Toyota not conceding to Chevrolet

Brickyard favors Chevy, but Gibbs cars starting up front

Chevrolet clearly has been the dominant make at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with a 12-year run of NASCAR Sprint Cup victories — from 2003, when Kevin Harvick won from the pole, to 2014, when Jeff Gordon won for the fifth time — and 16 wins in 22 races there all time.

However, Toyota won at Indy for the first time last season with Las Vegan Kyle Busch, and the Camry has won nine of 19 Sprint Cup races this season.

Which is the most relevant trend for Sunday’s 23rd running of the Brickyard 400, this year known as the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard?

During Friday’s first 85-minute practice session, the bow-tie guys laid down seven of the nine fastest laps, with four-time Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson being almost 4 mph faster (184.185 mph) than the third fastest. In the final session, Kyle Busch’s Toyota set the pace (184.619), but nine of the next 12 fastest speeds were Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin’s Toyota got set up for race simulations and ran a session-high 57 laps. He had only the 17th fastest lap going against teams that also were working on faster qualifying set-ups, but Hamlin finished with the best 10-consecutive-lap average.

Toyota also flexed its muscles during Saturday’s qualifying with Kyle Busch (6-1 odds to win race) taking the pole (184.634) and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Carl Edwards (8-1) second and Hamlin (18-1) fourth.

LEGENDS RACING — Indiana native Tony Stewart (25-1) qualified third in his 18th and final start at his home track. The two-time Brickyard winner practiced well Friday and has a little more zip since winning at Sonoma in June. Gordon (20-1) won the first Brickyard in 1994 and is the only driver to start all 23. He has come out of retirement to drive in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (concussion) and is part owner of Earnhardt’s Rating, Driver 1. Kyle Busch

2. Jimmie Johnson 3. Kevin Harvick 4. Denny Hamlin 5. Carl Edwards 6. Brad Keselowski 7. Chase Elliott 8. Martin Truex Jr. 9. Kyle Larson 10. Matt Kenseth Chevy. Gordon qualified 21st and practiced so-so. A victory by Stewart or Gordon would be the NASCAR story of the year, and also pay decently at the sports books.

GOOD LONG SHOTS — At 18-1, Kyle Larson is down from his usual 30-1 because of his strong two-day test last week, and he might present the best value among drivers not considered elite. He has averaged an eighth-place finish in two Indy starts. He had the third-fastest lap in the final practice and will start 10th. Hamlin, at 18-1, probably offers the best value among all drivers. He loves flat tracks and was fifth last year and third in 2014. With a win he’d be the third driver to capture the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season.

BEST SUPER LARGE LONG SHOT? — How about Greg Biffle at 100-1 to win his first Brickyard 400? How about car owner Jack Roush to win his first, too? It’s the only track to elude Roush’s multicar team. Biffle is on a run of three straight season-best finishes. He was eighth at Daytona, sixth at Kentucky and fifth last week at New Hampshire. In 13 career Indy starts, he’s averaged a 13.6 finish and has been third twice. He was 15th fastest in final practice and starts 19th. Ford last won at the Brickyard in 1999 when Dale Jarrett won for the second time.

CHASE HOPEFULS — Jamie McMurray (100-1), Paul Menard (80-1) and Ryan Newman (80-1) are winless this season and hope to grab one of five remaining Chase spots by winning one of the next seven races. All three won at Indianapolis at big prices over a four-year stretch from 2010 to 2013, and all three still drive Chevrolets. The best candidate of the three is Newman, who hasn’t won anywhere since his 2013 Brickyard victory. However, he was fourth fastest in the final practice which makes him a decent play at 45-1 or higher.