Much will be on the line for drivers as the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2020.
The top four drivers in the points are separated by 20 points as they race to be the regular season champion and gain as many playoff points as possible.
The race for the final playoff spot is tightening with five races left in the regular season. Also, there are drivers who must win to make the playoffs and could upset the playoff standings.
NBC will have coverage of Sunday’s race at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Drivers to watch at Indianapolis
FRONTRUNNERS
Denny Hamlin
Points position: 4th
Best finish this season: 1st (Bristol I, Richmond I, Dover I)
2024 stats: Three wins, eight top fives and nine top 10s. Has led 751 laps and has an average finish of 14.3.
Going into the weekend: Hamlin is winless in 15 career starts on the Indy oval. He has finished in the top five in five of those races. The last time the series raced on the oval in 2020, Hamlin led with seven laps to go when a right front tire went down and sent him hard into the Turn 1 wall. His runner-up finish last weekend at Pocono snapped a streak of five consecutive finishes outside the top 10.
Brad Keselowski
Points position: 9th
Best finish this season: 1st (Darlington I)
2024 stats: One win, seven top fives and 10 top 10s. Has led 89 laps and has an average finish of 14.4.
Going into the weekend: The 2018 Brickyard winner also has a runner-up result on the oval (2017). He has five top 10s in the last nine races, including a seventh-place finish last weekend at Pocono.
Tyler Reddick
Points position: 3rd
Best finish this season: 1st (Talladega I)
2024 stats: One win, eight top fives and 14 top 10s. Has led 409 laps and has an average finish of 11.7.
Going into the weekend: Reddick leads the series in top-10 finishes this season. He heads into Indy with seven top 10s in the last eight races, including a sixth-place finish last weekend at Pocono. This is only Reddick’s second Cup start on the Indy ova. He was eighth in the 2020 race. He finished second in the Xfinity race on the Indy oval in 2018.
Chase Elliott
Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 1st (Texas)
2024 stats: One win, seven top fives and 10 top 10s. Has led 178 laps and has an average finish of 10.5.
Going into the weekend: The points leader has the best average finish mark in the series. He finished ninth last weekend at Pocono despite a pit road speeding penalty, snapping his streak of 92 races without such a penalty. Elliott has one top 10 in six Cup starts on the Indy oval. His best finish there was ninth in 2019.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Ross Chastain
Points position: 13th
Best finish this season: 4th (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: No wins, two top fives and seven top 10s. Has led 163 laps and has an average finish of 14.9.
Going into the weekend: Chastain has fallen to the last playoff spot with five races left in the regular season. He has finished no better than 22nd in the last three races. He’s failed to finish two of the last three races due to an accident. Chastain’s best finish on the Indy oval in Cup is 17th in 2020.
Kyle Larson
Points position: 2nd
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Sonoma)
2024 stats: Three wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s. Has led a series-high 755 laps and has an average finish of 13.7.
Going into the weekend: Pit road speeding penalty derailed his chances to win last week at Pocono. He finished 13th there. Larson has failed to lead a lap in the last four races, his longest drought since 2022. He has three finishes outside the top 10 in the last five races. Larson lost the points lead to Chase Elliott last weekend. His best Cup finish in six races on the Indy oval is fifth in 2016.
Martin Truex Jr.
Points position: 6th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Bristol I)
2024 stats: No wins, four top fives and nine top 10s. Has led 461 laps and has an average finish of 14.0.
Going into the weekend: Truex has only two top 10s in the last nine races this season. He did finish eighth last weekend at Pocono and won a stage. He’s winless in 16 career Cup starts on the Indy oval. His best Cup finish on the Indy oval is fourth in 2015.
Josh Berry
Points position: 21st
Best finish this season: 3rd (Darlington I, New Hampshire)
2024 stats: No wins, two top fives and four top 10s. Has led 78 laps and has an average finish of 20.8.
Going into the weekend: Berry’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, has won the past two Indy races on the oval, scoring victories in 2019 and ’20 with Kevin Harvick. Qualifying will be key at Indy and Berry has started in the top five in three of the last five races this season. This will be Berry’s first career start on the Indy oval in any series.