episode 2625-On To The Brickyard 400  

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

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There’s a difference when NASCAR takes it to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is a track steeped in history and tradition. Ask just about anyone, whether it be a driver, crew chief, or crew member. They will tell you that everything just feels different at this place. Even the owners know the feeling and the history of the Brickyard, and every one of them wants to win at Indy. There is just a different air about the place. It is the oldest and most historic track around.

Even with all that history and tradition, things do change somewhat, like what happened in qualifying for the Brickyard 400. Not that it was so unexpected that Carson Hocevar won the pole position. He has shown speed at times, and to this fan, he has shown that he has had the speed more than once to take the pole position. This one was similar to another time when the last one to qualify and possibly beat him out for the pole was Denny Hamlin. However, this time Denny didn’t run fast enough to take it from him. He qualified fifth, much to Hocevar’s delight.

Probably one of the things about the qualifying results that surprises this fan the most is the way the Spire Motorsports cars qualified. I’ve already mentioned Hocevar, but Daniel Suarez qualified next to him on the front row, and Michael McDowell qualified sixth. Michael McDowell is a former winner at Indy, but admittedly, it was on the Indy Road Course in 2023.

The problem I see with the qualifying order and the Spire Teams is that the three JGR Toyotas qualified third, fourth, and fifth. In seventh, just behind McDowell, is another Toyota driven by Cory Heim, who won the Naval Base Coronado Anduril 250. That is pretty much a stacked deck of Toyotas in the top ten. Chase Briscoe is qualified eleventh, and he has been making a strong showing lately and now sits in the eighth spot in the points race to qualify for the Chase. That is a lot of Toyotas that have been showing good speed and winning a lot of races between them this season.

The first Ford doesn’t show up until the thirteenth starting spot, and that’s Ryan Blaney in his Penske number 12. When it comes to the race, I don’t really expect him to stay there. When it comes to the In-Season Challenge, he does have an obvious starting advantage over his competition for the million dollars, Todd Gilliland, who qualified thirty-sixth.

Of course, 400 miles leaves a lot of time for a lot to happen in the race within the race. Since this is Indy, I won’t say Gilliland’s chances are small, but I will say the deck might be slightly stacked against him. He only has to finish ahead of Blaney. He doesn’t have to win the race. As long as both are still running, they both have a chance for the million. An accident for one or both of them could decide things depending on where they end up in the final results. (Gee, that doesn’t sound like there’s any pressure involved on either one of them, does it?)

Alex Bowman, starting eighth, is the highest qualified Hendrick Chevy. From this fan’s view, it goes without saying, He could be a contender in this one. Since he has his contract extension with Hendrick for another year and he says 2027 will be his last year in full-time Cup racing, I’m sure he would love nothing better than to surprise everyone with a win at the Brickyard. I’m not going to rule him out even though he has struggled most of this season.

His teammates, William Byron and Chase Elliott, had to be disappointed with their qualifying times. Byron starts twenty-first and Elliott twenty-seventh. Once again, from this fan’s view, they can only hope their crew chiefs can find them more speed as the race goes on. Once again, this is Indy, and it is a long race where a lot can happen. When it comes to what I really think their chances of winning this one are, well, let’s just say it would be surprising if one of them does. I’m not saying the odds are against them, but considering their performance lately, I just don’t expect it.

That brings us to the last Hendrick driver, Kyle Larson. He qualified in the tenth starting spot and has been known to pull off some surprising finishes at times. Right now, he is in the middle of a long stretch without a win in Cup. It has been over a year since his last win. It’s not that he’s been running badly. He has had chances to run up front and even take a win this season, but something has always happened to cause him to fall back from taking a win, even when it looked like it was inevitable. He is not only in a slump from winning, but he is going through an extended period of struggling with “bad racing luck” that has affected him just about every week in some way. I am sure he would like nothing better than to win at the Brickyard and break that losing streak.

With the strength the Toyotas have been showing almost every weekend, I’m not really expecting Kyle to break the streak with a win in today’s race at Indy. But I will admit he is more than capable of pulling a win off if anyone can…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…