NASCAR will be on full display at Indianapolis this weekend as all tiers from the ARCA Menards to the Cup Series prepare for crucial fixtures in their calendars. The 2.5-mile oval track is making it back into the game after a three-year hiatus and adds to the merriment. The importance of the upcoming set of races cannot be understated so close to the end of the regular season.
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The Cup Series will be the biggest spectacle of the weekend. Practice will go down on Friday, July 19 at 2:35 p.m. ET. Qualifying will follow the next day at 1:05 p.m. and the main race, the Brickyard 400, is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Xfinity Series will be the first to break the track with practice at 1:05 p.m. on Friday. Qualifying for the second tier will fall on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. and the main race will follow roughly three hours later at 3:30 p.m.
IMS-Cup/Xfin
IRP-ARCA/TrucksFri
1:05-NBC Sports App-Xfin prac
1:30-Arca p&q
2:35-NBC Sports App-Cup prac
3:30-FS1-Truck p&q
5:30-FS1-ARCA 200
8:30-FS1-Truck 60-60-80Sat-USA
12:05-Xfin q
1:05-Cup q
3-Prerace
3:30-Xfin 30-30-40Sun-NBC
2-Prerace
2:30-Cup 50-50-60— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 15, 2024
The Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series will hold their events at the Indianapolis Raceway Park. Practice and qualifying for trucks will fall at 3:30 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. on Friday, respectively. The main race will go down at 8:30 p.m. ARCA will have practice at 1:30 p.m. and qualifying at 2:30 p.m. The main race, the Circle City 200, will fall at 5:30 p.m.
Drivers excited about the Brickyard 400’s return to the Cup Series calendar
The Brickyard 400 returns to the schedule this Sunday just in time for its 30th anniversary of the first running in 1994. Every driver in the premier tier awaits the return of this crown jewel race and many expressed their excitement at Pocono last weekend. Kyle Larson said to Frontstretch, “I’m just happy we’re back on the oval because of the history and the meaning of the Brickyard 400. I feel like when we went to the road course, we lost a crown jewel race.”
Brad Keselowski added, “Oh my gosh, I was so disappointed when it left, the oval went to the road course. I felt like we lost a crown jewel of our sport, and it’s good to see it come back.” Kevin Harvick was the last driver to win on the 2.5-mile oval track (2020) before it was removed from the schedule. Teams will be dealing with a lot of unknowns considering that the NextGen car has never been raced on the track.
Christopher Bell underlined, “Going to be interesting to see how the race plays out. I think strategy is going to be a huge part of the race. I think Saturday qualifying is going to be a huge part of the race. On-track passes are going to be tough, I think, but [the oval’s] where we need to be for sure.”
