Busch aims for novel three-peat
No one has won Brickyard 400 three years in row
Here are five story lines to know ahead of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch will be looking for a three-peat.
Busch loves to race at IMS, having won the Brickyard 400 in 2015 and 2016 and taking second in 2014. No driver has won the Brickyard three times in a row. Jimmie Johnson is the only other driver to win the Brickyard in back-to-back years (2008-09).
Busch and his team would love to pose for more pictures kissing the bricks at IMS after Sunday’s race. Plus, he needs a win to make the 10-race playoffs. If he fails to find victory lane Sunday, he will have gone 36 Cup races without a win, the longest streak in his career.
Denny Hamlin has been knocking on the door at the Brickyard, with a third-place finish in 2016, a fifth in 2015 and a third in 2013. If Busch doesn’t three-peat, maybe this could be teammate Hamlin’s turn. He is coming off his first win of the season and the first for Joe Gibbs Racing, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will say farewell to the Brickyard 400.
Earnhardt will be a sentimental favorite after announcing he would retire from full-time racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at the end of this season.
Currently 21st in this year’s points standings, Earnhardt had his best finish this year in April, when he placed fifth at Texas Motor Speedway. He has never won the Brickyard 400, but his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., won at IMS in 1995. If Earnhardt Jr. is anywhere near contention during the second half of the race, it could be a memorable afternoon for NASCAR’s most popular driver.
The playoff race is getting intense.
There are just seven races left before the 16 playoff drivers are determined.
Eleven playoff spots are virtually locked up, making this a pivotal time for drivers hovering around the points cutoff, including Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Erik Jones and Daniel Saurez.
Who’s hot? Martin Truex Jr.
He finished third in New Hampshire on Sunday, and he won the week before in Kentucky. In six of his last eight starts, Truex has finished no worse than sixth. Truex’s best result at the Brickyard is fourth place in 2015, but he could break through this weekend.
Who’s not? Austin Dillon.
Since capturing his first career Cup victory at Charlotte in May, Dillon has gone seven consecutive races without a top-10 finish. Dillon has fallen into 20th place in the overall points standings.