NASCAR heads to one of the most historic tracks of all-time this week as they race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The “Brickyard” as it’s known is a 2.5-mile rectangular oval with flat turns, banked at just six degrees. Like Pocono, the other track of this distance, it is not a restrictor plate track since the turns restrict the speed you can carry naturally through the track. As you will see in the data, it has the fewest number of drivers who have led laps in the past two years, with just four different guys running up front.
Track Breakdown
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Avg. | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Kyle Busch | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 168 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 140.7 | 4 | 42 | 21.00 |
| Denny Hamlin | 10.5 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 100.5 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kevin Harvick | 6.5 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 75 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 119.1 | 2 | 18.75 | 9.38 |
| Joey Logano | 8 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 109.2 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 4.25 |
| Kyle Larson | 7.5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 105.1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matt Kenseth | 20.5 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 106.5 | 16 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 10.5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 109 | 4.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 12.5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 94.1 | 3.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Brad Keselowski | 18 | 13.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 98.4 | 4.5 | 8 | 4.00 |
| Paul Menard | 17 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 78.9 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kurt Busch | 12.5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 87.3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Clint Bowyer | 19 | 13.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 70.9 | 5.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Austin Dillon | 18.5 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 25 | 0 | 74.6 | 1.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Chase Elliott | 21.5 | 16.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 69.9 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jamie McMurray | 9.5 | 17.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 74.7 | -8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Landon Cassill | 28.5 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 26 | 0 | 52.5 | 5.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 22.5 | 23.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 35 | 0 | 61.4 | -1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Chris Buescher | 22 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 66.6 | 8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Blaney | 23.5 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 36 | 1 | 68.9 | -0.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kasey Kahne | 26.5 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 24 | 0 | 69.9 | 5.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Newman | 24.5 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 31 | 1 | 71.9 | 3.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| David Ragan | 15.5 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 37 | 1 | 61.6 | -13.5 | 1.25 | 0.63 |
| Timmy Hill | 42 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 24.7 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| J.J. Yeley | 38 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 27.8 | -1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 35 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 40 | 1 | 28.6 | -1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Reed Sorenson | 39 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 31.3 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Cole Whitt | 38 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 33 | 0 | 37.3 | 7 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Trevor Bayne | 26.5 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 40 | 1 | 44.3 | -8.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Michael McDowell | 29.5 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 31 | 0 | 47.9 | 2.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 25.5 | 30.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 38 | 1 | 48.6 | -5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Aric Almirola | 25.5 | 31.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 38 | 0 | 53.7 | -6 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Danica Patrick | 19.5 | 24.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 27 | 0 | 66.9 | -5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 8 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 77.7 | -14 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Daniel Suarez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Erik Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| B.J. McLeod | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Joey Gase | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Gray Gaulding | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Sieg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Corey Lajoie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Top-15 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Historically
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Jimmie Johnson | 12.5 | 14.6 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 302 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 3 | -2.1 | 75.5 | 5.03 |
| Kyle Busch | 17.5 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 210 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 8.5 | 52.5 | 4.38 |
| Kevin Harvick | 14.1 | 9.94 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 181 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 4.16 | 45.25 | 2.83 |
| Jamie McMurray | 15.4 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 0.4 | 12 | 0.86 |
| Ryan Newman | 9.3 | 17.69 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 59 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 3 | -8.39 | 14.75 | 0.92 |
| Paul Menard | 22.8 | 18.9 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 0.55 |
| Matt Kenseth | 19 | 13.18 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 2 | 5.82 | 9.75 | 0.57 |
| Denny Hamlin | 13.3 | 13.36 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 75 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 0 | -0.06 | 18.75 | 1.70 |
| Kasey Kahne | 11.4 | 14.62 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 158 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 2 | -3.22 | 39.5 | 3.04 |
| Joey Logano | 13.9 | 12.63 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 55 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 1.27 | 13.75 | 1.72 |
| Clint Bowyer | 19.5 | 13.55 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 5.95 | 1.5 | 0.14 |
| Kurt Busch | 15.9 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 41 | 2 | -3.1 | 0.75 | 0.05 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 16.7 | 18.81 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 61 | 0 | 4 | 43 | 3 | -2.11 | 15.25 | 0.95 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 21.2 | 18.33 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 42 | 1 | 2.87 | 0.75 | 0.06 |
| Kyle Larson | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1.25 | 0.42 |
Top-15 at 2.5-mile Tracks (Since 2015)
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | |||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Kyle Busch | 7.1 | 11.57 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 291 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 113.3 | -4.47 | 72.75 | 10.39 |
| Kurt Busch | 8.7 | 11.57 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 99.4 | -2.87 | 11.25 | 1.61 |
| Matt Kenseth | 11.7 | 7.14 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 102.6 | 4.56 | 8.25 | 1.18 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 8.1 | 13.57 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 124 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 98.6 | -5.47 | 31 | 4.43 |
| Ryan Blaney | 16.6 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 83.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 0.50 |
| Chris Buescher | 22.8 | 14.75 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 62.4 | 8.05 | 3 | 0.75 |
| Kevin Harvick | 7.6 | 9.71 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 133 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 1 | 108.6 | -2.11 | 33.25 | 4.75 |
| Brad Keselowski | 9.4 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 54 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 99.6 | 1.4 | 13.5 | 1.93 |
| Joey Logano | 7.3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 186 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 100.8 | -6.7 | 46.5 | 6.64 |
| Denny Hamlin | 10.3 | 10.57 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 94.1 | -0.27 | 0.75 | 0.11 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 13.3 | 16.29 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 2 | 92.4 | -2.99 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 15.8 | 15.4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 84 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.20 |
| Kyle Larson | 13.7 | 8.29 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 59 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 100.3 | 5.41 | 14.75 | 2.11 |
| Chase Elliott | 17.8 | 15.6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 51 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 89.1 | 2.2 | 12.75 | 2.55 |
| Erik Jones | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 112.7 | 12 | 5 | 5.00 |
Drivers to watch this week:
Kyle Busch: Kyle is without question or argument the most dominant driver on the track this week in the last two years. He has won both races, once from the pole position, and has led the most laps with 168. It has been weeks of hearing how he hasn’t won yet, and is now tied with the longest winless streak of his career at 35 races. It’s not like he hasn’t had the speed, given that he has consistently run up front all season. Expect him to be pushing for that win this Sunday at the Brickyard.
Denny Hamlin: Denny is fresh off his first win of the season, as well as JGR’s first team win, and now heads to a track that has been good to him the last few years. He has finishes 4th and 5th while starting 10th and 11th each time. Hamlin hasn’t led a lap here in the last couple of races, but he has led 75 over 11 races in his career. Six top-10s in 11 races is also a good start for the 11-car driver.
Kevin Harvick: Long tracks are usually where Harvick’s uncanny speed plays the best and that’s true again this week. He has led the second-most laps in the last two races with 75 up front while finishing 3rd and 6th in those efforts. Career-wise .jpg)
here he has a win, five top-fives, and 10 top-10s in 16 career starts at Indy while leading 181 laps. He has been a bit shaky this season, but this track has given him his fifth best average finish in the last two years, and the third best of his career.
Kasey Kahne: It has been a downtrodden year for the 5-car and Kasey Kahne as everyone anticipates his departure from Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the year. However this track could help him given his history here. Kahne has three top-fives and six top-10s in 13 races and comes in fourth with 158 laps led. The last two years haven’t been great, P18 and P24, but if he finds magic, he’s worth watching.
Matt Kenseth: Kenseth was the favorite once again last week at New Hampshire and came up short, though was in the running much of the race. However, this week he is more of a sleeper play, but still a quality one. He has the best position differential in the field over the last two years at +16 and has a runner-up finish to his credit. Kenseth is tied for the second-best average finish at 4.5, but career-wise is third in that discussion at 13.18 over 17 races. If he has the speed from the last two weeks, he would be a very good play at Indy.