SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- After two overtimes and a restart that proved equal parts pivotal and controversial, Kyle Larson took the checkered flag to win the 30th anniversary edition of the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning his fourth win of the 2024 season and his first at Indianapolis. Larson's Brickyard 400 win gives him victories in three of NASCAR's four crown jewel races, going with his wins in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington.
After running third when a caution came out with two laps to go, Larson was suddenly moved from third to first for the opening restart of overtime when race leader Brad Keselowski ran out of fuel and had to peel off to pit road coming to take the green flag. Although second-place Ryan Blaney inherited the lead and had control of the restart, Larson was able to move up in the inside lane and got an excellent -- and potentially early -- launch, allowing him to take the lead from Blaney as a big wreck in Turn 1 brought the caution out again.
Larson was able to get another great launch in the second overtime to beat Blaney through Turn 1, with his win ensured on the final lap when NASCAR was forced to throw a caution for Ryan Preece's stalled car.
Brickyard 400 results
- #5 - Kyle Larson
- #45 - Tyler Reddick
- #12 - Ryan Blaney
- #20 - Christopher Bell
- #23 - Bubba Wallace
- #38 - Todd Gilliland
- #2 - Austin Cindric
- #99 - Daniel Suarez
- #10 - Noah Gragson
- #9 - Chase Elliott
The last time Larson was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, what was supposed to be a monumental moment in his racing career turned into an unfulfilling and deeply unsatisfying experience. In May, Larson made his first start in the Indianapolis 500 as he attempted to become the latest driver to complete the Indy-Charlotte Double, but rain delayed the start of the 500 and forced Larson to miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, then more inclement weather that arrived just as Larson did after finishing 18th at Indy prevented him from ever turning a lap in his Cup car.
Running the same paint scheme that he was meant to have run at Charlotte, Larson went from the bitterness of a failed Indy-Charlotte Double to the sweetness of victory in the ultimate reversal of his Indianapolis fortunes.
"I think everything just comes full circle. Everything is meant to be," Larson told NBC Sports. "Today definitely meant to be for us. With the way the strategy was working out, Brad running out of fuel, me inheriting the front row, a lot had to fall into place. Thankfully it did.
"I can't believe it. It's surreal to win here. Can't wait to kiss the bricks with my team."
Larson's victory has given him his own niche in the long history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as he becomes the first driver to ever compete in the Indy 500 and then win the Brickyard 400 in the same year. This is also the 26th win of Larson's Cup career, giving him sole possession of 27th on NASCAR's all-time wins list.
Gas and go
As passing on sheer speed alone proved difficult Sunday, the Brickyard 400 became a battle of pit strategy and track position, with all strategies eventually converging in a fuel mileage race at the front of the field. Brad Keselowski spent the closing laps trying to stretch his fuel longer than anyone else, and it looked like he may have enough to hold off both Blaney and Larson as he went through Turns 3 and 4 headed to two laps to go.
Then, Kyle Busch crashed in Turn 3, sending the race to overtime and putting Keselowski in a position where he was bound to run out of fuel. Coming off Turn 4 to take the green flag in overtime, Keselowski's tank ran dry, forcing him to peel off to pit road and give up both the race lead and a chance to win -- while also setting up an eyebrow-raising final restart.
When Keselowski went to the pits, Ryan Blaney inherited the race lead and also inherited the right to be the "control car" on the restart and launch first. It also allowed the cars on the inside row, led by Larson, to move up a row. As Larson pulled up to the front row, he appeared to launch at the same time as Blaney -- or even earlier -- allowing him to race Blaney to Turn 1.
A multi-car crash in the first corner brought the caution out again, setting up double overtime and making Larson the race leader -- much to the displeasure of Blaney, who ended up finishing third.
"I obviously chose the top because (Keselowski) might run out in the restart zone. He runs out 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," Blaney told NBC Sports. "I don't know. I don't know what to be mad about. Mad at losing this race because I thought we were in the perfect position."
While NASCAR ruled that Larson did not jump the pivotal restart, Blaney proposed that NASCAR should have called the restart off -- as is done on some short tracks when a restart is questionable -- and allowed the field to go through the choose zone again. Given the situation, Blaney said he would have chosen to restart on the inside line had he been given the opportunity in order to get the preferred line into the corner.
"Now you're promoting the third-place guy before the second-place guy if the leader has problems. That's not right. It's dumb luck, right? Of where Brad ran out and stuff like this. At this racetrack where the bottom is preferred," Blaney said. "... I don't know. I'm just upset.
"That's a heartbreaker. We did everything right today. I mean, was in prime position to win and just didn't work out for us. Just got unlucky."
A brick thrown in the bubble
While Bubba Wallace had entered the Brickyard 400 on the strength of three top-15 finishes in a row, including two top 10s, the idea of him having momentum was completely muted by the situation he faced in terms of the NASCAR playoffs. Thanks to wins by Joey Logano at Nashville and Alex Bowman at Chicago, Wallace's path toward earning a playoff spot on points had become much more difficult, and he entered Sunday 27 points below the cut line.
Wallace wound up having the very sort of race he needed and then some. Not only did he lead a season-high 26 laps and finish fifth, but he also earned a win in Stage 2 that gave him 10 stage points plus a playoff point. With cut line competitors like Chris Buescher finishing 22nd after spending much of the day two laps down following tire problems and Ross Chastain finishing 15th, that allowed Wallace to close in to just seven points behind Chastain for the final playoff spot with four races to go in the regular season.
"Just a solid day. Definitely what we needed," Wallace told NBC Sports. "We can have a big sigh of relief going into the Olympic break here ... It's just nice to come out of here with a smile, enjoy the two off weeks, get to go home and see my well-pregnant wife and give her a big hug, the baby boy a big hug, and just to have fun. That's what I wanted to do last week and continue that for the next -- what have we got, 14 (races) left? All about having fun."
As of now, Wallace remains the only driver below the cut line with a realistic chance of making the playoffs on points. Chase Briscoe now sits 83 points back after being collected in a late crash and finishing 24th, while Kyle Busch is now 112 points back after the latest episode of his sustained misfortune. Todd Gilliland is now 118 points back of the cut line after a season-best sixth-place finish.
Race Results Rundown
- Although his family hails from Ohio and he himself is from North Carolina, Austin Cindric felt right back home again in Indiana. The grandson of 1986 Indianapolis 500-winning car owner Jim Trueman finished seventh, marking his third top-10 finish of the season and his first since winning at Gateway in June.
- Daniel Suarez continued his trend toward running further toward the front as the playoffs approach, finishing eighth to pick up his fourth top 10 of the season entering a great life event during the Olympic break. Daniel Suarez will marry his fiancee Julia Piquet (the daughter of three-time F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet) in Brazil, and he'll also compete in the NASCAR Brasil Series race at Interlagos for good measure.
- Noah Gragson finished ninth to earn his seventh top-10 finish of the season, marking a nice bounce-back performance following a crash and DNF at Pocono. Gragson now has two top-10 finishes and three top 15s in his last four races.
- After facing criticism for triggering a multi-car crash on a restart at Pocono, Corey LaJoie took advantage of a chance to reshape the narrative surrounding him. LaJoie earned a 14th-place finish, his first top 15 at Sonoma and only his second since opening the year with two such results at Daytona and Atlanta.
- Thanks to their respective strategies, two unexpected drivers who factored into the top five during the race for the win were Zane Smith and Daniel Hemric. Of those two, Smith wound up with the better finish, coming home 17th -- Hemric had to peel off to pit road for fuel in the final laps of regulation, then got turned into the inside wall to trigger the multi-car crash that set up double overtime.
- Despite going two laps down after cutting a tire early in the race, Cody Ware battled back to earn an 18th-place finish in just his fourth start of the 2024 season. It marks Ware's best finish in any race since the 2023 Daytona 500 and gives him and his team a result to be proud of as Ware continues to regain his footing in NASCAR as he rebuilds his racing career.
- Ty Dillon made his first start for Richard Childress Racing since 2016, driving the family team's No. 33 Chevrolet to a 19th-place finish. In five Cup starts this season, Dillon has now earned three finishes inside the top 20.
- After a strong 10th-place qualifying effort, John Hunter Nemechek proved he had a fast car in race trim as well by leading 16 laps, the first time he's led a Cup race since he paced the field for 20 circuits at Talladega in April. Nemechek, however, would wreck in overtime and end up with his fifth DNF of the season, all of which have been due to crashes.
Next race
After 22 straight weeks of racing from the Daytona 500 onward, the NASCAR Cup Series now takes a welcome and much needed two-week break. The season will resume in three weeks with the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET on USA.
