It was a case of redemption for Kyle Larson on his return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday as he claimed his third victory in the Brickyard 400. Larson started the race in fifth place and used a great strategy to finish the race just ahead of pole-sitter Tyler Reddick. The last time Larson was here was in May when he competed in the Indianapolis 500 and missed his opportunity to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 due to the late running 500.
Defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney in the No.12 Menards Team Penske Ford finished the race in third place, giving all three manufacturers—Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford—three podium places.
Bubba Wallace in the No.23 23XI Racing Toyota started the race from 17th place. It came through the field to finish the race in fifth place behind Christopher Bell in the No.20 Rheem Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE who ended the race just ahead of Todd Gilliland came home in sixth place for Front Row Motorsports ahead of Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez in the No.99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet. In contrast, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric came home eighth just ahead of Noah Gragson.
Hendrick Motorsports Chase Elliott in the No.9 NAPA Auto Parts Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet rounded out the top ten. JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr ended the race in 11th place just ahead of Carson Hocevar while Austin Dillon was 13th just ahead of Corie LaJoie while Ross Chastain was 15th just ahead of Michael McDowell.
Spire Motorsports Zane Smith was 17th just ahead of Cody Ware and Ty Dillion. Justin Haley rounded out the top twenty. It was a disappointing day for RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski in the No.26 Bodyguard Ford as he ran out of fuel towards the end of the race.
Chris Buescher was 22nd just ahead of Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe. It was a disappointing 700th Cup Series appearance for Kyle Busch in the No.34 Cheddar’s Patriotic Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing as after leading a number of laps he was classified in 25th place just ahead of Ryan Preece. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr in the No.19 Auto-Owners Insurance Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was 27th just ahead of Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones in the No.43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE.
John Hunter Nemechek had a great day and led laps for Legacy, but he was disappointed to end the race in 29th place, just ahead of Daniel Hemric and Hendrick Motorsports Alex Bowman in the No.48 Ally Chevrolet.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano in the No.22 Pennzoil Shell Ford was caught up in a crash with seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson in the No.84 Carvana Toyota Camry XSE who was disappointed as he was able to get from 33rd in the field to just outside the top ten and he is excited about the direction and the future of his team.
Josh Berry was 35th just ahead of Harrison Burton and AJ Allmendinger and William Byron in the No.24 Valvoline Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. BJ McLeod rounded out the order in 39th place.
The race had a bit of everything: cautions and a red flag. With Sunday’s victory, Kyle Larson now leads the regular season championship standings.