For Fourth of July weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series usually runs on Daytona where you see a lot of crashes and great finishes. Today however, the Cup Series went to Indianapolis MotorSpeedway, where there were highs and lows with drivers and teams.
Kevin Harvick has repeated as the winner of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records at the Brickyard. Harvick continued his dominance of the 2020 season, getting his fourth win of the season, his third win at Indianapolis, 53rd win of his career. He is now only one win away from tying Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time wins list. Harvick led 68 of 160 laps in the 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing and claimed stage two.
Three of his SHR Teammates finished in the top ten. Aric Almirola finished third in the 10 Smithfield Ford, while rookie Cole Custer finished fifth in the 41 Haas/Fusion 360 Ford. The only car not to finish in the top ten was Clint Bowyer who finished 16th in the 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford.
Coming into this race, nobody expected Matt Kenseth to finish in the top five. Well, most of the media’s predictions were wrong. Kenseth led 12 laps and finished second in the 42 McDonald’s McDelivery Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing. Teammate Kurt Busch finished 13th in the 1 Monster Energy Chevy in his 700th career start in the Cup Series.
Hendrick Motorsports has a tough weekend. The highest finishing car was Chase Elliott who led 26 laps and finished 11th in the 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy. William Byron led 15 laps and claimed stage one, but a cut tire during the race ended his hopes of a Brickyard victory. The 24 Liberty University Chevy finished 27th. Alex Bowman has a struggling day, cutting a tire and hitting the outside wall very hard. The 88 Adam’s Polishes/ChevyGoods.com Chevy placed 30th. Justin Allgaier replaced seven time champion Jimmie Johnson as it was announced that Johnson tested positive for COVID-19. Allgaier got damaged during the pit road accident as the 48 Ally Camaro finished 37th.
Ross Chastain led a lap in the 77 Melon Man Brand Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports. With all the crashes, Chastain would finish an impressive 17th.
Tyler Reddick continues to show improvement every week. The 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevy finishes an impressive eighth. Teammate Austin Dillon led five laps and finished 18th in the 3 Dow Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.
Garrett Smithely would lead a lap in the 53 Axle Software Chevrolet Camaro for Rick Ware Racing, finishing 24th. The highest finishing underfunded car was JJ Yeley who finished 21st in the 27 Greenlight Debit Cards for Kids Ford. Garret Smithley, the other Rick Ware Racing car finished 26th in the 51 Red Rock Secured Mustang.
One of the best cars who looked as if he would win his first ever Brickyard race was Denny Hamlin, who led 19 laps, but while leading with six to go, he blew a right front tire, ending his brickyard hopes. Hamlin finished 28th. Erik Jones had the same problem, as the 20 Stanley Security Toyota blew a tire and hit the wall very hard, causing it to erupt in flames. Luckily, Jones was ok, but he did finish 33rd, knocking him out of the final playoff spot. Defending champion Kyle Busch led the team finishing fifth in the 18 America Mix Skittles Toyota Camry. Martin Truex Jr. struggled from the drop of the green flag, as the 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota blew an engine, finishing 38th.
The next race is the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway in which Kurt Busch looks to defend his Kentucky win from last year.
RACE RESULTS
1.Kevin Harvick 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Matt Kenseth 42 McDonald’s McDelivery Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Aric Almirola 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Brad Keselowski 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Cole Custer (R) 41 Haas/Fusion 360 Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Kyle Busch 18 America Mix Skittles Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Michael McDowell 34 carparts.com Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Tyler Reddick (R) 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Bubba Wallace 43 World Wide Technology “Celebrating 30 Years” Chevrolet Camaro Richard Petty Motorsports
- Joey Logano 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Chase Elliott 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Christopher Bell (R) 95 Rheem Toyota Camry Leavine Family Racing
- Kurt Busch 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Ty Dillon 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet Camaro Germain Racing
- John Hunter Nemechek (R) 38 Fire Alarm Services Incorporated Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Clint Bowyer 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Ross Chastain 77 Melon Man Brand Chevrolet Camaro Spire Motorsports
18. Austin Dillon 3 Dow Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Matt DiBenedetto 21 Red Kap/Menards Ford Mustang Wood Brothers Racing
- Daniel Suárez 96 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota Camry Gaunt Brothers Racing
- J.J. Yeley 27 Greenlight Debit Cards for Kids Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- B.J. McLeod 78 Koolbox Ice Chevrolet Camaro B.J. McLeod Motorsports
- Quin Houff 00 The Original Mane ‘N Tail Chevrolet Camaro StarCom Racing
- Garrett Smithley 53 Axele Software Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
- Josh Bilicki (R) 7 Insurance King Chevrolet Camaro Tommy Baldwin Racing
- Joey Gase 51 Red Rock Secured Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- William Byron 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Timmy Hill 66 RoofClaim.com Toyota Camry MBM Motorsports
- Alex Bowman 88 Adam’s Polishes/ChevyGoods.com Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Chris Buescher 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Ryan Blaney 12 Atlas Designer Shingles/Menards Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Erik Jones 20 Stanley Security Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Ryan Newman 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Brennan Poole (R) 15 Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Justin Allgaier 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Martin Truex Jr. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Corey LaJoie 32 Trump 2020 Ford Mustang Go Fas Racing
- Ryan Preece 37 Kleenex Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
Ian O’Brien is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network. Follow him on Twitter @IanOBObrien.