Kyle Larson cashed in on his second opportunity to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this season, taking the victory in the 30th anniversary of NASCAR’s inaugural Brickyard 400 on Sunday.
Larson, who ran in the Indianapolis 500 earlier this season as part of an aborted attempt to do ‘the Double,’ picked up an anticlimactic fourth NASCAR Cup win of 2024 under caution in an otherwise drama-filled race on Sunday.
The 2021 Cup champion was one of the few cars who stayed on the safest fuel strategy and grabbed the lead on the start to the first overtime after Brad Keselowski (RFK Ford) had to pit for fuel.
A multi-car wreck erupted behind the leaders, which required a 17-minute red flag to fix part of the retaining wall, and sent the race into a second overtime.
Larson again quickly cleared for the lead, but there was more drama behind as Ryan Preece hit the wall.
NASCAR held the caution flag as it appeared that Preece - who had triggered a big wreck for William Byron in Stage 2 - would get rolling, but the Stewart Haas Ford came to a stop on the track, which brought out the caution on the final lap and secured Larson’s win.
Speaking after a win he called "surreal" in the first race for the Cup Series on the IMS oval course since 2020, having moved to the Indy Road Course layout for the past three years, Larson gave a tantalising teaser that he intends to return to run the Indy 500.
"I love you, Indiana fans," the Hendrick Chevrolet driver said. "I know you guys love me, too. How about we come back next May and try to kiss these bricks in an IndyCar?"
Asked if his win Sunday made up for his 'Double' attempt that ended with a pit road speeding penalty in the Indy 500 and missing the Coke 600 that was red-flagged early due to poor weather, Larson said: "It does, I guess a little bit.
"I wish we could have got to do both and run the 600. We had a phenomenal car for that race, too.
"I think everything just comes full circle. Everything is meant to be. Today definitely meant to be for us."
Tyler Reddick ended up second, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney was third, Christopher Bell was fourth and Stage 2 winner Bubba Wallace completed the top five.
Completing the top 10 were Todd Gilliland, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Larson had earlier survived contact with Martin Truex Jr., who cut a tyre and hit the wall, but entering the closing stages was in a position to run hard to the finish without fuel concerns, unlike leader Keselowski.
The caution flags reset the race when Kyle Busch wrecked in Turn 3, following contact with Stage 1 winner Denny Hamlin with three laps to go, but Keselowski peeled off onto the pit road out of fuel when the field was set to take the green.
Larson powered to the lead past Blaney on the restart as a multi-car wreck erupted behind them in Turn 1, triggered by contact involving Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemecheck, which brought out a 17-minute red flag to clean the track of debris.
NASCAR Cup Indianapolis Race Result
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | PITS | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 167 |
3:29'08.414 |
8 | 49 | ||
| 2 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 167 |
+0.282 3:29'08.696 |
0.282 | 9 | 46 | |
| 3 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 167 |
+9.494 3:29'17.908 |
9.212 | 8 | 49 | |
| 4 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 167 |
+11.457 3:29'19.871 |
1.963 | 8 | 35 | |
| 5 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 167 |
+11.458 3:29'19.872 |
0.001 | 8 | 42 | |
| 6 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 167 |
+11.458 3:29'19.872 |
0.000 | 8 | 31 | |
| 7 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 167 |
+11.459 3:29'19.873 |
0.001 | 10 | 30 | |
| 8 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+11.461 3:29'19.875 |
0.002 | 7 | 29 | |
| 9 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 167 |
+11.462 3:29'19.876 |
0.001 | 8 | 29 | |
| 10 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+12.888 3:29'21.302 |
1.426 | 8 | 36 | |
| 11 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+12.889 3:29'21.303 |
0.001 | 7 | 32 | |
| 12 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+14.408 3:29'22.822 |
1.519 | 8 | 25 | |
| 13 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+15.177 3:29'23.591 |
0.769 | 10 | 24 | |
| 14 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+15.178 3:29'23.592 |
0.001 | 8 | 23 | |
| 15 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+15.469 3:29'23.883 |
0.291 | 9 | 22 | |
| 16 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 167 |
+18.794 3:29'27.208 |
3.325 | 9 | 26 | |
| 17 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+20.247 3:29'28.661 |
1.453 | 9 | 20 | |
| 18 | C. WareRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 167 |
+20.923 3:29'29.337 |
0.676 | 12 | 19 | |
| 19 | T. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 33 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+20.924 3:29'29.338 |
0.001 | 11 | ||
| 20 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 167 |
+21.349 3:29'29.763 |
0.425 | 11 | 17 | |
| 21 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 167 |
+26.191 3:29'34.605 |
4.842 | 10 | 16 | |
| 22 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 167 |
+26.615 3:29'35.029 |
0.424 | 15 | 15 | |
| 23 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 167 |
+26.805 3:29'35.219 |
0.190 | 10 | 17 | |
| 24 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 167 |
+29.698 3:29'38.112 |
2.893 | 9 | 14 | |
| 25 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 166 |
+1 Lap 3:29'44.455 |
1 Lap | 8 | 12 | |
| 26 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 165 |
+2 Laps 3:27'13.300 |
1 Lap | 8 | 11 | |
| 27 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 165 |
+2 Laps 3:29'36.225 |
2'22.925 | 12 | 13 | |
| 28 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 165 |
+2 Laps 3:29'40.163 |
3.938 | 15 | 9 | |
| 29 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 161 |
+6 Laps 3:16'25.031 |
4 Laps | 5 | 14 | |
| 30 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 161 |
+6 Laps 3:16'25.158 |
0.127 | 8 | 7 | |
| 31 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 161 |
+6 Laps 3:16'25.378 |
0.220 | 6 | 10 | |
| 32 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 161 |
+6 Laps 3:16'25.394 |
0.016 | 7 | 23 | |
| 33 | J. JohnsonLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 84 | Toyota | 110 |
+57 Laps 2:13'50.820 |
51 Laps | 7 | 4 | |
| 34 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 109 |
+58 Laps 2:10'32.245 |
1 Lap | 5 | 3 | |
| 35 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 104 |
+63 Laps 1:58'33.914 |
5 Laps | 6 | 2 | |
| 36 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 74 |
+93 Laps 1:20'05.585 |
30 Laps | 6 | 1 | |
| 37 | A. AllmendingerKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 74 |
+93 Laps 1:23'02.085 |
2'56.500 | 6 | ||
| 38 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 73 |
+94 Laps 1:18'24.812 |
1 Lap | 5 | 8 | |
| 39 | B. McLeodMBM | 66 | Ford | 15 |
+152 Laps 15'05.774 |
58 Laps | 3 |
