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We are back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400! We head into this race weekend with some extra momentum on our side as well. After cashing on Ryan Blaney at +1400 last week to win at Pocono Raceway, alongside a Bubba Wallace top 10, let’s close out the final race before the Olympic break with a victory.
Being back at the Indy oval is awesome, but how can we prepare for this track when the last time NASCAR raced there was in 2020? The first aspect I looked at when gathering data was drivers’ experience at this track.
Some drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series field have never raced on the Indy oval. Others, have a fair amount of experience. There are three active winners in the field this weekend, but only one of which may have a shot to repeat and that’s Brad Keselowski at +750.
Aside from the drivers who have raced here, Pocono is a good example of the long, fast and flat straightaways that we’ll at Indy. Taking a look at the top 10 from Pocono last week and the top 11 from Indy in 2020, I saw some similarities.
Five drivers who finished inside of the top 11 at Indy in 2020 also finished inside of the top 10 at Pocono just last weekend. Those drivers are: Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott. Denny Hamlin is the favorite this weekend, but he was left off that list. That’s because Hamlin crashed in 2020’s Brickyard 400 while LEADING in the final laps. Had he won, Denny would have finished first and second – the best two finishes amongst those drivers.
As much as I believe Denny can get it done, do not count out Kyle Larson. The driver of the No. 5 car may have the most laps logged at this racetrack in the field due to all of his preparation for the Indy 500 earlier this year. That plus a great crew chief in Cliff Daniels may be exactly what Larson needs to beat Denny in this one.
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