Takeaways from NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 return

History will remember that Kyle Larson added to his legacy on Sunday afternoon in the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and not so much the circumstances that led to it.

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Larson was unable to add the Indianapolis 500 to that resume two months ago, and it certainly contributed no shortage of headaches in the weeks that followed, but he came back to the Racing Capital of the World and won in a Stock Car for good measure.

It came on the 30th anniversary of the inaugural Brickyard 400 won by Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon, a race that has been won by countless champions over the year, at an 82 percent clip to be precise.

“It’s a technical track,” Gordon said. “There’s a lot of different ways to approach the corners, how you arc-in, how much brake you use, when you release the brake, working with the team to get the car set up right.

“I’ve always felt like the best teams rise to this occasion as a whole. I think our 5 team is very, very strong, one of the best teams out there obviously. I think they now having this win under their belt, it’s really going to kind of set the tone for the rest of the season of who’s the biggest threat for the championship.

“I know this is not Phoenix, but it’s about momentum, confidence, being able to step up in the biggest moments. I think today was one of those big moments for this team – for everybody out here today.”

In other words, this is every bit historically, all the other legacy victories for Larson.

He also did it driving the paint scheme wrap he was supposed to drive in May in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, the one he missed due to the rain delayed Indianapolis 500, taking it back to the Circle City instead.

“I think the motivation for us, at least for myself, even for our team, it was almost the paint scheme or the paint scheme I almost didn’t get to run because I didn’t get to run the 600,” Larson said.

“It was important for me to run that paint scheme here at Indy. Yeah, I think for sure it probably gave extra motivation to have a good showing. Yeah, no, it meant a lot to me that Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group was able to approve us getting to run that paint scheme again here.”

A lot will be made of the late caution, or the restart that preceded it where Larson jumped a lane when Brad Keselowski ran out of fuel coming to the green, but on a day where ‘no one could pass,’ the No. 5 passed through the top-15 on that long final green flag run to the finish.

It was circumstantial too, no doubt, with Keselowski backing the field up but Larson was contested every step of the way and continued to methodically march through the field.

“I think if the guys in front of me are not worried about fuel, then I don’t pass,” Larson said. “I was stuck back in 20-something earlier in the race (and) went nowhere.

“What worked out in my favor was getting by (Chase Elliott and) then I made a move on (Tyler Reddick) to get in front of him. Now I’m the highest-running car with the best fuel. I could be on offense while all the top 15 or whatever in front of me, I could tell they were saving. Nobody got stretched out from Brad. Everybody was just nose to tail.”

About race control …

So again, maybe Larson is able to pick off Ryan Blaney anyway, especially if Keselowski hadn’t ran out of gas yet and the Penske 12 didn’t have the clean air advantage. Maybe Blaney further forced the issue somehow on the RFK 6. Maybe Keselowski runs out of fuel and Blaney gets the clean air advantage and that’s the end of the race.

Regardless, the actual narrative from those most frustrated with the outcome of the race is the following bullet points:

• Blaney should have been allowed to re-choose as the leader
• Larson jumped the restart
• NASCAR waited until the white flag to throw a race ending caution

There’s a lot to unpack here and making matters all the more muddy is that NASCAR did not make any officials available to reporters after the race, which is something it occasionally does in such circumstances where there are questions without obvious answers.

NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer did record a video with NASCAR.com to address these topics.

On the timing of the caution?

Yea, we’d like for it to play out naturally. We want our teams to race to the checkered flag. We did everything we possibly could. We kept an eye on (Ryan Preece). He got turned around. He was giving a solid effort (but) once he came to a stop, and we could tell that had, I think, a flat left rear tire (and) he wasn’t going to move. We’d already taken the white (flag and) we couldn’t run by there again, so it was unfortunate but it was the right call.”

Is that the same call if it’s not the end of the race?

“I think when it comes to safety and we have cars that are spun out and they’re trying to make an effort to move, we’re going to do everything we can to stay green. Again, it’s a case by case basis .. We’d have to .. a lot of hypotheticals there.”

Keselowski running out of gas restart

“So, we’d already gone through the choose process so we were coming to the green when the No. 6 pulled off, which allowed the No. 5 to pull up, which transferred control to the No. 12 and this all happens fairly quick there. Hindsight, I think we still let it play out the way it did (but) we’ll discuss that more. If we had thrown the caution, hypothetically, we wouldn’t have gone through a choose process. Again, the No. 12 would have been the control vehicle but he wouldn’t have gotten lane choice. That’s the way the rule was written.”

Ultimately, it’s just rotten luck for Blaney because he wouldn’t have chosen the top as the control car because that’s not strategically sound at Indianapolis under any circumstance. He was only there because Keselowski was the control car and chose the bottom.

NASCAR deemed in real time that Larson never jumped the restart, but that was an unprecedented scenario too, because he needed to throttle up to take the lane and then had to settle into the row while Blaney was trying to time his restart.

“I’m pissed off,” Blaney said. “But like I told my guys, I don’t know who to be pissed off at. I don’t know who to be pissed off at because it was just racing luck. The break he got and the hardship we got, when it happened, it killed our race.

“You know what I mean? It was just a weird circumstance that benefitted him getting a row and it killed our race, any chance for us to win the race. That’s what I’m upset about. I’m not mad at anybody. It’s just lady luck I’m pissed off at.”

And naturally, he’d rewrite the rule in this moment.

“I don’t know,” Blaney said. “I could easily say like, if the leader runs out of fuel coming to the restart zone, wave off the start and re-choose because now the advantage goes to the third-place guy. I get screwed. I don’t know.

“It’s a weird thing and you don’t see it very often and it’s worse because it’s here. If it’s any other place, you can live with the top. Here, it’s a death sentence and you’re not going to maintain from the top so of course I’m going to say rerack in that scenario, just to make it fair.”

And naturally, Larson said he wouldn’t rewrite the rule in this moment.

“I don’t know,” Larson said. “I don’t know the correct answer. Sure, if I was in his position, maybe. The way the rule is written currently, it’s not.

“I don’t know. It would have taken a lot of time. It would have taken a couple more laps of caution because they would have had to have quickly call off the restart, then we’d have to go single file another time, then choose and then go.

“I don’t know, what is that, two extra laps? That’s kind of boring, especially in a two-and-a-half-mile track. That’s minutes of time going by. I’m sure they’re going to look at it, NASCAR, and see what they come up with. Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough. I don’t know the right answer for sure.”

Points battles heat up

Meanwhile, there are two points battles of consequence with four races remaining in the regular season.

Chris Buescher suffered through two flat tires and finished 22nd. Ross Chastain had an uninspiring day that resulted in a 15th place finish. Ty Gibbs nursed an ailing engine to 23rd. Bubba Wallace won the second stage, finished fifth and made up considerable ground.

As a result, the race to make the playoffs looks like this:

There’s two ways to read this graphic. There’s a four way battle for three spots but with Daytona looming large next month, a surprise winner could raise the cutline and bump two of the lowest four in points.

The regular season championship also has consequence because the top-10 in points all receive bonus playoff points in addition to those already earned above.

1st: 15
2nd: 10
3rd: 8
4th: 7
5th: 6
6th: 5
7th: 4
8th: 3
9th: 2
10th: 1

With every playoff round elimination often coming down to a handful of points, this battle matters too.

1. Kyle Larson
2. Chase Elliott -10
3. Tyler Reddick -15
4. Denny Hamlin -43
5. Ryan Blaney -73
6. William Byron -95
7. Martin Truex -96
8. Christopher Bell -98
9. Brad Keselowski -134
10. Alex Bowman -143
11. Ty Gibbs -162
12. Chris Buescher -187

Welcome back, Brickyard

Lost in how it was decided will be what a competitive race the first Brickyard 400 since 2020 was, especially by historic NASCAR on the IMS oval standards.

To be sure, it was as hard to pass as advertised, especially when everyone was pushing as hard as they could to make pace. But that doesn’t matter because the end of the race came down to various strategies that was not dictated by everyone going all-out.

Before the final caution of regulation, set up by yet another bad day for Kyle Busch, the finish was set to be decided by drivers on various strategies:

• Brad Keselowski, short on paper by two-plus laps
• Ryan Blaney, took a splash of fuel, no tires on Lap 112
• Kyle Larson on a full tank and four tires taken on Lap 127
• Denny Hamlin, passed by Larson, who had four tires taken on 112

Keselowski backed the pace up so slow, his only chance to give his notoriously fuel efficient Ford Performance powerplant a chance to make it close enough to the end to maybe catch a caution after taking the white flag.

The pace was so slow that it allowed Larson to cut through the field against drivers that were trying to meet their fuel number.

Keselowski, with a slower car on paper, was also air blocking Blaney who needed to get to the lead before Larson beat him there.

That was a really compelling finish that was negated, from a racing purity standpoint, by yet another NASCAR finish decided by multiple overtimes and race control judgement calls.

Regardless, it was a good weekend for NASCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway who were rewarded for their decision to return this event to the oval with two really compelling races and their best crowds since 2017.

They will be back on the oval next year too with the Brickyard 400 once again looking like a race that teams covet above many others.

Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter .

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