Out of the last five NASCAR Cup Series races, Team Penske has won three. Ryan Blaney won at Iowa and Pocono and Joey Logano took the checkered flag at Nashville. Heading into the Indianapolis race, the Ford team has all the momentum in the world. However, 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick believes that Denny Hamlin will finish P1 at the Brickyard.
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The Joe Gibbs Racing star might have never won at the famed Oval but he has five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in his 15 starts. The veteran has won three times so far this season but his last victory came quite a while back in Dover.
Since then, Hamlin has earned five top-five finishes. But he also finished outside the top 20 in three consecutive races. His form picked up again at Pocono Raceway where he finished P2 last Sunday.
“The momentum is with those Penske guys,” he said on his podcast. “But I am not going with those guys. I’m going to stick with my guns on the #11. I think it is time to push that car back to Victory Lane.”
Driver No. 11 is pretty good at @PoconoRaceway.
Sunday's result for @dennyhamlin (P2) was his ninth top-two finish there. pic.twitter.com/UjFxIOetc8
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2024
Early odds give the upper hand to Hamlin who reportedly has 15-4 odds to win the race. Kyle Larson follows the JGR star in second place with 6-1. Brad Keselowski and Blaney both occupy third spot with 8-1. The stars seem to be aligning for the #11 driver’s first-ever Cup win on the Indianapolis Oval but things are not going to be easy against the Penske drivers.
Much like Hamlin, Logano too has never won on the Indy Oval. He has earned four top-five and eight top-10 finishes at the track in 12 starts. On the other hand, Blaney isn’t as experienced as some of his counterparts. He has only raced at the Brickyard six times in his Cup Series career. From those starts, the reigning Cup Series champion has earned one finish in the top-10.
Sunday’s race is shaping up to be an intriguing affair as several drivers will be in contention for the win. Qualifying well and having a good track position will be key as passing is difficult at Indianapolis. Hamlin won the pole here in 2012 and will be hoping to do the same on Saturday.
