2019 Brickyard 400 Explained

Type:	NASME
Race Name:	Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]
Year:	2019
Race No:	26
Season No:	36
Location:	Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana
Course Mi:	2.5
Course Km:	4
Distance Laps:	160
Distance Mi:	400
Distance Km:	640
Avg:	119.443mph
Pole Driver:	Kevin Harvick
Pole Team:	Stewart-Haas Racing
Pole Time:	48.448
Most Driver:	Kevin Harvick
Most Team:	Stewart-Haas Racing
Most Laps:	118
Car:	4
First Driver:	Kevin Harvick
First Team:	Stewart-Haas Racing
Network:	NBC
Announcers:	Rick Allen, Steve Letarte (booth), Mike Bagley (Turn 2), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Turn 3), Jeff Burton (Turn 4)
Ratings:	2.969 million^[9]
Radio:	IndyCar Radio Network
Booth Ann:	Doug Rice, Pat Patterson and Jeff Hammond
Turn Ann:	Mark Jaynes (1), Nick Yeoman (2), Jake Query (3) and Chris Denari (4)

The 2019 Brickyard 400, branded as Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 8, 2019 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is the 26th running of the Brickyard 400. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5miles speedway, it was the 26th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and the final race of the regular season before the playoffs.

Report

Background

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately 60NaN0 west of Downtown Indianapolis.

Constructed in 1909, it is the original speedway, the first racing facility so named. It has a permanent seating capacity estimated at 235,000 with infield seating raising capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world.

Considered relatively flat by American standards, the track is a 2.5miles, nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four 0.25miles turns, two 0.625adj=midNaNadj=mid straightaways between the fourth and first turns and the second and third turns, and two 0.125miles short straightaways – termed "short chutes" – between the first and second, and third and fourth turns.

Entry list

• (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
• (R) denotes rookie driver.

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
00	Landon Cassill (i)		Chevrolet
1			Chevrolet
2			Ford
3			Chevrolet
4			Ford
6			Ford
8	Daniel Hemric (R)		Chevrolet
9			Chevrolet
10			Ford
11			Toyota
12			Ford
13			Chevrolet
14			Ford
15	Ross Chastain (i)		Chevrolet
17			Ford
18			Toyota
19			Toyota
20			Toyota
21			Ford
22			Ford
24			Chevrolet
27	Ryan Sieg (i)		Chevrolet
32			Ford
34			Ford
36	Matt Tifft (R)		Ford
37			Chevrolet
38			Ford
41			Ford
42			Chevrolet
43			Chevrolet
47	Ryan Preece (R)		Chevrolet
48			Chevrolet
51	B. J. McLeod (i)		Ford
52	Garrett Smithley (i)		Ford
53	Josh Bilicki (i)		Ford
54	J. J. Yeley (i)		Chevrolet
77			Chevrolet
88			Chevrolet
95			Toyota
96	Parker Kligerman (i)		Toyota
Official entry list

Practice

First practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.642 seconds and a speed of 185.025mph.^[10]

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	42				48.642	185.025
2	1				48.711	184.763
3	2				48.754	184.600
Official first practice results

Final practice

Paul Menard was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.628 seconds and a speed of 185.079mph.^[11]

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	21				48.628	185.079
2	17				48.873	184.151
3	20				49.033	183.550
Official final practice results

Qualifying

Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 48.448 and a speed of 185.766mph.^[12]

Qualifying results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	4			Ford	48.448
2	21			Ford	48.459
3	14			Ford	48.576
4	22			Ford	48.598
5	48			Chevrolet	48.601
6	2			Ford	48.628
7	18			Toyota	48.707
8	1			Chevrolet	48.723
9	12			Ford	48.733
10	10			Ford	48.750
11	8	Daniel Hemric (R)		Chevrolet	48.751
12	17			Ford	48.799
13	88			Chevrolet	48.828
14	20			Toyota	48.880
15	43			Chevrolet	48.905
16	37			Chevrolet	48.929
17	38			Ford	48.932
18	3			Chevrolet	48.973
19	42			Chevrolet	48.974
20	41			Ford	49.008
21	34			Ford	49.044
22	6			Ford	49.107
23	47	Ryan Preece (R)		Chevrolet	49.170
24	9			Chevrolet	49.198
25	13			Chevrolet	49.217
26	95			Toyota	49.229
27	19			Toyota	49.260
28	36	Matt Tifft (R)		Ford	49.415
29	24			Chevrolet	49.439
30	32			Ford	49.565
31	00	Landon Cassill (i)		Chevrolet	49.618
32	96	Parker Kligerman (i)		Toyota	49.697
33	11			Toyota	49.826
34	15	Ross Chastain (i)		Chevrolet	50.174
35	51	B. J. McLeod (i)		Ford	50.491
36	27	Ryan Sieg (i)		Chevrolet	50.884
37	77			Chevrolet	50.954
38	52	Garrett Smithley (i)		Ford	51.134
39	53	Josh Bilicki (i)		Ford	51.429
40	54	J. J. Yeley (i)		Chevrolet	51.550
Official qualifying results

Race

Stage results

Stage OneLaps: 50

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	10
2	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	9
3	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	8
4	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	7
5	6	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	6
6	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	5
7	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	4
8	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	3
9	88	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	2
10	37	Chris Buescher	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 50

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	10
2	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	9
3	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	8
4	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	7
5	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	6
6	41	Daniel Suárez	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	5
7	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	4
8	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	3
9	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	2
10	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	1
Official stage two results

Final stage results

Stage ThreeLaps: 60

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	1	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	160	58
2	4	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	160	52
3	15	43	Bubba Wallace	Richard Petty Motorsports	Chevrolet	160	34
4	29	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	160	35
5	3	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	160	38
6	33	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	160	34
7	9	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	160	45
8	22	6	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	160	35
9	24	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	160	28
10	2	21	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	160	27
11	20	41	Daniel Suárez	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	160	31
12	18	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	160	25
13	25	13	Ty Dillon	Germain Racing	Chevrolet	160	24
14	10	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	160	24
15	16	37	Chris Buescher	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	160	23
16	23	47	Ryan Preece (R)	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	160	21
17	21	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	160	20
18	26	95	Matt DiBenedetto	Leavine Family Racing	Toyota	160	19
19	30	32	Corey LaJoie	Go Fas Racing	Ford	160	18
20	17	38	David Ragan	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	160	17
21	13	88	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	160	18
22	34	15	Ross Chastain (i)	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	160	0
23	37	77	Reed Sorenson	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	160	14
24	36	27	Ryan Sieg (i)	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	157	0
25	35	51	B. J. McLeod (i)	Petty Ware Racing	Ford	157	0
26	40	54	J. J. Yeley (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	157	0
27	27	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	156	10
28	38	52	Garrett Smithley (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	156	0
29	39	53	Josh Bilicki (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	155	0
30	8	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	155	11
31	12	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	153	6
32	28	36	Matt Tifft (R)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	147	5
33	19	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	129	22
34	11	8	Daniel Hemric (R)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	109	3
35	5	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	105	10
36	32	96	Parker Kligerman (i)	Gaunt Brothers Racing	Toyota	104	0
37	7	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	87	5
38	6	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	48	1
39	14	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	48	1
40	31	00	Landon Cassill (i)	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	40	0
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 13 among 8 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 9 for 48
• Red flags: 1 for 12 minutes and 36 seconds
• Time of race: 3 hours, 20 minutes and 6 seconds
• Average speed: 119.443mph

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. The broadcast was produced similarly to NBC's Watkins Glen International race broadcasts. Rick Allen and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Motor Racing Network broadcaster Mike Bagley called from Turn 2, Dale Earnhardt Jr. called from Turn 3, and Jeff Burton called from Turn 4. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

Radio

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and the Performance Racing Network jointly co-produced the radio broadcast for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, and aired on IMS or PRN stations, depending on contractual obligations. The lead announcers and two pit reporters were PRN staff, while the turns and two pit reporters were from IMS.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings after Playoffs reset

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Kyle Busch	2,045
2	2	Denny Hamlin	2,030 (–15)
2	3	Martin Truex Jr.	2,029 (–16)
2	4	Joey Logano	2,028 (–17)
1	5	Kevin Harvick	2,028 (–17)
	6	Brad Keselowski	2,024 (–21)
1	7	Chase Elliott	2,018 (–27)
1	8	Kurt Busch	2,011 (–34)
	9	Kyle Larson	2,005 (–40)
1	10	Alex Bowman	2,005 (–40)
1	11	Erik Jones	2,005 (–40)
2	12	Ryan Blaney	2,004 (–41)
	13	William Byron	2,001 (–44)
	14	Aric Almirola	2,001 (–44)
	15	Clint Bowyer	2,000 (–45)
1	16	Ryan Newman	2,000 (–45)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Toyota	948
	2	Ford	923 (–25)
	3	Chevrolet	883 (–65)

• Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2019 schedule. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. July 22, 2019. May 5, 2018.
2. Web site: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. July 22, 2019. January 3, 2013. July 17, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150717184638/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/indianapolis-motor-speedway.html. dead.
3. Web site: Entry List. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 3, 2019. September 3, 2019.
4. Web site: First Practice Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 7, 2019. September 7, 2019.
5. Web site: Final Practice Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 7, 2019. September 7, 2019.
6. Web site: Starting Lineup. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 8, 2019. September 8, 2019.
7. Web site: Brickyard 400 Results. MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 8, 2019. September 8, 2019.
8. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 8, 2019. September 8, 2019.
9. Web site: 2019 Brickyard 400 ratings. https://web.archive.org/web/20190925163832/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-9-2-9-8-2019.html. dead. 25 September 2019. ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. 10 September 2019.
10. Web site: Utter. Jim. Chip Ganassi Racing teammates top first Cup practice at Indy. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. September 7, 2019. Indianapolis. September 7, 2019.
11. Web site: Utter. Jim. Menard leads final Indy Cup practice; Hamlin in fiery wreck. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. September 7, 2019. Indianapolis. September 7, 2019.
12. Web site: Utter. Jim. Kevin Harvick beats Menard to Brickyard 400 pole. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. September 8, 2019. Indianapolis. September 8, 2019.