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Weekend schedule for Indianapolis

The world’s most famous 2.5-mile oval track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), will host the first-ever NASCAR/INDYCAR triple-header this weekend. The 2-day event that kicks off with NTT INDYCAR SERIES (NTTICS) GMR Grand Prix on the track’s road course at noon on Saturday followed by NASCAR’s Xfinity Series (NXS) Pennzoil 150 at 3 p.m. on NBC. Then on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series will race the 27th running of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at 4 p.m. on NBC and broadcast live on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

All times are Eastern.

NASCAR Cup Series

The Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 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.

Five former Indianapolis race winners are entered in this weekend race. Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson with four wins (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012), Kevin Harvick (2003, 2019), Kyle Busch (2015, 2016), Brad Keselowski (2018) and Ryan Newman (2013).

NASCAR Xfinity Series

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will race the road course for the first time in series history this weekend. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course that will provide a whole new set of challenges for drivers and teams. 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.

For the first time since the break from the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be allowed to practice prior to race. The teams and drivers will get two practice sessions on Friday, July 3 at 1:30 p.m. ET and at 3 p.m. ET.

All times are Eastern.

NASCAR:

Friday, July 3

1:30 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.: First Xfinity Series practice – NBC Sports App

3 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.: Final Xfinity practice – NBC Sports App

Saturday, July 4

3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (road course) – 62 laps/151.22 miles – Stages: 20/40/62 (NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN/IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, July 5

4 p.m.: Cup Series Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records – 160 laps/400 miles – Stages: 50/100/160 (NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN/IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

NTT IndyCar:

Friday, July 3

11:30 a.m.: 1 p.m. IndyCar practice (NBC Gold)

4:30 – 5:45 p.m.: IndyCar qualifying (NBCSN)

Saturday, July 4

Noon: IndyCar GMR Grand Prix – 80 laps/207.32 miles (NBC, IMS Radio Network)

July 3, 2020
Logano to start on pole at Indianapolis

For the sixth time since May, Joey Logano will start in the top three for an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race. On this occasion, it will be on pole position. That will be case on Sunday, July 5, as Logano will lead the field for the start of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after drawing the pole based on a random draw.

It will mark the first time Logano will start first in a Cup race this season. It will mark the eighth time where Logano and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil/Team Penske Ford Mustang team will start in the top five in a Cup race, the sixth since NASCAR’s return to on-track racing in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Logano, who is coming off a disappointing doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway with finishes 36th and 24th, is tied in sixth in the regular-season series standings with Martin Truex Jr., trailing points leader Kevin Harvick by 81 points, and has two wins and six top-10 results through the first 15 races of this year’s Cup season and in his first full-time season with former Cup championship-winning crew chief Paul Wolfe.

Starting alongside Logano will be the 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch, who is slated to make his 700th series start. Alex Bowman will start third alongside teammate Jimmie Johnson, who will make his 19th and final start at Indianapolis. Aric Almirola, coming off two consecutive top-five runs in the Pocono doubleheader weekend, will start fifth. Denny Hamlin, who won the second of the Pocono doubleheader races, will start sixth followed by teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. with Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott to start in the top 10. Kevin Harvick, winner of the first Pocono doubleheader races and the reigning Brickyard 400 winner, will start 11th alongside Ryan Blaney.

Starting in positions 13-26 are rookie Tyler Reddick, Ryan Newman, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Gase and rookie Brennan Poole.

Starting in positions 27-40 are Michael McDowell, Garrett Smithley, Ty Dillon, rookie Cole Custer, Corey LaJoie, Ross Chastain, rookie Quin Houff, J.J. Yeley, rookie Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill, Josh Bilicki and B.J. McLeod.

The Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis, which will mark the 16th race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, will air on July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 3, 2020
The NASCAR Xfinity Series prepares for historic weekend at Indianapolis

For over a century, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been an epicenter of racing and has featured a festivity of crown-jewel races across different motorsports regions. From the United States Grand Prix in Formula One to the Indianapolis 500 in IndyCar and NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, the track presents the best of racing and entertainment for the fans, the competitors and the teams, especially those aiming to achieve and stamp their name as a winner at the historic racing venue and pressing their lips against the yard of bricks on the frontstretch with a victorious kiss. Now, for the 2020 Independence Day weekend, the 2.5-mile track in Indianapolis will feature a unique and historic schedule lineup to kick off its first racing events of this year.

For the second time in the last three seasons, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be introduced to a racing event on a track very familiar to its schedule, but with a twist. The twist comes in the form of racing at the venue on a layout that is both an oval and a road course. That will be the case on Saturday, July 4, when the Xfinity Series races on the famed racetrack’s infield road course and parts of its 2.5-mile speedway, including the frontstretch with the start/finish line and the yard of bricks, for its 13th event of the 2020 season known as the Pennzoil 150.

The Xfinity oval-road course event at Indy features 14 turns, making it a 2.439-mile event, and will span 62 laps, 150 miles. Stage breaks for the race are scheduled on Lap 20, 40 and 62. While the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented NASCAR from allowing drivers and teams to run practice or qualifying sessions prior to a race, there will be two practice sessions on Friday, July 3, at Indy’s road course to prep the competitors and the teams in time for the main event on Saturday. Jeb Burton, driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, will start on the pole based on a random draw for the series’ race with no fans in attendance throughout the weekend.

Every competitor and team will receive a first-hand experience of the track’s layout for the first time during Friday’s practice sessions. In January, Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series, took part in a one-day Xfinity testing session on Indy’s road course layout in Team Penske’s No. 22 Xfinity Series Ford Mustang, driven by Austin Cindric. Due to DiBenedetto’s test session, he will not be eligible to compete in this weekend’s series race.

This weekend’s Xfinity race at Indy will also provide an opportunity for road course ringers like A.J. Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric, and even hometown heroes like Briscoe and Justin Haley, to master their skills towards the historic track’s layout and stamp their names as the inaugural winner of NASCAR’s road course event at Indianapolis. For drivers like Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Ross Chastain and Michael Annett, this weekend comes with an opportunity for them to notch their first Xfinity Series win of the season and receive a free pass to the Playoff with the series reaching its midpoint of the regular season. For others like Myatt Snider, Brandon Brown and Jeremy Clements, this weekend comes with an opportunity to gain as many points and positions as possible, through aggressiveness or consistency, towards the battle for the top-12 cutline and towards the Playoffs. This weekend also features the return of Mike Wallace, a NASCAR veteran since 1990 who last competed in 2015, and the debut of Jade Buford, an IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car competitor from Brentwood, Tennessee.

The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series has completed 12 races and has featured seven different winners, five of which are full-time series competitors and are guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs. With four wins, including last weekend at Pocono Raceway, Briscoe leads the regular-season series standings by three points over Noah Gragson and 33 over Chastain. Coming off his career-best fourth-place finish at Pocono, Snider holds sole possession of the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs by four points over Brown.

The Xfinity Series has been racing at Indiana since 1982, but at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis through 2011. In 2012, the series made its debut at the 2.5-mile speedway as part of a doubleheader weekend with the NASCAR Cup Series, which has raced at the famed racetrack since 1994. From 2012 to 2019, five different drivers have won an Xfinity race at Indianapolis with Kyle Busch holding the most with four, including last season.

While the experience of racing on an oval-road course layout at Indianapolis is new to NASCAR, it is not for the track along with other motorsports regions. Since 2014, the NTT IndyCar Series has raced at the track’s road course layout for the GMR Grand Prix, an event that runs two weeks prior to the Indianapolis 500 on the track’s 2.5-mile oval. From 2000 to 2007, Formula One raced at the Indianapolis road course for its annual United States Grand Prix, where names like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Rubens Barrichello won. From 2008 to 2015, the track’s road course featured Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Motorcycle racing will return at the track for its MotorAmerica Championship of Indianapolis on October 9-11, 2020. The track’s road course has even held the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational, a racing meet sanctioned by the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association. The Indy Lights, a development series sanctioned by IndyCar, was scheduled to race at Indy’s road course layout in early July, but the series’ season was cancelled and put in a hiatus until 2021.

NASCAR, however, is no stranger in featuring an oval-road course venue to its schedule. Since 2018, Charlotte Motor Speedway utilized its infield road course configuration for a doubleheader weekend for the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series during the Playoffs. Known as the Charlotte Roval, the course measures 2.28 miles in length and features 17 turns between the infield course layout and multiple portions of the speedway’s oval-shape track. On March 4, 2020, Daytona International Speedway will host its annual Busch Clash race for the Cup Series on the speedway’s infield road course layout with parts of the speedway’s 2.5-mile high banks under the lights on February 9, 2021. NASCAR’s first oval-road course event at Daytona will mark the first of a six-day span of racing action leading up to the 2021 Daytona 500 on February 14. The layout has previously been used for the IMSA’s annual Rolex 24 at Daytona along with the annual Daytona 200 motorcycle race.

The Xfinity Series will be part of motorsports’ history this weekend as this will mark the first IndyCar-NASCAR doubleheader at the same track on the exact date. With the Cup Series slated to run the Brickyard 400 on oval on Sunday, July 5, this weekend will be marked as a triple-header weekend between NASCAR and IndyCar. Prior to the Xfinity race on Saturday afternoon, the IndyCar Series will race its annual GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis road course layout on Saturday morning. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, IndyCar revised its schedule that included postponing the GMR Grand Prix from May to July 4, the exact date as the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ first oval-road course race on the track, and as the second race of the season for the series. Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, and Will Power, the 2018 Indy 500 champion, remain the only two IndyCar competitors to win at the track’s road course layout in its six-year history. The IndyCar Series completed its first race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway on June 6, which was won by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.

The Fourth of July doubleheader will not mark the only IndyCar race at Indianapolis. With the revised schedule, the series will race for the third time at Indianapolis, second on the track’s road course known as the IndyCar Harvest GP, on October 3. The 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 on the track’s oval-shaped layout, which was initially scheduled to run on Memorial Day weekend, is scheduled to occur on August 23 with fans in attendance. Among the names who will attempt to make the starting grid for the race will be two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso, who will drive the No. 66 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet Dallara. The current and revised 2020 IndyCar Series schedule features 14 races across nine different tracks with seven races cancelled, among which includes the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama; the Grand Prix doubleheaders in Detroit, Michigan; the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas; the Streets of Long Beach, California; the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada; and the series’ anticipated return to Virginia’s Richmond Raceway.

The upcoming NASCAR and IndyCar races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway serves as part of an eventful race weekend throughout Independence Day weekend. In other motorsports news, Formula One, which will celebrate its 70th anniversary of the first F1 season, will make its first anticipated start of the year at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria, for the Austrian Grand Prix on July 5. It is the first of two races scheduled at Red Bull Ring with the F1 series to return the following weekend on July 12 for the Styrian Grand Prix. The start of the 2020 Formula One season was scheduled to commence in March, but was paused due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This Sunday will provide a first opportunity for the current F1 drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc for Ferrari, Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon for Red Bull Racing, Carlos Sainz Jr. for McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo for Renault, Kimi Räikkönen for Alfa Romeo Racing and Pierre Gasly for AlphaTauri along with Haas F1 competitors Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean to compete and make up for the loss time on the track. The current and revised 2020 F1 schedule features eight races across six countries with the rest of the schedule to be determined. Some countries like the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Russia and China have postponed their scheduled F1 races to unknown dates while others like Australia, Monaco, Singapore, France and Japan have cancelled their F1 races this year.

In addition, the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season will resume on July 4 at Daytona International Speedway for the WeatherTech 240 spanning two hours and 40 minutes. It will mark the second SportsCar race of the season since the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 25-26. There are 10 WeatherTech SportsCar races in 10 different tracks that are currently in schedule to occur through November 14 for the finale, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Florida’s Sebring International Raceway.

The inaugural Pennzoil 150 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the NASCAR Xfinity Series will air on July 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC after IndyCar’s GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Road Course, which will air at noon ET on NBC. The NASCAR Cup Series’ Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will air on July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 2, 2020
Kenseth to move into 20th on all-time Cup starts list at Indianapolis

It has been more than a month since Matt Kenseth made his unexpected return to the NASCAR Cup Series, but the 2003 series champion is on the verge of a milestone start of his own. By taking the green flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 on Sunday, July 5, Kenseth will surpass the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. and move into 20th on the all-time Cup starts list with career start number 677.

A native of Cambridge, Wisconsin, Kenseth made his first Cup career start at Dover Downs International Speedway in September 1998. Serving as an interim competitor in the No. 94 McDonald’s Ford for Bill Elliott, who was absent while attending his father’s funeral on race day, Kenseth recorded an impressive sixth-place result in his debut. The following season, Kenseth made five Cup starts in the No. 17 DeWalt Power Tools Ford for car owner Jack Roush with Robbie Reiser serving as crew chief. His best result was a fourth-place finish at Dover in September.

In 2000, Kenseth campaigned on a full-time basis in the Cup Series with Roush Racing. He recorded his first career win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May in his 18th series start. He went on to record four top-five results and 11 top-10 results to finish 14th in the final standings and beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. After going winless in 2001, Kenseth rebounded the following season by winning five races, his first Cup pole and tallying 11 top-five results and 19 top-10 results to conclude the season in eighth in the final standings.

In 2003, Kenseth started the season by finishing 20th in the Daytona 500. He rebounded the following two races by finishing third at North Carolina Speedway and winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After finishing fourth the following weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kenseth was the points leader. For the remainder of the 2003 Cup season, Kenseth did not win, but he generated a bulk of consistent results that included 11 top-five finishes and 25 top-10 finishes to maintain the lead in the standings through the season’s conclusion. After finishing fourth at North Carolina Speedway, the penultimate race of the season, Kenseth clinched his first NASCAR Cup Series championship with a 226-point advantage over Jimmie Johnson. The championship was a first for Kenseth, crew chief Robbie Reiser and car owner Jack Roush. The following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final race of the season, Kenseth finished 43rd, last, due to an early engine failure, but he officially wrapped up the title by 90 points over Johnson. To July 1, 2020, Kenseth remains one of four competitors to win a Cup title despite recording a single victory throughout a season.

From 2004 to 2012, Kenseth won 17 races and seven poles while recording 95 top-five finishes and 162 top-10 finishes, all in the No. 17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Among his accomplishments included winning two Daytona 500s, (2009 and 2012), and the 2004 All-Star Race at Charlotte. He made the Chase for the Cup in eight of his nine seasons driving for Roush with a best points result of second in 2006 behind Jimmie Johnson.

In 2013, Kenseth departed Roush and joined forces with Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 20 Dollar General/Husky Tools Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series, replacing Joey Logano while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. graduated to the Cup Series to drive Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford. After finishing 37th in the Daytona 500 due to an engine failure despite leading 86 laps and finishing seventh the following week at Phoenix, Kenseth scored his first triumph with JGR at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after beating Kasey Kahne on two fresh tires. On that day, Kenseth also became the third Cup driver to win while celebrating a birthday. He went on to win four more races throughout the 26-race regular season, (Kansas Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Kentucky Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway), to enter the Chase as a championship threat against Jimmie Johnson. When the 2013 Chase for the Cup commenced, Kenseth won the opening two races at Chicagoland Speedway and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and led the standings for six of the final 10 races before Johnson assumed the points lead with three races remaining following his victory at Texas in November. The following race at Phoenix, Kenseth struggled both on the track and in the pits. By finishing 23rd, he entered the finale at Homestead trailing Johnson by 28 points. Though he won the pole, led a race-high 44 laps and finished second at Homestead behind teammate Denny Hamlin, Johnson won his sixth championship with a ninth-place result by 19 points, leaving Kenseth settled as the championship runner-up in his first season with JGR.

From 2014 to 2017, Kenseth won eight races and nine poles while recording 43 top-five finishes and 79 top-10 finishes as driver of the No. 20 Toyota for JGR. He made the Chase in all four seasons with a best points result of fifth in 2016. To July 1, 2020, Kenseth is ranked 22nd on the all-time Cup wins list with 39.

At the conclusion of the 2017 season, Kenseth was left without a full-time ride for the 2018 Cup season as Erik Jones assumed driving responsibilities of the No. 20 JGR Toyota. In May, however, Kenseth rejoined Roush Fenway Racing to split driving responsibilities of the No. 6 Ford Fusion with Trevor Bayne for the remainder of the Cup season. In his first race of the 2018 season, Kenseth finished 36th after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. In his 15-race slate with RFR, Kenseth’s highlights included winning a stage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, finishing seventh at Phoenix in November and finishing sixth the following week in the finale at Homestead.

After not making a start in NASCAR last season, Kenseth was named driver of the No. 42 Credit One Bank/McDonald’s/Clover Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Chip Ganassi Racing for the remainder of the 2020 season following the suspension of Kyle Larson and his use of a live racial slur during an iRacing event. In his first race in over a year at Darlington Raceway in May, Kenseth finished 10th. For the next 10 races, he has finished in the top 15 three more times, which includes both Pocono Raceway races last weekend.

Through his first 11 races of the season since May, Kenseth has achieved only one top-10 finish, two stage points and is 30th in the regular-season series standings, trailing points leader Kevin Harvick by 399 points and the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs by 159 points. He has been granted a waiver by NASCAR to qualify for the Playoffs should he win a race and generate enough points to make the top-16 cutline.

This Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will not only mark Kenseth’s 677th start in NASCAR’s premier series. It will also mark his 20th start at the famed racetrack, a venue where he has achieved 12 top-10 finishes, a best result of second in 2003, 2006 and 2016, 55 laps led and an average result of 12.68 in his previous 19 starts. He currently holds the most top-five finishes at Indy among active drivers, (nine). He is also ranked third among most starts by active Cup drivers behind Kurt Busch and Harvick.

Catch Kenseth’s milestone start in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis on July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 1, 2020
Harvick to move into sixth place on Cup consecutive starts list at Indianapolis

Following a productive doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway, Kevin Harvick is set to achieve a milestone of his own on Sunday, July 5, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. By taking the green flag in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis, Harvick will break a tie with two-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte and move into sixth place on the all-time NASCAR Cup consecutive starts list with 656 series consecutive starts.

The consecutive streak for Harvick dates all the way back to Talladega Superspeedway in April 2002, a week after Harvick served a one-race suspension in the Cup race after being penalized by NASCAR the day before for rough driving in the Truck Series at Martinsville, where he intentionally spun out Coy Gibbs. In his previous 655 consecutive race span dating through June 28, 2020, Harvick has tallied 50 Cup wins, 31 poles, 207 top-five finishes and 356 top-10 finishes while leading over 14,000 laps and competing for two organizations, Richard Childress Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. During this span, Harvick won three Clash events at Daytona International Speedway, two All-Star races and his first Cup championship in 2014 with SHR. He has finished in the top 10 in the final standings 15 times and has made the Championship Round in five of the last six seasons.

After finishing second last weekend in the second Pocono Raceway event of the weekend, Harvick tied Labonte for sixth on the all-time Cup consecutive starts list. In addition to breaking the tie and moving into sole possession of the sixth-place position in the consecutive starts list, Harvick will make his 20th consecutive/career start at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track where he has recorded 13 top-10 finishes and two victories, (2003 and 2019). Currently, Harvick holds the best stats among active Cup competitors at Indianapolis in five categories, which includes 13 top-10 results, three poles, over 3,000 laps led, 18 lead-lap finishes and an average result of 8.95.

Harvick is currently in his seventh season driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with crew chief Rodney Childers atop the pit box. Through 15 races of the 2020 season, Harvick has won three races, including one of the two doubleheader races at Pocono Raceway last weekend, and has recorded one stage win and 12 top-10 results as he leads the regular-season series standings by 52 points over Ryan Blaney. The 2014 Cup champion is set to become the leading active Cup competitor with consecutive starts once seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson retires from full-time racing at this season’s conclusion. Harvick is also three races away from becoming the 17th competitor to achieve 700 starts in NASCAR’s premier series as he pursues his quest to win his second series championship.

Catch Harvick’s milestone start and his attempt to defend his Indianapolis title in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 on July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 1, 2020
Kyle Busch to make 550th Cup start at Indianapolis

With big brother Kurt set to achieve a milestone start of his NASCAR Cup Series career, Kyle Busch will also make a milestone start of his own at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 5. By taking the green flag for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400, the younger Busch will reach 550 starts in NASCAR’s premier series. The milestone comes in his 16th season racing in the Cup Series, 13th in the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing.

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, and the younger brother to the 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch made his Cup debut at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in March 2004 and in the No. 84 CARQUEST Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. At the time, he was competing for the team on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series, where he won five races, finished second in the final standings and claimed the series Rookie-of-the-Year title. He finished 41st in his Cup debut due to a crash and competed in five more races throughout the 2004 season, scoring a best result of 24th at California Speedway in September.

The following season, Busch was promoted as full-time driver of the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series. Following an up-and-down season, Busch achieved his first Cup win in his 31st series start at California Speedway in September 2005. At that time, Busch became the youngest winner in the Cup Series’ history at age 20 years, four months and two days. Despite missing the Chase for the Cup, Busch achieved his second Cup victory at Phoenix International Raceway in November 2005 following a late battle with Greg Biffle. To go along with a pole, nine top-five results and 13 top-10 results with a final standings result of 20th, Busch claimed the 2005 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title. Busch continued driving the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet for HMS in 2006 and 2007, winning one race apiece and tallying one pole, 21 top-five finishes and 38 top-10 finishes with a best points result of fifth in 2007.

When the 2007 season concluded, Busch was replaced at Hendrick Motorsports by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he joined forces with Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 18 Toyota Camry sponsored by Mars Inc. and Interstate Batteries. In his first race with the team, Busch led a race-high 86 laps in the Daytona 500 before finishing in fourth. After finishing fourth the following week at Auto Club Speedway, Busch emerged as the points leader for the first time in his Cup career. Two races later, Busch notched his first win with JGR and recorded the first Cup win for crew chief Steve Addington and the Toyota nameplate at Atlanta Motor Speedway. From there, Busch went on a hot streak as he won seven more races across seven different tracks, (all of which he won at for the first time), and entered the 2008 Chase for the Cup as one of the title favorites. He, however, recorded three consecutive finishes outside the top 20 in the first three Chase races, which left him eliminated from title contention. He concluded the 2008 Cup season in 10th in the final standings.

The following season, Busch won four races, which included his hometrack, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and winning on his 24th birthday at Richmond International Raceway in May, but he missed the Chase by eight points to Brian Vickers. Despite the up-and-down season in the Cup Series, he went on to win his first NASCAR Xfinity Series title after achieving nine victories throughout the season. The 2010 season was a record-breaking season for Busch as he won 24 races across NASCAR’s three major division series, three of which came in the Cup Series while paired with new crew chief Dave Rogers. The racing events at Bristol Motor Speedway from August 18-21 marked a major milestone moment for Busch, when he became the first NASCAR competitor to win across all three major division series in the same weekend at the exact racetrack. He made the Chase in 2010, but concluded the season in eighth in the final standings.

Between 2011 and 2012, Busch tallied five Cup wins, three poles, 27 top-five finishes and 38 top-10 finishes, though he finished 12th and 13th in the final standings within the two years. By then, he had surpassed 100 wins across NASCAR’s three major division series and he had also won the inaugural Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in 2011. He rebounded in 2013 by winning four races and three poles along with 16 top-five results and 22 top-10 results to conclude the season in fourth in the final standings after making the Chase for the sixth time in his career. Among Busch’s Cup highlights in 2013 was dodging a last lap incident involving teammate Denny Hamlin and ex-teammate Joey Logano to win at Auto Club Speedway in March and winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April in his 300th series start. To July 2020, Busch is one of seven competitors to win in career start number 300.

After winning only once in 2014 and concluding the season in 10th in the final standings, Busch was paired with Xfinity Series crew chief Adam Stevens for the 2015 Cup season. Then came February 21, when Busch was involved in a late multi-car wreck and made head-on contact into a concrete wall installed with no SAFER barriers. He was transported to the Halifax Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a massive compound fracture in the lower right leg along with a small fracture in his left foot. The wreck left Busch on the sidelines for the first 11 Cup races into the season, though he was granted an injury waiver that would allow him to make the Chase as long as he met the qualification standards. In May, Busch returned as driver of JGR’s No. 18 Toyota and in June, he achieved his first victory of the season at Sonoma Raceway. The win at Sonoma completed the first phase for Busch to make the Chase as he needed consistent runs through September to be guaranteed a spot. He then went on a hot streak, winning three consecutive races, (Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway), and earning enough consistent finishes and points to qualify for the Chase. Following a consistent run throughout the Chase, Busch raced his way into the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22 and as the only JGR competitor still in contention for the title. On that day, Busch won the finale and claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in his 11th season. To go along with Busch’s first title, it was the first Cup title for crew chief Adam Stevens, the first for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2005, the first for Mars Inc. and for Toyota. Busch also became the first competitor to win a Cup title despite not competing the entire season since Richard Petty made the last accomplishment in 1971.

From 2016 to 2018, Busch won 17 more Cup races and tallied 14 poles, 53 top-five results and 75 top-10 results, all while reaching the Championship Round in all three seasons with a best result of second in 2017. Among his achievements within the three seasons included winning at Martinsville Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Pocono Raceway for the first time, winning his second straight Brickyard 400 victory in 2016, claiming his first All-Star win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2017, winning across all three division series at Bristol in August 2017, becoming the first driver to record a win in every active NASCAR Cup track following his first Coca-Cola 600 victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2018 and surpassing 50 Cup wins following the 2018 season.

Last season, in his 12th season driving for JGR, Busch reached his 500th Cup start at Atlanta in February, a week after finishing second to teammate Denny Hamlin in the season-opening Daytona 500. He finished sixth in his milestone start and in third the following week at his hometrack in Las Vegas. The following week, he achieved his first victory of the 2019 Cup season at Phoenix in March and returned the following week by winning at Auto Club Speedway. On that day, Busch recorded his 200th victory across NASCAR’s three major division series. He won two more races throughout the regular season to make the Playoffs. He was able to race his way into the Championship Round and win the finale at Homestead to claim his second Cup championship.

This season, through the first 15 races of the 2020 Cup season, Kyle Busch has recorded seven top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes, and is ranked 11th in the regular-season standings, trailing points leader Kevin Harvick by 158 points. He has won a total of 56 Cup races, though he continues to pursue his first victory of the season. Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will mark Busch’s 16th Cup start at the famed racetrack and at a place where he has won twice in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016 along with recording 10 top-10 results and averaging a result of 12.47. He is also a four-time winner at the venue’s oval-shaped layout in the Xfinity Series. Busch will also look to become the third NASCAR competitor to achieve three Cup wins at Indianapolis.

Catch Kyle Busch’s milestone start on July 5 for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 1, 2020
Kurt Busch to reach milestone start at Indianapolis

A milestone start is in the making for Kurt Busch heading into this weekend’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 5. When the green waves at Indy, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion will achieve 700 starts in the sport’s premier series. The milestone comes in his second full-time season as driver of the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Chip Ganassi Racing.

“It’s amazing,” Busch said. “To have this opportunity and to have been blessed to have raced with so many great race teams over the years, just making it past the local track was something that I thought was an achievement because my dad was a local racer. He won a lot. But it was like money, sponsors, and the whole challenge of even getting to like the Southwest Tour and Late Model division, that was even tough for us way back in the past. So, it’s amazing. Twenty years of racing at the top series level and now having 700 starts, I never would have guessed.”

A native from Las Vegas, Nevada, Busch made his Cup debut at Dover Downs International Speedway in September 2000 as driver of the No. 97 John Deere Ford for Roush Racing, replacing Chad Little. After finishing 18th at Dover, Busch competed in seven of the remaining eight Cup races of the season in Roush’s No. 97 Ford, scoring a best result of 13th at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway, before he was promoted to a full-time driving role in 2001. In his first full-time season in the Cup Series, Busch recorded his first pole position at Darlington Raceway in September and achieved three top-five results and six top-10 results throughout the season with a best finish of third at Talladega Superspeedway in April. He finished the year in 27th in the standings, though he did not make the field at Atlanta Motor Speedway in November.

The following year, it took the first six races into the 2002 season for Busch to achieve his first Cup triumph at Bristol Motor Speedway following a late battle against Jimmy Spencer. His first Cup victory came in his 48th series start. Busch went on to win three more races, (Martinsville Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway), and conclude the season with 12 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes and a final standings result of third. After winning four races, notching 14 top-10 results and finishing 11th in the final standings in 2003, Busch rallied the following season by recording three wins, a pole, 10 top-five results and 21 top-10 results, all while making the inaugural Chase for the Cup and generating enough consistent results to win the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway by eight points over Jimmie Johnson and 16 over Jeff Gordon. The championship was a first for Busch, the first for veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig and the second for team owner Jack Roush.

After winning three races throughout the 2005 season, Busch was suspended and released from Roush Racing two races shy of the season’s conclusion following a confrontation with Maricopa County Sheriff deputies in November prior to the Phoenix race weekend for suspicious DUI driving. Following his departure from Roush, Busch joined forces with team owner Roger Penske as driver of the iconic No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge following the retirement of Rusty Wallace. It took the first five races into the 2006 season for Busch to win for the first time with Penske at Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite the win at Bristol to go along with six poles, seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10 finishes, Busch concluded the season in 16th in the final standings after failing to make the Chase.

From 2007 to 2010, Busch continued to drive the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske and won seven races, including the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway followed by the Coca-Cola 600 in 2010 with veteran crew chief Steve Addington. In those four seasons, he also tallied three poles, 30 top-five results, 62 top-10 results and made the Chase in three seasons. His best points result was fourth in 2009 with crew chief Pat Tryson.

Busch remained with Penske for the 2011 Cup season, but he assumed driving responsibilities of the newly formed No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge with Addington remaining as his crew chief while Brad Keselowski, coming off his NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, was assigned to pilot the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge with Paul Wolfe, his championship-winning crew chief, to continue to lead him. Busch kickstarted the new relationship in a new car and with his new sponsors by winning the non-point Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, which marked Busch’s first superspeedway victory of any type. He followed that up by winning the first Gatorade Duel qualifying races and finishing fifth in the Daytona 500. Fifteen races into the season, Busch recorded his first elusive win with the No. 22 team at Sonoma Raceway after leading 76 of the event’s 110-scheduled laps. He would win once more at Dover International Speedway in October and conclude the season with three poles, eight top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and in 11th in the final standings while making the Chase for the sixth time in his career.

Following a mutual termination of his partnership with Penske, Busch reached a one-year, handshake deal with team owner James Finch to drive the No. 51 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing in the 2012 season. In his 30-race stretch with Phoenix Racing, Busch achieved two top-10 results, including a season-best third at Sonoma Raceway, while sustaining six DNFs and not competing at Pocono Raceway in June due to being suspended following an off-track encounter with a reporter. After Talladega Superspeedway in October, Busch transitioned to Furniture Row Racing for the remaining six races of the 2012 season, scoring a best result of eighth in back-to-back weekends at Texas Motor Speedway and at Phoenix Raceway, before racing as a full-time driver for the team in 2013. Though he did not record a win, Busch’s full-time season with Furniture Row Racing’s No. 78 Chevrolet team was a success as he recorded a pole, 11 top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and finished 10th in the final standings, all while putting the team in the Chase for the first time.

Despite a productive season with FRR, Busch transitioned to Stewart-Haas Racing as the team’s fourth competitor in 2014 and as driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet. Despite a slow start to the first four races of the season, Busch rebounded the following two events by finishing third at Auto Club Speedway and rallying from an on-track altercation with Keselowski to win at Martinsville Speedway following a late battle with Jimmie Johnson. The Martinsville win was the second for Busch along with his first triumph with SHR and the first win for rookie crew chief Daniel Knost. It also snapped his 83-race winless drought dating back to October 2011. He went on to record six top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes while concluding the season in 12th in the final standings.

Busch started the 2015 season suspended over allegations of domestic violence under NASCAR’s personal conduct policy, but he was reinstated by NASCAR in March prior to the upcoming race at Phoenix International Raceway, where he finished fifth. Paired with veteran crew chief Tony Gibson, Busch went on to win twice and record 10 top-five finishes, 21 top-10 finishes and three poles before concluding the season in eighth in the standings. From 2016 to 2018, Busch won one race apiece and tallied eight poles, 21 top-five finishes and 58 top-10 finishes with a best result of seventh in 2016 and 2018, all while making the Chase. In between those three seasons, Busch recorded the first Daytona 500 victory for himself and Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017 and he recorded the first wins for crew chiefs Johnny Klausmeier and Billy Scott. He also established a record-setting run of lead-lap finishes to the first 22 races of the 2016 season before the streak came to an end the following race at Bristol due to a wreck. When Busch won at Bristol in August 2018, it was his sixth triumph at the track dubbed Thunder Valley and it was the 100th Cup win for the Ford Fusion.

Last season, following his departure from Stewart-Haas Racing at the conclusion of the 2018 Cup season, Busch and longtime partner Monster Energy joined forces with Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team. Through the first half of the season, 18 races, Busch achieved 10 top-10 results. In July, Busch outdueled his brother Kyle on a two-lap shootout to win at Kentucky Speedway for his first win with Ganassi and to record the first NASCAR victory for crew chief Matt McCall. He concluded the season in 13th in the standings despite achieving six top-five results, 18 top-10 results and three stage wins.

Through the first 15 races of the 2020 Cup Series season, Busch has achieved nine top-10 results with a best result of third coming at Auto Club and Darlington, and has recorded a stage win. He is ranked 10th in the regular-season standings and trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 151 points. With 31 Cup career wins, Busch is ranked 27th on the all-time wins list, (seventh among active drivers).

On Sunday, Busch will become the 16th driver to reach 700 career starts in the Cup Series. He is also one of two active competitors set to reach the 700th start milestone in 2020 as Harvick, a former teammate to Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing, is set to reach the mark at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19. For Busch, he will also make his 20th consecutive start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track where Busch has finished in the top 10 six times with a best result of fifth in 2001 and has achieved an average result of 19.42 in his previous 19 starts.

Catch Busch’s milestone start in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 1, 2020
Brandon Jones to make 150th Xfinity start at Indianapolis

Coming off an up-and-down weekend at Pocono Raceway, Brandon Jones will reach a milestone start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. When he takes the green flag for the Pennzoil 150 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval-road course layout, Jones will reach 150 career starts in the Xfinity Series.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Jones made his Xfinity debut at Iowa Speedway in May 2015. Driving the No. 33 Jeld-Wen/Menards Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, Jones finished eighth. He would compete in four more races in the series for RCR, earning his first top-five career finish at Kentucky Speedway in September and averaging a finishing result of 15th. The following season, Jones was promoted to a full-time racing schedule in RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series. He opened his first full-time season with a seventh-place result at Daytona International Speedway and went on to earn 11 more top-10 results while making the inaugural Xfinity Playoffs. He was eliminated, however, following the first round and finished 10th in the final standings. Despite starting the 2017 season with his first career pole for the season-opening event at Daytona, the remainder of the season was a disappointing one for Jones as he only achieved three top-10 results, missed the Playoffs and concluded the season in 16th in the final standings.

In 2018, Jones transitioned to Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 19 Toyota with Menards maintaining their partnership with the driver as one of his primary sponsors throughout the season. Through the first nine Xfinity races, Jones earned five top-10 results. Among his highlights for the start of the 2018 season included winning a stage at Texas Motor Speedway, leading a race-high 106 laps before finishing sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway the following week and finishing a career-best second at Talladega two weeks later, all in April. He would earn 12 more top-10 results, record a pole at Dover International Speedway in May and finish ninth in the final standings while making the Playoffs.

He remained at JGR for the 2019 Xfinity Series while being paired with crew chief Jeff Meendering. He started the season with a third-place run at Daytona followed by a fourth-place run at Atlanta Motor Speedway before finishing 28th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the following week due to a late accident. For the first 29 Xfinity races, Jones earned 13 top-10 results, which was enough for him to qualify for the Xfinity Playoffs for the third time in his career despite sustaining seven DNFs. After recording finishes of 11th, 16th and 37th in the first round of the Playoffs, Jones was eliminated from title contention. The following week at Kansas Speedway, however, Jones rebounded by taking the lead with 10 laps remaining and holding off the field on a two-lap shootout to grab his first Xfinity career win in his 133rd series start, which was also his first victory across NASCAR’s three major division series. He would finish in the top 11 for the remaining three races and settle in 10th in the final standings.

This season, in his third with JGR, Jones has finished in the top 10 seven times and is ranked eighth in the regular-season series standings through the first 12 races. He recorded his second Xfinity Series career win at Phoenix Raceway in March, which was also the 500th win for Toyota across NASCAR’s three major division series, after passing Kyle Busch in the closing laps for the lead, a victory that has him guaranteed a spot for the 2020 Playoffs. He has also made one of select NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starts in the No. 51 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports last weekend at Pocono Raceway, which he won and recorded his first Truck win in his 46th series start.

Like his fellow Xfinity Series competitors, this weekend’s event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will mark Jones’ first start at the famed racetrack’s oval-road course layout. He has competed at Indy’s oval-shaped layout the previous four seasons, finishing in the top 10 in all of them with a best result of sixth in 2019.

Catch Jones’ milestone start in the Pennzoil 150 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval-road course event on July 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

June 30, 2020
Todd Gordon set for 300th Cup race as crew chief at Indianapolis

When the green flag waves on Sunday, July 5, for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Todd Gordon will achieve a milestone of his own. Gordon, who currently serves as a crew chief for Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Ford Mustang team for Team Penske, will reach 300 races as a Cup crew chief.

A native of Camden, New York, and a graduate from Clemson University with a mechanical engineering degree, Gordon has an extensive racing background, where has worked in roles that includes a fabricator, mechanic, engineer and crew chief for multiple NASCAR teams from 1998 to 2010, teams that include ppC Racing, CJM Racing, Baker Curb Racing and Diamond-Waltrip Racing.

In 2011, Gordon was named crew chief for the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series’ championship-winning No. 22 Dodge team for team owner Roger Penske. On July 8, Gordon achieved his first NASCAR win as a crew chief at Kentucky Speedway with Brad Keselowski. He would win four more races with Keselowski and one with Kurt Busch for the remainder of the 2011 season. At the conclusion of the season, the No. 22 Penske team finished fifth in the owners’ standings while achieving six wins, six poles, 16 top-five finishes and 24 top-10 finishes in 33 races with five different drivers, (Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Parker Kligerman and Jacques Villeneuve).

The following year, Gordon was promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series as a crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team with driver A.J. Allmendinger. Through the first 17 races, Allmendinger finished in the top 10 only three times, which included a runner-up finish at Martinsville Speedway in April. On July 7, prior to the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Allmendinger was suspended for failing a random drug test and Gordon was paired with Hornish Jr. for the remainder of the Cup schedule. Hornish’s best result was a fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen in August.

In 2013, when Penske changed manufacturers from Dodge to Ford, Gordon was paired with Joey Logano, Penske’s newest driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford in the Cup Series. On August 18, the crew chief notched his first Cup win with Logano at Michigan International Speedway. The duo would make the postseason Playoffs the following month and settle in eighth in the final standings.

From 2014 to 2016, Gordon and Logano would notch 14 race victories, 10 poles, 54 top-five finishes and 76 top-10 results while finishing runner-up in the 2016 Cup standings. The duo also achieved the 2015 Daytona 500. After winning once and missing the Playoffs in 2017, the duo would win three races, make the Championship Round and claim the NASCAR Cup Series championship the following season. Last season, Gordon won two races with Logano and the two also achieved two poles, 12 top-five results and 21 top-10 results despite missing the Championship Round and finishing fifth in the final standings.

This season, following a major driver-crew chief shuffling at Team Penske, Gordon was paired with Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Ford team while Paul Wolfe assumed crew chief responsibilities of Logano and the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford team. Through the first 15 races of the 2020 Cup season, Blaney and Gordon have notched seven top-10 results and won their first race together at Talladega Superspeedway on June 22. They are ranked second in the regular-season series standings and trail points leader Kevin Harvick by 52 points.

Following last weekend’s Pocono Raceway doubleheader, in 299 races as a Cup crew chief, Gordon has achieved 22 race wins, 18 pole, 108 top-five results and 169 top-10 results along with the 2018 title.

This weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, along with the 300th career start, will mark Gordon’s ninth race as a crew chief at the famed racetrack, where he has achieved six top-10 results and finished runner-up in 2015 and 2019 with Logano.

The Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis will air on July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

June 30, 2020
Chastain to run Cup race at Indianapolis with Spire Motorsports

For the sixth time in the 2020 NASCAR season, Ross Chastain will be pulling double duty between the Cup and Xfinity Series on the same weekend. A day after he competes in the Xfinity Series’ inaugural oval-road course event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chastain will pilot the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE sponsored by Melon Man Brand for Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series’ oval-shaped event for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the famed racetrack on Sunday, July 5.

The Alva, Florida, native will make his sixth Cup start of this season, third in the No. 77 car for Spire Motorsports. His previous two starts in the No. 77 Chevrolet came in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May under a partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing. His other three Cup starts of this season were in the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing, (Las Vegas, Auto Club and Phoenix), as an interim competitor for Ryan Newman, who was injured following his last lap accident in the Daytona 500.

Sunday’s 400-mile race at the Brickyard will mark the third time Chastain will race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a Cup Series car. He drove for Premium Motorsports at Indianapolis the previous two seasons, finishing 26th in 2018 and 22nd in 2019. After this weekend, he will have made his 77th Cup Series start.

“I’m excited to roll out the Melon Man Brand paint scheme this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Chastain said. “It’ll be fun to do something new. When we came up with the idea to create a personal brand, we wanted to do something different, something that would stand out. I think the look of the car and our branding initiatives check those boxes. Jeff [Dickerson] and T.J. [Puchyr] have supported me and my career without a moment’s hesitation, ever. It’s an honor for me to drive for Spire Motorsports this weekend in Indianapolis.”

Chastain, currently, races as a full-time competitor in the Xfinity Series in the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. He is ranked third in the regular-season series standings and has recorded four top-five results and 10 top-10 results despite being winless through the first 12 races. He is also coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes at Talladega Superspeedway and at Pocono Raceway, and has won two consecutive Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonuses. He has raced at Indianapolis as an oval-shaped venue in the Xfinity Series from 2015 to 2018, but this Saturday, July 4, will mark his first at the track’s oval-road course layout.

This season, Chastain has competed in 23 races across NASCAR’s three major division series as he has also competed in six NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races for Niece Motorsports. He has finished in the top 10 four times with a best result of third at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 13.

The Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 16th race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, will air on July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

June 30, 2020