It’s a big weekend in motor sports at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with NASCAR and the IndyCar Series competing on the iconic venue’s road course.
First on Saturday, Will Power won the IndyCar race, and then for the second part of the doubleheader in the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series race, things got wild for a moment when one driver briefly went airborne.
About a third of the way through the 62-lap Xfinity race on Indy’s 2.439-mile road course, Kris Wright behind the wheel of the No. 26 Toyota flew over a curb on the edge of the track – put there to keep drivers off the grass, per FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass — and the nose of his car shot upward. And at one point, all four tires appeared to be off the ground.
Once Wright’s car came back down, it made it back onto the track for a moment before sliding off it, still ending up in the grass. And IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin had a similar takeoff in the race earlier Saturday.
Spoiler alert: Some NASCAR drivers really aren’t fans of this move.
The upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway marks a major change for the premier series — and one that some drivers aren’t too pleased about.
After 27 years of racing on Indy’s iconic 2.5-mile oval — which also hosts the legendary Indianapolis 500 over Memorial Day Weekend — NASCAR’s top series is making the jump to Indy’s 14-turn, clockwise 2.439-mile road course. It’s an exciting doubleheader kind of weekend for racing fans with IndyCar and NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series racing Saturday, followed by the Cup Series’ Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.
But despite the busy racing weekend, NASCAR is losing one of it’s “crown-jewel” races in the Brickyard 400 on the oval. It seldom produced the best racing of the season, but it was a highly coveted checkered flag that many drivers had on their career checklists. They’ll still drive across the famous yard of bricks — and the winner will likely still kiss them too — but they’ll be coming from the opposite direction.
So ahead of the new race on Indy’s road course, some top drivers weighed in on the track and whether they think the status of the race at the Brickyard has changed.
For the first time in 104 races, the Indy 500 will be held without fans.
There are a few “firsts” happening during Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 (1 p.m. ET, NBC) and the week leading up to it.
The most obvious is that it’s taking place in a month other than May for the first time ever, which is a big deal considering the whole month typically is filled with events and builds up momentum for race day. The IndyCar Series announced the race’s postponement back in March as major events across most sports in the U.S. were delayed or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marco Andretti during qualifying for the 2020 Indianapolis 500. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
For one of the biggest motor sports events in the world with more than a century of history behind it, the lack of fans will surely be noticeable to viewers at home. But what about for drivers on the track?
For The Win spoke with 2020 Indy 500 pole sitter Marco Andretti on Monday about the potential impact of empty grandstands, noting what a difference it will make during the extravagant pre-race festivities.
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“Especially coming out to Gasoline Alley, this place is electric on race day normally,” said Andretti, who is the first member of his family to start on the Indy 500 pole since his grandfather and 1969 Indy 500 winner, Mario Andretti, did it in 1987.
Marco qualified first Sunday during the Fast Nine Shootout with a four-lap average of 231.068 miles per hour, edging out Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, by just .017 miles per hour.
“So that’s going to be super strange,” Marco continued to explain about not having fans. “However, at 240 miles an hour, I don’t think we’re going to notice. But it’s one of those double-edged swords, right? Would I have wanted to celebrate yesterday with fans? Absolutely.
“But on the other hand, we’re super lucky that Roger [Penske] picked the series up and is keeping it going through these times. And so if we’re able to keep sport going in a safe way, I think the world needs it. I think it’s a good thing. So we’re happy to be driving, so I’m not complaining.”
The 104th running of the Indy 500 is Sunday, August 23 at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.
For the first time in 104 races, the Indianapolis 500 won’t have fans in attendance.
For the first time in 104 races, the Indianapolis 500 will be held without fans. That seems like it should have been a given, considering the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the U.S. and Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s capacity is at least 350,000.
But the iconic track’s new owner, Roger Penske, was insistent in June that the Indy 500 only would happen with fans in attendance.
And up until Tuesday, the plan for the biggest motor sports event in North America — which was pushed back from Memorial Day Weekend in May to August 23 — was to hold it with a maximum of 25 percent capacity, which is still about 87,000 people. And even that decision was only two weeks old and a decrease from originally trying to allow up to 50 percent capacity across the grandstands, infield and suites.
However, IMS announced the change that fans will not be at the 104th running of the 500, which is, unquestionably, the smart, responsible and obvious choice, despite the massive track having space to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing protocols for events.
It was made after “careful consideration and extensive consultation with state and city leadership,” the track said in a statement.
It is with great regret that we announce the Indianapolis 500 will take place on August 23 without fans. This tough decision was made following careful consideration and extensive consultation with state and city leadership.
“We didn’t buy the Speedway for one year, we bought it for generations to come, and it’s important to our reputation to do the right thing,” Penske said in a telephone interview. …
“We need to be safe and smart about this,” Penske said. “Obviously we want full attendance, but we don’t want to jeopardize the health and safety of our fans and the community. We also don’t want to jeopardize the ability to hold a successful race.”
Penske also said the financial hit for IndyCar and the track of not having fans didn’t factor into the decision, the AP reported. But that — in addition to the legendary status of the the Indy 500 — likely played a part in delaying the move to not have fans until the month of the race.
Team Penske driver Will Power and Roger Penske celebrate winning the 2018 Indy 500. Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud also won the iconic event in 2019. (Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports)
Having up to 25 percent capacity seemed dangerous, despite the previous plan to mandate masks and provide fans with hand sanitizer and a temperature check at the door. And it looked like this was just going to be the latest example of sports prioritizing profits over people’s health and safety.
The situation was compounded last week when IU Health, the state’s largest health care system and a partner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said it opposed fans attending the 500.
“Until we sustain better control of this virus and its spread,” IU Health said in a statement, “we strongly encourage IMS to consider an alternative to running the Indy 500 with fans in August.”
IU Health also noted the risks extend far beyond fans attending the race and include traveling to the Indianapolis area, outside gatherings, restaurants and accommodations.
Other sports leagues, like the NBA and MLB, have been competing without fans in attendance, and, for the most part, IndyCar and NASCAR have severely restricted attendance at their respective events. Even for the two American racing series’ first-ever doubleheader weekend in July at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, fans were not invited.
Finally, it appears Penske and other officials understand it’s irresponsible for anyone to host potentially tens of thousands of people at a race in a state where positive COVID-19 cases have been increasing. But Penske told the AP it was the spike in Indiana cases, not IU Health’s recommendation, that pushed him to exclude fans.
“As dedicated as we were to running the race this year with 25 percent attendance at our large outdoor facility, even with meaningful and careful precautions implemented by the city and state, the COVID-19 trends in Marion County and Indiana have worsened,” the speedway said in a statement.
“Since our June 26 announcement, the number of cases in Marion County has tripled while the positivity rate has doubled. We said from the beginning of the pandemic we would put the health and safety of our community first, and while hosting spectators at a limited capacity with our robust plan in place was appropriate in late June, it is not the right path forward based on the current environment.”
Clearly.
The Indy 500 is truly an unparalleled spectacle dripping with international prestige and history. But Penske and the track really had no choice but to keep the grandstands empty.
The seven-time NASCAR champ went for an open-wheeled ride at IMS.
Jimmie Johnson has been ready to get behind the wheel for an IndyCar test for months, and Tuesday, he was able to make it happen finally at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is retiring from full-time racing at the end of the 2020 season, and he’s repeatedly expressed interest in trying out other types of racing, including IndyCar. So he teamed up with NASCAR-IndyCar team Chip Ganassi Racing to test one of its open-wheelers on Indy’s road course, rather than the oval.
Johnson was originally supposed to have an IndyCar test in April at Barber Motorsports Park, and he even brought an iRacing rig to “prepare for ’21 and ’22 for the different bucket list races” he has in mind. But the coronavirus outbreak led to that test being canceled.
Then he had another test planned for the iconic Indy track in early July after, for the first time, NASCAR and IndyCar raced at the same venue over the same weekend. But his positive COVID-19 test nixed that too.
So, “Third time’s a charm” for the 44-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver, who also made his IndyCar iRacing debut at Watkins Glen International in March when real-life racing was still on hold.
And as Chip Ganassi Racing managing director Mike Hull tweeted, Johnson was having a great time:
JJ’s 1st comment after his initial @IMS road track run on the intercom: “It certainly was my dream as a kid to be an #IndyCar Driver, went a different direction which has served me well, this lites my fire.” https://t.co/jlJGu4H3sH
Johnson’s Twitter account also shared the first look at him driving an IndyCar machine, one of Ganassi’s regular rotation cars set up for when IndyCar took on Indy’s road course on July 4, Hull tweeted last week.
Posting plenty of IG Stories if you want to follow through the day —> https://t.co/GprdUWlIbZ
And Johnson got an extra hand from five-time IndyCar Series champion and longtime Ganassi driver Scott Dixon.
Appreciate having @scottdixon9 come out to the test today to share pointers and give feedback.
Just finished reviewing his in-car footage compared to mine then took a ride on the track together to check brake points and areas to gain a little speed. pic.twitter.com/VjgueGgj3k
Previewing Sunday’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records at Indianapolis Motor Speedway sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR analysis, picks and tips.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records. The green flag drops Sunday at 4 p.m. ET with the race televised on NBC. Below, we analyze the Big Machine 400 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.
Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the largest sporting venue in the world with a capacity of 235,000, will take place in front of no fans due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and social distancing practices.
Seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson tested positive for the coronavirus Friday and will miss the race – and likely a few more. His streak of 663 consecutive Cup starts will end – a streak that ranks fifth all time behind Jeff Gordon (797), Ricky Rudd (788), Bobby Labonte (704) and Rusty Wallace (697).
Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick (+400 for Sunday’s race) is the chalk in Indy. He won last season’s race from the pole position. In 19 career starts at the Brickyard, he has two wins, seven top-5 finishes and 13 top-10 showings, while leading all active drivers with an 8.95 Average-Finish Position (AFP).
Ford had not won in 18 consecutive Cup races at IMS from 2000-2017 before Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski (+800) broke through for checkers in 2018. With Harvick’s win last season, Ford has consecutive wins at the Indiana 2.5-mile oval for the first time since 1996-97.
Three of the past seven winners at Indianapolis have come from the No. 1 spot on the starting grid, while six of the previous seven have started ninth or better.
Who is going to win the Big Machine 400?
HARVICK (+400) won last summer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and leads all active drivers with an 8.95 AFP. He has finished eighth or better in each of his past six starts, including top-5 showings in three of the previous five.
Harvick was 13th in the 2013 version of this race. In the previous six starts at the track, Happy has posted a 4.7 AFP.
While Keselowski gets a lot of the attention due to his 2018 win at this track, the more consistent Penske driver at IMS is JOEY LOGANO (+800). He was a runner-up to Harvick last season, and has been the bridesmaid in two of his past five Indianapolis runs. In his previous seven IMS starts he is averaging a 5.9 AFP, making him WORTH A BET.
DENNY HAMLIN (+500) has been delivering consistency in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota lately, including a win at Pocono last Sunday. He has actually never won at Indianapolis in 14 tries, but has a strong 12.4 AFP with five top-5 finishes, eight top-10 showings and 112 laps led with zero DNFs.
KYLE BUSCH (+500) is among the favorites despite the fact he has zero victories so far during the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and there just seems to be something off with the No. 18 team. If Busch and his team can finally figure out the right combination, HE IS A STRONG BET to win at this track. He posted back-to-back wins at IMS in 2015-16.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway long-shot bets
WILLIAM BYRON (+2500) appeared in the long-shot bets section last weekend at Pocono, but was unable to come through. He has been a quick study during the early years of his Cup career, posting a 19th-place finish at Indy in 2018 before improving to fourth in last season’s installment.
RYAN NEWMAN (+8000) is WORTH A SMALL-UNIT BET at this price. He won this race in 2013, and has racked up finishes of 12th or better in eight of his past nine starts at the track. “Rocket Man” is also a Hoosier State native, so he brings more intensity than usual when running on his home turf.
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“If we moved away from the oval and when Cup cars go to Indy, we run the road course, I’d be OK with that,” Dale Jr. explained.
For the people tuning into this Saturday’s NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants them to keep in mind one key question: “Could this work in the Cup Series?”
For the first time ever, NASCAR and the IndyCar Series are racing at the same track over the same weekend. IndyCar kicks things off Saturday with the GMR Grand Prix at noon ET, followed by NASCAR’s second-tier XFINITY Series in the Pennzoil 150. Both races will be on Indy’s road course, which is a first for the NASCAR Series.
The top-tier Cup Series race on Sunday, however, will still be on the iconic 2.5-mile oval, marking the first time the Cup and XFINITY series will have two races in the same location but on different tracks.
As Earnhardt noted on his Dale Jr. Download podcast this week, the XFINITY Series experimenting with stock cars on Indy’s road course could potentially lead to the Cup Series moving from the iconic oval to the road course too, especially “if the [Cup] racing continues to be boring or not satisfactory at the oval.”
Like many racing fans, Earnhardt — who owns JR Motorsports, an XFINITY team — said he’s “really, really excited” about the XFINITY Series racing on the road course. He explained on the Dale Jr. Download:
“I think the road course there has always been a point of conversation. There’s been times throughout the racing at Indianapolis for the Cup cars where the racing hasn’t been that great. With the new rules package, we’re kind of still sifting through to see whether this is going to improve the racing at Indy on the oval.
“But a lot of people have called for the possibility or the idea for the Cup Series to go to the road course and try to race the road course at Indy. This will be the first test of whether that’s really the move to make. So I think as we’re watching this race Saturday, we need to keep in mind not only are we watching it to see who wins and we’re pulling for our favorite drivers and all that good stuff. But we’re also watching it with the idea of: Could this work in the Cup Series?
“I think everybody should pay attention while they’re watching the XFINITY race and make that decision for themselves at the end. Did what you see — would you like to see the Cup cars doing just what you saw the XFINITY cars doing on Saturday? Because if the Cup racing at the [Indy] oval doesn’t improve or doesn’t trend toward more exciting racing, then they might have to make a change or they likely will make a change.”
Earnhardt fully admitted that his excitement over just the idea of the Cup Series taking on Indy’s road course is largely because he retired from the Cup Series and moved to NBC Sports’ broadcast booth. He clearly wants to watch a Cup race on the road course, but he said he wouldn’t want to actually race in it.
Back in January, Matt DiBenedetto was the first NASCAR driver to test on Indy’s road course, and because of that, the full-time Cup Series driver is ineligible to compete in this first XFINITY race. But after the test, DiBenedetto said he’s “jealous” of the NASCAR drivers racing on it.
On the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt continued explaining why he’s enthusiastic about the hypothetical idea of the NASCAR Cup Series switching to Indy’s road course from the oval:
“I like the idea because the IndyCar oval is — that belongs to IndyCar, that belongs to open-wheel, that belongs to the legends of [A.J.] Foyt and [Mario] Andretti. We are merely just guests — I’ve always said that. That’s what it’s felt like. … So if that was taken away, our cars racing there doesn’t have this long tradition. We just started racing there since [1994].
“We’re not losing this tradition or history of great triumphs and exciting finishes going back into the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, like maybe you have at Daytona or even Charlotte, right? That’s the one thing I’m afraid of for Charlotte, if we quit racing the oval entirely, is losing all that history and tradition of what happened there and the race and the triumphs that have happened there. So I’m OK with this though. If we moved away from the oval and when Cup cars go to Indy, we run the road course, I’d be OK with that.”
Of course, there is no guarantee the XFINITY Series taking on Indy’s road course will produce captivating racing. And even if it does, NASCAR could still keep the Cup Series on the iconic oval.
“There is no doubt going to be some pretty physical racing,” Matt DiBenedetto said after testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After being the first NASCAR driver to test out Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course for the XFINITY Series race in July, Matt DiBenedetto is actually jealous of the drivers who will compete on it. By testing Wednesday on two different versions of the course — 12-turn and 14-turn layouts — DiBenedetto became ineligible to race in the second-tier series’ inaugural event.
NASCAR races at the iconic Brickyard are usually on the 2.5-mile oval. However, not long after Roger Penske officially became the track’s owner earlier this month, he announced that, while the premier Cup Series will stay on the oval, the XFINITY Series will move to the road course in the infield for the July 4th race weekend. It will be NASCAR’s first time with the two series running on different tracks at the same location over the same weekend.
And DiBenedetto — who is taking over the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in the Cup Series this season — told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday that he’s bummed he can’t participate in the actual Indiana 250 race.
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) January 23, 2020
He said:
“It was cool and something I can say the rest of my life that I was the first guy out there in a stock car testing the road course at Indy. So it was a day that I’ll never forget. …
“All the good things that we can ask for in a road course are all combined in that one place, and it was so much fun. And it was neat to validate that I thought it was going to put on a really good show and then getting out there was even more so like, wow, I’m jealous of these XFINITY getting to race there. I’m excited I’m doing the test, but kinda mad I’m negated from being able to race in this thing because it was so frickin’ cool.”
In addition to answering some questions about safety and providing tire data, the test is supposed to help NASCAR determine whether to use the 12-turn or 14-turn course. Either way, the XFINITY drivers will go clockwise instead of the four left turns the oval offers.
The 12-turn layout (2.28 miles) uses the oval’s first turn as a sweeping right-hander before the frontstretch; the 14-turn configuration (2.41 miles) bypasses the oval’s Turn 1 with a sharp infield chicane.
NASCAR only visits a handful of other road courses, and DiBenedetto said during a press conference at the track Wednesday that in varying ways, Indy’s road course resembles Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
He said that his favorite part about the course is that there are so many passing opportunities, which is something he’s sure drivers will like. Fans probably will too.
Today was freakin awesome testing at the road course at @IMS!! What an honor! I also saw @AustinCindric standing at the wall and figured I’d give him a nice fly by video 😉 pic.twitter.com/CX1t68EBxi
Explaining some of the details from his track test, DiBenedetto continued, via ASAP Sports:
“So the cool thing is what we love as road racers is heavy braking zones. Clearly, the end of the front straightaway here, you have a very heavy braking zone. You also have another long back straightaway getting into turn seven, which is a heavy braking zone. And then on the 14-turn course, you have another braking zone coming into 12, 13, and 14. When you come up onto the short chute, get on the brakes, get on there.
“There’s high-speed stuff. There’s low-speed stuff. So it’s pretty much everything we could ask for from a competitor’s standpoint for raceability. Also, the little chicane back there coming on the back straightaway is really technical. I’m still figuring out my approach to that. There’s a lot of different elements to the race track that makes it exciting. …
“The good part is there is no doubt going to be some pretty physical racing because there’s a lot of areas not only to try and out-brake and pass, but actually set up in the prior corner, to set up for those passing zones and things like that. There’s some low-speed stuff where people might just use their bumper and knock them out of the way, whatever. So there’s opportunities for all of that.”
Running the XFINITY race on IMS’ road course is just one of the many changes and experiments (for NASCAR and IndyCar) expected under Penske’s ownership. And if it goes well…
“Who knows? Next year, we might run the Cup cars on the road course and run Xfinity on the oval,” Penske told the IndyStar.
