2024 Brickyard 400: Where to watch, stream, preview, picks for NASCAR's return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway

30 years ago, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- a place once reserved only for IndyCars and the Indianapolis 500 -- finally welcomed NASCAR stock cars into Gasoline Alley, a moment in which American auto racing was forever changed with the inaugural running of the Brickyard 400. At the time, it was billed as a new tradition for a Speedway deeply steeped in such customs, with 400 miles and 160 laps around the same 2.5-mile oval as hosted the 500 Mile Race set to take a permanent place in Indianapolis canon.

As it turned out, circumstances led NASCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, quite literally, in another direction over the last three years. But even as NASCAR went the other roundabout way around the Yard of Bricks, there was no reason that its tradition could not be renewed -- as it has been now.

After three years off the NASCAR Cup Series schedule while the series raced on Indianapolis' road course instead, the Brickyard 400 has returned for its 30th anniversary edition, restoring one of NASCAR's crown jewel races to the schedule. After a monumental inaugural race in 1994 that launched NASCAR to new heights, the Brickyard 400 became a prize comparable to the Daytona 500, Southern 500 and Coca-Cola 600, making it one of the most sought-after prizes in stock car racing.

From inaugural and eventual five-time winner Jeff Gordon onward, the list of Brickyard 400 winners includes NASCAR champions and Hall of Famers like Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott and Kevin Harvick. But it also includes those whose victory in this race marked career-defining moments, with those names including Ricky Rudd, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

How to watch the Brickyard 400

Date: Sunday, July 21
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- Speedway, Ind.
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Stream: fubo ( try for free )

What to watch

The return of the Brickyard 400 after last being held in 2020 underscores how much has changed at NASCAR's highest level over the last five years, and how much of a generational shift there has been at the top of the Cup Series' competitive pecking order. Kevin Harvick, who won the last two editions of the Brickyard 400 in 2019 and 2020, retired at the end of the 2023 season, leaving just two active full-time Cup drivers -- Kyle Busch (2015, 2016) and Brad Keselowski (2018) -- who have previously won this event. Four-time Brickyard 400 champion Jimmie Johnson is entered in the field this week, but he has not competed full-time since the end of 2020.

That should, fundamentally, create the opportunity for NASCAR's current top drivers to win this race for the first time. That includes those drivers who have risen to stardom since beginning their careers in the late 2010s, but it also accounts for some notable veteran drivers who have yet to win at Indy.

Here is a look at notable drivers who have yet to win the Brickyard 400, along with their best finishes in this race:

• Denny Hamlin (third, three times)
• Joey Logano (second, twice)
• Martin Truex Jr. (fourth, 2015)
• Kyle Larson (fifth, 2016)
• Chase Elliott (ninth, 2019)
• Ryan Blaney (seventh, 2019)
• William Byron (fourth, 2019)

Winning the Brickyard 400 by itself is an exceptional distinction, but it also has shown to matter a great deal in the grand scheme of the season. The winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to win the Cup championship nine times, with drivers to have pulled off the feat including Jeff Gordon (1998, 2001), Dale Jarrett (1999), Bobby Labonte (2000), Tony Stewart (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2008, 2009) and Kyle Busch (2015).

News of the week

• NASCAR announced earlier this week Corey LaJoie will not be penalized for an on-track incident at Pocono in which he turned Kyle Busch entering Turn 1 triggering a six-car crash that took Busch as well as several other drivers out of the race. While series officials plan to discuss the matter with LaJoie, who faced heavy criticism early this week for the crash, the view of NASCAR is the contact between him and Busch was a racing incident.
  
  LaJoie's reputation as an aggressive driver, combined with some radio communications from members of his team, led to accusations that he took Busch out intentionally, but LaJoie maintained on his podcast that was not the case, saying he did not anticipate Busch's car losing the momentum it did when he was between fourth and fifth gear.
• Six teams participated in a Goodyear tire test at Bristol Motor Speedway on Tuesday, with the company trying to find an ideal combination of tire grip, wear and traction compound in preparation for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in September. The Cup Series' first trip to Bristol in the springtime featured extreme levels of tire wear, making for a challenging and exciting race that was well-received by fans and competitors alike.
  
  Participating drivers in Tuesday's test included Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie and John Hunter Nemechek.
  
  In additional tire news, NASCAR announced Tuesday it will once again bring the "prime" and "option" tire compounds used earlier this year at North Wilkesboro to the next short track race at Richmond in August.
  
• Sports Business Journal reported NASCAR is implementing a major restructuring to its business in preparation for the beginning of its new media rights deal in 2025. Among the changes is the promotion of former NASCAR driver Ben Kennedy, the scion of the France family, to executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovations officer. Kennedy will report to NASCAR COO Steve O'Donnell, who will also take on additional oversight.
• Longtime NASCAR Xfinity Series team JD Motorsports has reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has not entered either its No. 4 or No. 6 cars in this week's race at Indianapolis. Alpha Prime Racing confirmed it has acquired the owner's points of the No. 4 team, which will now be used for Alpha Prime's No. 45 car.
  

Pick to win

Denny Hamlin (+400) -- The return of the Brickyard 400 to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule means a new opportunity for Denny Hamlin to add the one trophy he is missing among NASCAR's crown jewel races to his collection. Hamlin has never won the Brickyard 400, but he came agonizingly close to winning two out of the last three times the race was held. He was passed for the win by Brad Keselowski with two laps to go in 2018, then was leading comfortably with seven laps to go in 2020 when a right front tire failure sent him hard into the Turn 1 wall.

Hamlin has five top fives and eight top 10s in 15 career starts on the Indianapolis oval, and I don't expect him to miss a beat even after three years. Especially not when he's coming off of a second-place finish at Pocono and seems to be building back momentum toward shaking off a rocky June and getting back to his winning ways from earlier in the year.