The Cup Series teams will travel to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to try and add a “Crown Jewel” win to their 2025 resume. The race at Indianapolis last year was crazy. The first two Stages were pretty calm, but the final Stage had five cautions. 14 of the 40 laps in the final Stage were run under caution (35%). This all happened after our Garage pick had to be made. Hopefully the final Stage does not turn into a wreck-fest this week, because we are going to need a lot of luck if it does. The Brickyard 400 can be seen Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.
PRACTICE SPEEDS FOR INDIANAPOLIS
The Cup Series teams were scheduled to have a 50-minute practice session Friday, but Mother Nature did not cooperate. The practice was moved to Saturday and it was shortened to a 25-minute practice session. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a 2.5-mile track and it takes 50 seconds to turn a lap at the Brickyard, but many of the teams were able to make a long run in practice. I will be focusing the picks on the 10-lap average speed and the driver’s results at Indianapolis last year and Pocono last month.
Here are the speeds from Saturday’s practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway…
STRATEGY FOR INDIANAPOLIS
The Fantasy Live regular season ends in five weeks and then the allocations will reset to five. We still have a road course (Watkins Glen) and a Superspeedway (Daytona) on the schedule. We want to use our best drivers for the race this weekend at Indianapolis and the short, flat tracks in Iowa and Richmond.
I was planning on using Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney in this race but Hamlin and Elliott got into the wall in qualifying and Blaney just looks super slow. These drivers start in the back and their chances of scoring Stage Points are a lot lower than the drivers starting up front. I will take a chance with Hamlin in the Garage because the Joe Gibbs Racing cars are the best this weekend. I am sure the backup car for the No. 11 team will be fine Sunday.
I have William Byron picked to win this race based on his stats on the large flat tracks, his practice speed and his starting position. I am saving Byron for Iowa because his average finishing position at Indianapolis is 22nd (his third worst track). I know the numbers like him, but I only have one allocation left so I will save it for one of his better tracks.
Here are the picks for the Brickyard 400…
CHASE BRISCOE (6): This is a home race for Briscoe and I would not be surprised if the No. 19 car was in Victory Lane Sunday. Briscoe is on a hot streak right now. He finished 2nd at Sonoma two weeks ago and 2nd last week at Dover. He also won the race at Pocono last month. I am not worried about the stats for Briscoe at Indianapolis. There is a big difference in speed between Start-Haas Racing (his old team) and Joe Gibbs Racing (his current team). Briscoe should have a good chance of finishing in the top-five Sunday.
BUBBA WALLACE (6): Wallace looked really good at Indianapolis last year and it should not have surprised anyone. Wallace started 17th, led 26 laps, won Stage 2 and finished 5th in the race. He has an average finishing position of 5th in his last three races at Indianapolis (that is the best average finishing position in the last three races at the Brickyard). The No. 23 car has the speed to run up front again Sunday.
TYLER REDDICK (1): I only have one allocation left with Reddick and I am going to use it Sunday. Reddick hasn’t been great at the short, flat tracks and his average finishing position at Watkins Glen in the Gen-7 car is 14th. Indianapolis is the best track left on the schedule for Reddick. He looked fast in practice and Reddick starts 4th in the race. Reddick dominated a large portion of the race in Indianapolis last year. He should finish up front Sunday.
TY GIBBS (3): Gibbs is racing for a lot more than a chance to kiss the bricks Sunday. He is also racing for $1M in the Bracket Challenge. The No. 54 team wants this money, so it is no surprise that Joe Gibbs Racing gave Gibbs one of their best cars. Gibbs posted the 4th fastest speed in practice and the No. 19 car qualified 5th for the race. Gibbs should finish in the top-10 and win the $1M Sunday.
KYLE LARSON (3): Larson has had no luck at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Indy 500, but he has been awesome in the Brickyard 400 last year. Larson won this race last year and I expect the No. 5 team to finish up front Sunday. Larson posted the 7th fastest speed in practice and the No. 5 car qualified 12th for the race. I have three allocations left with Larson and I plan to use him in the three oval tracks left on the schedule.
(GARAGE PICK) DENNY HAMLIN (2): This may be a first for me…. I never use a driver who starts dead last in my Fantasy Live lineup, but I trust Hamlin Sunday. He clearly had the best car in practice and he dominates the stat-sheet on the large, flat tracks. Hamlin would have easily won the pole, but he hit the wall in qualifying. The Joe Gibbs Racing cars all look fast, so the No. 11 back-up car should have a lot of speed too. Hamlin can easily use pit strategy to flip track position. Once he gets to the front, it will be hard to take the track position away from him. I will have Hamlin in the Garage, just in case he gets to the front Sunday.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.