         0
24) Carson Hocevar #         77        22        -1         383     -366   0         0         0         0
25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr       47        22        0         375     -374    8          0         0         0
26) Ryan Preece       41        22        1          329     -420   46       0         0         0
27) Erik Jones           43       20       -1         329     -420   0         0         0         0
28) Corey LaJoie      7          22        2          324     -425   5          0         0         0
29) Justin Haley       51        22        0         319      -430   5          0         0         0
30) Daniel Hemric   31        22        -2        316      -433   3          0         0         0
31) John Hunter Nemechek            42       22        0         307     -442   9          0         0         0
32) Austin Dillon      3          22        0         294     -455   13        0         0         0
33) Zane Smith #     71        22        1          248     -501    46       0         0         0
34) Harrison Burton 21        22        -1         238     -511     10        0         0         0
35) Kaz Grala                        16        0         166      -583   72        0         0         0
36) Cody Ware          15        4          3          47        -702    119      0         0         0
37) Joey Hand                      1          -1         43       -706    4          0         1          0
38) * Jimmie Johnson         84       6          -1         39       -710    4          0         0         0
39) Derek Kraus                   5          -1         32       -717     7          0         0         0
40) David Ragan                  1          0         17        -732    15        0         0         0
41) Kamui Kobayashi                       1          0         8          -741     9          0         0         0
42) Will Brown                      1          0         6          -743    2          0         0         0
43) Cam Waters                   1          0         2          -747    4          0         0         0
44) AJ Allmendinger(i)        16        10        0         0         -749    2          0         0         0
45) Anthony Alfredo(i)                     2          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
46) Justin Allgaier(i)                        1          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
47) * Ty Dillon(i)       33       5          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
48) Shane Van Gisbergen(i)                       4          0         0         -749    0         0         1          0
49) Corey Heim(i)                 3          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
50) * BJ McLeod(i)  66       4          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
51) Riley Herbst(i)                3          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
52) Josh Williams(i)             2          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
53) Josh Bilicki(i)                 1          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
54) Austin Hill(i)                   3          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
55) Jj Yeley(i)                        3          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
56) Timmy Hill(i)                  1          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
57) David Starr(i)                  1          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
58) Chad Finchum(i)                        1          0         0         -749    0         0         0         0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series