NASCAR Cup Series Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Distance: 400 miles (160 laps). Sunday, July 5 4 p.m. ET TV: NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET Radio: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160) 2019 Race Winner: Kevin Harvick
NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Distance: 151.22 miles (62 Laps). Saturday, July 4 3 p.m. ET TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET Radio: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 62)
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Buckle Up In Your Truck 225. Kentucky Speedway Distance: 225 miles (150 laps)
Saturday, July 11 6 p.m. ET TV: FS1 Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150). 2019 Race Winner: Tyler Ankrum
NTT INDYCAR SERIES GMR Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Saturday, July 4 12:01 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines” 12:08 p.m. – GMR Grand Prix (80 laps/195.12 miles), NBC (Live). Saturday, July 4, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey will be the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s telecast of the GMR Grand Prix alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy.
INDYCAR GMR Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR Statement
“Following the guidelines outlined in the Event Operations Protocol manual, Jimmie Johnson has alerted NASCAR that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
“NASCAR has outlined the steps for Johnson’s return, in accordance with the CDC’s current guidelines, which includes that Johnson is symptom free and has two negative COVID-19 test results, at least 24 hours apart. NASCAR requires Johnson to be cleared by his physician before returning to racing.
“Jimmie is a true battle-tested champion, and we wish him well in his recovery. NASCAR has granted Jimmie a playoff waiver, and we look forward to his return as he races for an eighth NASCAR Cup Series championship.”
-- NASCARIndependence Day weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, the series will compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Independence Day weekend, Sunday, July 5 ,at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records.
This weekend’s race will be 400 miles (160 laps) and broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 50 laps each and the final stage will be 60 laps.
This weekend will mark the 27th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The first Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway took place on August 6, 1994; Rick Mast won the pole with a speed of 172.414 mph and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon took home the checkered flag.
The 26 NASCAR Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have produced 19 different pole winners and 15 different race winners. Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick lead the series in poles at Indianapolis with three each. Gordon also leads the series in wins at the Brickyard with five victories (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014).
Five former Indianapolis race winners are entered this weekend, led by seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson with four wins (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012); followed by Kevin Harvick (2003, 2019),
Kyle Busch (2015, 2016), Brad Keselowski (2018) and Ryan Newman (2013).
The pole position is the most proficient starting positions in the field, producing five wins. The most recent driver to accomplish the feat was Kevin Harvick last season. In 2016, Kyle Busch became the first driver in history to sweep both the NASCAR Xfinity Series race from the pole and the NASCAR Cup Series race from the pole in the same weekend at Indianapolis.
The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Indianapolis is 27th, by Jeff Gordon in 2001. The deepest an active race winner has started is 16th by Jimmie Johnson in 2009.
NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola kicks off at IMS
Beginning this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and running through July 31, the NASCAR industry will honor United States Armed Forces and frontline healthcare heroes as part of this year’s expanded NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola – an industry-wide opportunity to recognize and thank those who have gone above and beyond to keep society safe and healthy.
For the first time ever, NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola will kick off with the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard (Sunday, July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), as the platform shifts to a mid-summer window due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We take pride in honoring all who work tirelessly to keep our nation safe, whether a frontline worker in the fight against COVID-19 or part of our U.S. Armed Forces protecting us around the world,” said Jill Gregory, executive vice president and chief marketing and content officer, NASCAR. “The NASCAR industry has always been passionate about saluting our nation’s heroes both past and present, and we once again look forward to recognizing those who serve.”
As part of the evolved campaign for 2020, NASCAR and Coca-Cola will create content opportunities to celebrate heroic work from our military and first responder community during the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with NBC, NASCAR and Coca-Cola will celebrate heroes in the military and medical community, and NASCAR and Coca-Cola’s dedicated actions to support our community. Through NASCAR digital and social channels, the industry will spotlight even more stories with a new “NASCAR Salutes Refreshing Moments” feature that will also be hosted on NASCAR.com/Salutes.
“While this crisis has impacted everyone’s daily lives, we are able to race because of the selfless acts by our military community and frontline workers,” said John Mount, vice president, sports marketing and region assets, Coca-Cola North America. “NASCAR Salutes offers an impactful opportunity to showcase our pride and appreciation for these heroes and their families.”
While NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola shifted due to COVID-19, the industry continued its tradition honoring fallen service members during the annual Memorial Day Weekend 600 Miles of Remembrance at the Coca-Cola 600. All 40 NASCAR Cup Series cars featured the name of a fallen service member on the windshield during the race in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Driver To Beat: Denny Hamlin keeps adding up victories
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins this season with four victories in 15 races – a winning percentage of 26.7%.
The Chesterfield, Virginia, native is on pace to tie or better his career-best season (2010); where he started the year with five wins in 15 races and finished the season runner-up in points and a career-high in wins (eight). In 2020, Hamlin has four wins, including his third-career Daytona 500, Darlington, Homestead and Pocono, nine top fives (series-most) and 10 top 10s. He has also spent the third-most time out front leading laps this season with 436 laps led (10.8%).
Of NASCAR’s four ‘crown jewel’ events on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500 and the Brickyard 400) Hamlin has conquered two of them (Daytona, Darlington), but this weekend he could get his third. Hamlin has made 14 series starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway posting five top fives and eight top 10s; including three third-place finishes. He finished sixth in this race last season.
Kevin Harvick looks for back-to-back wins at Indianapolis
Only two drivers have been able to win back-to-back races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2009) and Kyle Busch (2015, 2016) – and this weekend Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick will look to add his name to the list and defend his 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Indianapolis Motor Speedway victory.
Year-in and year-out Kevin Harvick continues to be a force to reckon with in the NASCAR Cup Series and the 2020 season is no different. Harvick sits atop the series driver standings, 52 points up on second place Ryan Blaney following the double header last weekend at Pocono Raceway. Harvick snatched the top spot in the points following the race at Phoenix back on March 8 and has not relinquished it since.
In 15 starts this season Harvick has collected three wins (Darlington, Atlanta, Pocono), eight top fives and 12 top 10s (series-most). Historically, Indianapolis has been a great track for Harvick, in 19 starts he has put up three poles, two wins (2003, 2019), seven top fives and 13 top 10s. His average finish is a stout 8.9 (series-best).
Race to the Playoffs: Reddick stumbles and Jones jumps back on the bubble
After jumping up to the final postseason transfer spot (16th) in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings heading into Pocono last week, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick stumbled during the double header weekend leaving the door open for a hard charging Erik Jones to take the coveted position. Now the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Jones, is back in Playoff contention and is 14 points up on Austin Dillon the first driver below the cutline. Reddick dropped two spots to 18th, 26-points back from Jones.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Xfinity Series goes road racing at Indianapolis
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will tackle the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the first time in series history this weekend in the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on Saturday, July 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The inaugural road course event for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is part of a NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader that will also feature the IndyCar GMR Grand Prix – an event that was delayed from its originally scheduled date in May by the COVID-19 pandemic and is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course will provide a whole new set of challenges for drivers and teams as the series will hit the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course for the first time this weekend.
Also, for the first time since the break from the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be allowed to practice prior to race. They will get two practice sessions on Friday, July 3. The first will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET and the second will be at 3 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s race will be 62 laps for 151.22 miles with the first two stages being 20 laps each and the final stage is 22 laps.
Last weekend, the Xfinity Series took on Pocono Raceway, also known as The Tricky Triangle, where Chase Briscoe was victorious for the fourth time this season after overcoming a late-race tire incident.
Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain came up short but did get to take home the $100,000 for the second week in a row in the final Dash 4 Cash installment of the season.
Myatt Snider was the highest-finishing rookie at Pocono in fourth.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice Available on NBC Sports App and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will have its first two practices this weekend since March 6 at Phoenix Raceway. Fans can watch both first (1:30-2:25 p.m. ET) and final practice (3-3:55 p.m. ET) on the NBC Sports App and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. The occasion marks the first time TrackPass will feature national series action. TrackPass is scheduled to air all NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR
Xfinity Series practice and qualifying sessions during the NBC portion of the schedule.
Road course ace Austin Cindric
Austin Cindric is still on the hunt for his first win in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and what better place than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
For Cindric, a win at Indy would mean a lot. Not only would it be his first win this season, but it would also lock him into the 2020 Playoffs. Plus, he would become the first ever winner in the Xfinity Series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. To top it off, he’d get the win for his team owner, Roger Penske, who is the newest owner of the speedway.
“Indianapolis means a lot to me personally and a lot to my family personally, so going to that place and being a driver instead of a spectator, I feel like is always weird, but I’m really looking forward to it and I wouldn’t want anything more than to be able to bring that first race win back home for Roger now at his racetrack,” Cindric said.
Both of Cindric’s career wins in the Xfinity Series came last year and were at road courses. The first was at Watkins Glen International and the second was at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has six top fives and eight top 10s so far this season. He has an average start of 7.8 and an average finish of 11.3 and he has led 249 laps. Last weekend at Pocono didn’t go as planned for Cindric and the No. 22 team as he finished 29th after being involved in a wreck on Lap 52.
He’s sitting in fourth in the points standings for the series – the second highest-ranked driver without a win and he has run upfront – leading the third-most percentage of laps this season (12.24%) sitting behind a pair of JR Motorsports teammates Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier.
This weekend’s Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (3 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the first start for every driver at the newly added track.
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Brandon Jones get first Gander Trucks win
Brandon Jones doesn’t run fulltime in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series anymore, but has still continued to chase after his first win in the series.
Last weekend at Pocono Raceway, Jones piloted the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota to Victory Lane for the first time of his career; it was his 46th series start.
Jones held of Sheldon Creed during a two-lap battle on Sunday morning after the race originally scheduled for Saturday was postponed due to rain. The Gander Trucks kicked off a tripleheader day at Pocono that saw the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup Series take to the track following the Gander Trucks.
The racing did not lack excitement with eight different lead changes between five drivers. Austin Hill finished second, Creed, who won Stage 1 and Stage 2, finished third, Todd Gilliland finished fourth and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top five.
Grant Enfinger is still the only fulltime Gander Trucks driver to have won a race this season. Every other win was by a driver that runs fulltime in another series. As a result, Hill is still holding onto his lead in the points standings, 51 points better than Rhodes in second.
The Gander Trucks have this weekend off as the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The break will allow the teams to get ready to take on Kentucky Speedway for the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 on Saturday, July 11 at 6 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
With six NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races in the books, the Playoff picture is coming into focus. Grant Enfinger’s two wins so far this season, has him atop the Playoff standings outlook as he is the only driver locked in on wins. That leaves nine spots still up for grabs on points.
Among the nine vying for a Playoff spot on points, series driver standings leader and Hattori Racing Enterprises driver, Austin Hill, has the most comfortable points cushion heading into the weekend break with 94 points up on the postseason cutoff.
Right behind Hill is Ben Rhodes with ThorSport Racing, who is 43 points ahead of the Playoff cutoff following Pocono. Rhodes’ Pocono performance put him up a spot in the standings. Sheldon Creed made the biggest jump, going from ninth in the outlook to fourth with his two stage wins and third-place finish at Pocono. Christian Eckes is the highest-ranked rookie in the Playoff outlook right now in sixth but fellow rookie Zane Smith is sitting two points behind him in seventh.
Then down in the Playoff bubble hotseat sits veteran and former series champion Johnny Sauter, 10th in the driver standings just nine points ahead of 11th place Derek Kraus.
Reigning NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion Matt Crafton is sitting all the way down in 14th in the standings, 31 points back from Sauter in 10th.
Sunoco rookie standings update
Christian Eckes still leads the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with 179 points following Pocono Raceway.
Zane Smith currently holds second in the rookie standings with 177 points; followed by Derek Kraus with 159 points, Tanner Gray with 142 points, Raphael Lessard with 119, Ty Majeski with 114, Spencer Davis with 86 and Tate Fogleman with 70.
Every rookie except for Davis will be making their Kentucky Speedway debut in the Gander Trucks next week. Davis ran at Kentucky last season and finished in eighth.
What to look forward to at Kentucky Speedway
Next weekend will mark the 23rd NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Tyler Ankrum is the defending winner of the event.
The 1.5-mile, Sparta, Kentucky track has 17 degrees of banking in corners in Turns 1 and 2 and 14 degrees of banking in corners of Turns 3 and 4.
There’s eight degrees of banking on the frontstretch and four degrees of banking on the backstretch. The frontstretch is 1,662 feet and the backstretch is 1,600 feet.
Noah Gragson holds the qualifying record at the track from July 2018 at 183.955 mph. Ben Rhodes holds the race record, also from July 2018, at 146.739 mph.
Ron Hornaday Jr. has the most wins at Kentucky (three), Austin Dillon has the most poles (two), and Matt Crafton has the most top fives (six) and top 10s (15). The most lead changes at the track was in 2011 with 18 and the fewest was in 2013 with five.
Only three of 22 races have been won from the pole and Kyle Busch has the most wins as a truck team owner with four.
The closest margin of victory in the Gander Trucks at Kentucky was in 2009 at 0.135-second and the greatest margin of victory was in 2002 at 18.197 seconds.
NASCAR
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