NASCAR’s first Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was setting up to finish in predicable fashion in the final 10 laps. Kyle Larson was in the lead. Chase Elliott’s car fell off the jack on pit road, which meant he would have to overcome a setback to get to the front.
NASCAR fans have seen that story before, as recently as last week.
Instead, what ensued on Sunday was two overtime restarts, an airborne car, and a veteran-rookie drag race that culminated in a victory for a different driver who has made just four starts in the series over the past three seasons.
A.J. Allmendinger won the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard for his second career Cup win. He isn’t racing for the championship — he’s a part-time driver in the series competing for Kaulig Racing in select road course events.
“In my wildest dreams I could never imagine the way that just played out,” Allmendinger said.
‘What a mess’
In the final five laps of the originally-planned 82-lap race, the curbing in Turn 6 broke to send multiple drivers spinning into the wall in a massive heap. William Byron, Joey Logano and Daniel Suárez were among those impacted, with Logano hitting the tire barrier. NASCAR red-flagged the race and removed part of the curbing, which created a ramp-like chute with the remaining configuration.
NASCAR was racing for the first time in series history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, rather than its traditional oval. IndyCar and NASCAR’s Xfinity Series raced at the track the day prior.
The Cup race had barely gone green in overtime after a long delay to clean up oil from a damaged car when more drivers, including Tyler Reddick, who won the first two stages, and Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon, were caught up in the next set of wrecks. Michael McDowell went flying through the air at the same spot to set off that series of spins.
Denny Hamlin, who was in the lead at the time, summarized the scene: “What a mess,” he said.
Hamlin was seeking his first win of the season and appeared to have a shot if he could fend off Cup rookie Chase Briscoe lining up next to him for the two-lap shootout. Allmendinger, Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Larson lined up behind them.
An upset win
But after the final restart, Briscoe spun through the grass and received a stop-and-go penalty. He said that he didn’t hear the call and instead got back on course behind Hamlin. Briscoe tapped Hamlin from behind racing for the lead, spinning the No. 11 car out.
For Allmendinger in third, “All of the sudden, the seas parted.”
“And then from there, it was just run like hell,” he said. “Because I knew Kyle and Chase and Ryan were back there and they were pretty good all day.”
The race ultimately lasted 95 laps. A frustrated Hamlin had a conversation with Briscoe on pit road after the flag. He called the maneuver a “lack of situational awareness” by the rookie, but didn’t escalate the encounter beyond a brief verbal confrontation.
“It just sucks,” Hamlin said. “Turned our day upside down.”
Briscoe acknowledged Hamlin’s frustration, saying that he wasn’t aware he had received a penalty.
“If I would have known I had a penalty, I would have never tried to pass him there,” Briscoe said. “At that moment in time, I was going for the win. That’s what I’m paid to do. I get why he’s mad.”
Points bubble battle
Hamlin finished 23rd, relinquishing the Cup Series points lead to Larson (+22), who finished third. Ryan Blaney finished in second. And in first place was Allmendinger, who called the race “survival of the fittest.”
“I thought we were going to finish 12th to 15th,” he said. “And then those restarts were just insane. It’s great when you have a car owner that just says, ‘Go get me trophies. He doesn’t care if that thing is torn up.’ ”
Allmendinger, 39, is racing full-time in the Xfinity Series this season for Kaulig, an organization that will expand to two Cup cars next year. Justin Haley has already been named as one of the team’s full-time Cup drivers in 2022 with Allmendinger saying that he’s ready to retire. He said post-race that he will continue competing for Kaulig if asked.
“He has said that and he truly will,” team owner Matt Kaulig said after the race. “ ... We’re working out the details as far as drivers and sponsors and just how all of that looks.”
The win for a non-championship eligible driver secures a playoff spot for Hamlin as well as the drivers with a win this season. On the points bubble, the gap has widened between Kevin Harvick (+95), Reddick (+28) and Dillon (-28) with two races remaining in the regular season. The next Cup race is Sunday at 3 p.m. at Michigan International Speedway.
