NASCAR at Brickyard today through Sunday, Majeski defends title

(NASCAR MEDIA)  – This weekend marks the 29th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval (1994-2020, 2024-2025). From 2021-2023, the series ran three races on IMS road course.

• Five races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season before the Playoffs – Indianapolis (2.5 mile oval), Iowa (7/8 mile short track), Watkins Glen (2.45 mile road course), Richmond (3/4 mile short track) and Daytona (2.5 mile drafting track).
• The stages for the Brickyard 400: 50-100-160.
• Chevrolet won 12 consecutive Brickyard 400s from 2003 to 2014 but won only two of the last seven.
• Three organizations won nine of the last 10 Brickyard 400s: (Hendrick Motorsports-four wins, Stewart-Haas Racing-three wins, Joe Gibbs Racing-two wins).
• The driver who led the most laps won only three of the last nine Brickyard 400s.
• The final lead change came in the last eight laps five of the last seven Brickyard 400s.
• Six Brickyard 400s went into overtime including five of the last seven.
• Toyota only has two wins at Indianapolis (oval and RC), both were by Kyle Busch in 2015 and 2016.
• Richard Childress Racing is the only team to win on the Oval and the Road Course at Indianapolis in the Cup Series.
• Katherine Legge is set to become the 21st driver to start in both the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400.
• A driver won their way into the Playoffs in the final five races of the regular season every year since 2020.
• Bubba Wallace has been on the regular season Playoff bubble (16^th or 17^th in the standings) more than any other driver in the Next Gen era (23 times).
• William Byron’s average finish of 25.33 over the last six races ranks 31^st among full-time drivers.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with seven wins in Crown Jewel races.
• Denny Hamlin can become the fifth driver all time to complete the Grand Slam of Crown Jewel events with a win this weekend, joining Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt.
• Three drivers won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season, most recently Jamie McMurray in 2010.
• Three drivers won the Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400 in the same season, most recently Jeff Gordon in 1998.
• Three former Brickyard 400 winners are active this weekend: Kyle Busch (2015, 2016), Kyle Larson (2024) and Brad Keselowski (2018).
• Chase Briscoe won the pole for both the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 this year.
• Only one driver won their first Cup race in the Brickyard 400: Paul Menard in 2011.
• Kyle Busch has not led a lap in the last nine races, tied for the longest streak in his career (June-August 2005).
• A driver won on the Indianapolis oval from below the cutline once in Playoff history – 2017, Kasey Kahne won from 181 points below the cutline.
• Only one driver has pointed their way into the Playoffs this late in the regular season – 2019, Clint Bowyer was 2 points below the cut after race 24.
• In 2024, three drivers that were above the cutline this late into the regular season ended up missing the Playoffs – Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace.
• Chase Elliott moved from 104 points back in fourth to leading the regular season points by 16 in the last five races.
• Ty Gibbs finished in the top-10 in the last three races of 2025, the longest active streak by any driver. 

NCS Clinch Scenarios Following Dover Motor Speedway:

Already Clinched

The following five drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Shane Van Gisbergen. 

Can Clinch Via Previous Wins

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Shane Van Gisbergen:

• William Byron: Would clinch regardless of finish
• Ryan Blaney: Could only clinch with help
• Chase Briscoe: Could only clinch with help

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs or Kyle Busch:

• William Byron: Would clinch with 12 points

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Michael McDowell:

• William Byron: Would clinch with 8 points

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by AJ Allmendinger:

• William Byron: Would clinch with 6 points

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Erik Jones:

• William Byron: Would clinch with 2 points

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by John Hunter Nemechek or somebody lower in the standings:

• William Byron: Would clinch regardless of finish 

Can Clinch Via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

• William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry

The following drivers could clinch with a win:

• Tyler Reddick: Would clinch with 58 points 

Understanding the In-Season Challenge:

• The top 32 in driver points following Nashville were eligible for the In-Season Challenge (Shane van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Riley Herbst and Cody Ware failed to qualify among full-time drivers).
• The three races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono established the seeding for the challenge based on the best driver finishing positions over those races.
• The five races (or Rounds) for the In-Season Challenge are Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover and Indianapolis.
• The drivers will compete in a bracket-style tournament until the final two drivers face off in the finale at Indianapolis with the best-finishing driver winning $1 million. The two drivers in the final round of the 2025 In-Season Challenge are Ty Dillon vs. Ty Gibbs. 

Tale Of The Tape – In-Season Challenge Round 5 Matchup: Dillon Vs. Gibbs

• Ty Dillon – No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – (No. 32 seed)
• Dillon has made 266 career Cup Series starts, including five at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• In five starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he has put up two top 15s and an average finish of 17.2 (10th-best among active drivers).
• Dillon has a best finish of 13th at Indianapolis in the Cup Series.
• His lone win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series came at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval).
• Dillon beat the following drivers to make the final round: Denny Hamlin (Rd. 1), Brad Keselowski (Rd. 2), Alex Bowman (Rd. 3) and John H. Nemchek (Rd. 4).

• Ty Gibbs – No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – (No. 6 seed)
• Gibbs has made 108 career Cup Series starts, including one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• In his series debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Gibbs started sixth and finished 23rd.
• Gibbs has a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course).
• Gibbs beat the following drivers to make the final round: Justin Haley (Rd. 1), AJ Allmendinger (Rd. 2), Zane Smith (Rd. 3) and Tyler Reddick (Rd. 4).  

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Indianapolis Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend marks the 10th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2012-2025), and second consecutive Xfinity Series race on the Indianapolis oval after the series ran the road course configuration from 2020-2023.
• There are six races left in the regular season and five Playoff spots remain open.
• Cousins Jeb Burton and Harrison Burton are separated by seven points at the Playoff cutline; Jeb is in while Harrison is out.
• Harrison Burton has been within 16 points of the Playoff cutoff after every race this season; his high was +16 after Atlanta 1 and his low was -16 after Sonoma.
• The drivers from 11th-14th in the Playoff standings are separated by 59 points, less than one race.
• Sheldon Creed gained 61 points to the cut in the last three races, and Taylor Gray gained 28 points to the cut in the last two races.
• Jeb Burton lost 17 points to the cut in the last four races.
• Ryan Sieg gained 20 points to the cut at Dover after losing 68 points in the previous three races.
• Christian Eckes gained 10 points to the cut at Dover after losing 30 points in the previous two races.
• Connor Zilisch won the last two races, the second driver this season to win back-to-back races – Justin Allgaier at Las Vegas & Miami.
• Connor Zilisch became the youngest driver to win back-to-back races in NXS history – 18y, 11m, 27d (previous was Chase Elliott).
• Connor Zilisch’s eight straight top fives since returning from back injury is the longest top-five finish streak of the season; Zilisch is the youngest driver with more than five straight top fives.
• Connor Zilisch leads the series with four wins this season and a 10.68 average finish.
• Connor Zilisch became the youngest driver to win five NXS races – 18y, 11m, 27d (previous was Kyle Busch).
• JR Motorsports is one win away from 100, only three other teams won at least 100 NXS races (Joe Gibbs Racing-217, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing-138, Richard Childress Racing-100).
• JR Motorsports finished inside the top five in a record-tying 22 straight races; they can break the record with a top five at Indianapolis.
• JR Motorsports won 11 races this season with a series-record six different drivers, all six drivers won in the last 11 races. Carson Kvapil could become JR Motorsports’ seventh different winner this season.
• JR Motorsports is the third team all-time to win 11 or more times in the first 20 races of a season.
• JR Motorsports’ #88 won five races with three different driver/crew chief combos this season.
• JR Motorsports had at least one car finish Top 2 in nine straight races, tied for the second-longest streak all-time.
• Chevrolet won the last 12 races this season, the longest winning streak by a manufacturer all-time.
• Chevrolet led 2,441 of 3,227 laps this season.
• Chevrolet won 18 of 20 races, the most all time by a manufacturer through 20 races in series history.
• Toyota is winless in the last 12 races, tied for their longest winless streak since the first NXS win in 2007.
• Kyle Larson will drive Hendrick Motorsports’ #17; Larson has won his last two starts this season with two different teams – Hendrick Motorsports at Bristol & JR Motorsports at Texas.
• There are only two previous Indianapolis winners on the entry list: Justin Allgaier – 2018 Xfinity & Kyle Larson – 2024 Brickyard 400.
• Four drivers are doing double duty in Cup/Xfinity: Kyle Larson, Jesse Love, Katherine Legge & Josh Bilicki.
• Jeremy Clements is the only driver to start all nine Xfinity Series races at Indianapolis.
• Joe Gibbs Racing won four of nine Indianapolis races.
• Eleven drivers on the entry list are making first Xfinity Series start at Indianapolis; nine drivers have never raced at Indianapolis.
• All nine Indianapolis Xfinity race winners started in the Top 8.
• Only one of nine Indianapolis races went to overtime – 2016.
• Two of the last six Indianapolis races featured a last-lap pass for the win.
• The last four Indianapolis races featured at least 12 lead changes.
• The last two races this season went caution-free in the first two stages, only the third time it has happened in Xfinity Series history.
• Five crew chiefs got their first NXS win in 2025: Chad Haney at Atlanta, Sam McAulay at Darlington, Adam Wall at Bristol, Cory Shea at Mexico City & Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Pocono.
• Justin Allgaier’s 28 career wins are ninth on the all-time wins list and one away from tying Matt Kenseth.
• Justin Allgaier is five top 10s away from 300 in his career, he would be the first driver with 300 top 10s.
• Justin Allgaier leads all drivers with 11 top-five finishes and 648 laps led in 2025.
• Justin Allgaier’s 11 top-five finishes in 2025 are his most ever after 20 races in a season.
• Justin Allgaier won the Fastest Lap Award five times this season, no other driver has more than two.
• Sam Mayer leads all drivers with top-15 finishes in 16 of 20 races this season.
• Five races this year ended with a last lap pass.
• Six of the last ten races this season had a pass for the win in the final six laps.
• Seven of the 20 races this season went to overtime.
• There hasn’t been an overtime finish in the last seven races, the longest streak without an OT since Feb- April 2023. 

Only five spots remain in Playoffs

• It’s possible to get more than 12 series winners with six races remaining in regular season.
• If there are more than 12 winners after 26 races, the winner with the fewest regular season points will miss the Playoffs.
• Cousins Jeb Burton and Harrison Burton are separated by seven points at the Playoff cut line.
• Taylor Gray in 11th to Harrison Burton in 14th are separated by 59 points, less than one race.
• The first four drivers below the cut all gained points to the cutoff at Dover.
• The three drivers in 15th-17th are all rookies. 

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Indianapolis Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend marks the 21st running of a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (1995-2025).
•  This is the 16th race of the 2025 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule, three races to go until the Playoffs.
• Stages for LOIRP: Lap 60, Lap 120, Lap 200.
• ThorSport got their first win of the season at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2024, it was race 15 of the season.
• Seven of 10 Playoff positions are now held by race winners with three to go in the regular season, every driver with a win is locked into the Playoffs.
• There are two short tracks (LOIRP and Richmond) and a road course (Watkins Glen) in the final three races of the regular season.
• Ty Majeski won at both Indianapolis and Richmond in 2024.
• Ty Majeski won the last two races at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
• The last time Tyler Ankrum finished outside the top-10 on a short track was 2023 (10 short-track races since).
• It will be 27 days between Lime Rock and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the longest stretch without a race in the 2025 season.
• There will not be more than one off week between events for the final 10 races of 2025.
• Corey Heim won Stage 2 in the last five races of 2025, the longest streak of all time.
• Stewart Friesen will be making his 200th CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start this weekend, no driver has ever won in their 200th Truck start with the best result being Brendan Gaughan finishing second at Charlotte in May 2013.
• Tyler Ankrum will make his 150th consecutive CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start this weekend, the third longest streak among active drivers.
• Corey Heim has held the regular season points lead since the fourth race of 2025.
• Corey Heim can clinch the regular season Championship by scoring 39 points at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Heim is averaging 46 pts/race in 2025.
• Corey Heim is averaging 46 pts/race in 2025, the most all-time.
• Chandler Smith won the last two races on short-tracks, the only driver to win three straight short-track races was Ron Hornaday Jr. who won five straight in 1997 (Kyle Busch won in three consecutive short-track starts but they spanned four seasons between 2016 and 2019).
• Defending series champion, Ty Majeski, has won the last two consecutive Truck races at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (2023-24). Grant Enfinger (2022) is the only other active driver with a win at LOIRP.
• Ty Majeski currently occupies the 10th and final Playoff transfer spot in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver point standings, up +38 points on Jake Garcia in 11th, and up +65 points on Giovanni Ruggiero in 12th.
• Kaden Honeycutt in eighth (+67) and Grant Enfinger in ninth (+64) hold healthy leads above the Playoff cutline with three races to go.
• Corey Heim has won five of the 15 Truck Series races this season, his best finish at Indianapolis is fifth (2022).
• Corey Heim has accumulated 39 Playoff points this season. The all-time most Playoff points a Truck Series driver has earned to take into the Playoffs is 49 by John Hunter Nemechek in 2021.

NCTS Clinch Scenarios Following Lime Rock Park:

Already Clinched:

• The following seven drivers have clinched a spot in the 10-driver postseason field: Corey Heim, Chandler Smith, Layne Riggs, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum, Stewart Friesen and Rajah Caruth.

Can Clinch Via Win:

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

• Kaden Honeycutt, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Jake Garcia, Giovanni Ruggiero, Ben Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, Matt Crafton, Andres Perez De Lara, Jack Wood, Matt Mills, Dawson Sutton, Spencer Boyd, Toni Breidinger and Frankie Muniz.

Can Clinch Regular Season Championship:

Additionally, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Regular Season Championship could be clinched by the following drivers:

• Corey Heim: Would clinch with 39 points.