The last seven days have been very newsworthy in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Kurt Busch will miss his second consecutive race Sunday at Indianapolis after being held out by doctors after a practice crash last weekend in Pocono. Ty Gibbs will sub in for his second career Cup start.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified after post-race inspection at Pocono following a 1-2 finish on Sunday, giving Chase Elliott the victory and playoff points. This was the first time NASCAR has taken away a Cup Series victory since 1960.
Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team were docked 100 regular season and 100 owner points for illegal modifications on a part supplied by an outside vendor. That knocks McDowell down from 20th place to 26th place in points and makes it more difficult for the 2021 Daytona 500 champion to make the playoffs even with a victory over the next month. The No. 34 team is appealing the penalties.
Also, Kyle Busch still does not have a new contract with Joe Gibbs Racing.
After all that, the playoff picture remains the same. Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. still own a sizeable lead in the wild card race, with the caveat that wins from teams outside the playoff picture can transform the final month of the regular season.
Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s race:
NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis road course schedule
Green Flag Time: 1:30 p.m. CT Sunday
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (2.439 mile road course) in Speedway, Indiana
Length: 82 laps, 200 miles
stages: 15 laps, 20 laps, 47 laps
TV coverage: NBC
Radio: IMS Radio Network (102.5-FM in Nashville)
streaming: NBC Sports app and Peacock (subscription required); TuneIn.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required)
Practice and qualification: 8:30 a.m. CT Saturday practice; 9:30 a.m. Saturday qualifying (all on USA Network)
Xfinity Series this week: Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (61 laps, 151.2 miles) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, 2:30 pm CT Saturday on NBC and IMS Radio Network
Verizon 200 at the Brickyard entry list
- Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
- Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
- Corey Lajoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Aric Almirola, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Joey Hand, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
- Kyle Busch, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Daniil Kvyat, No. 26 Team Hezeberg Toyota
- Loris Hezemans, No. 27 Team Hezeberg Ford
- Justin Haley, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Cole Custer, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Ty Dillon, No. 42 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
- Erik Jones, No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
- Ty Gibbs, No. 45 23XI Racing Chevrolet
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
- Josh Bilicki, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Josh Williams, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet