The 2016 Brickyard 400, branded as Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 24, 2016 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The 23rd running of the Brickyard 400, it was contested over 170 laps – extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish – on the speedway, and was the 20th race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kyle Busch scored his second career victory at the Brickyard, the race had four lead changes among different drivers and eight cautions for 31 laps, and one red flag for seven minutes and 45 seconds.

This was the first Brickyard 400 without Dale Earnhardt Jr. since the 1999 edition and the first Brickyard 400 without an Earnhardt in the starting lineup. Also, this marked the final Brickyard 400 starts for 5-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon and 2-time Brickyard 400 winner Tony Stewart.

Report

Entry list The preliminary entry list for the race included 41 cars and was released on July 15, 2016 at 10:12 a.m. Eastern time. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was slated to run the race in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, but concussion symptoms forced him to sit out and be replaced by Jeff Gordon. Driver Team Manufacturer1Jamie McMurray (W)Chip Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Kevin Harvick (W)Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord7Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet10Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota13Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet14Tony Stewart (W)Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle Busch (W)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota19Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21Ryan Blaney (R)Wood Brothers RacingFord22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord23David RaganBK RacingToyota24Chase Elliott (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Paul Menard (W)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet30Josh WiseThe Motorsports GroupChevrolet31Ryan Newman (W)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet32Patrick CarpentierGo FAS RacingFord34Chris Buescher (R)Front Row MotorsportsFord38Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord41Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord44Brian Scott (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsFord46Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet48Jimmie Johnson (W)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet55Reed SorensonPremium MotorsportsChevrolet78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota83Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota88Jeff Gordon (W)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet93Ryan EllisBK RacingToyota95Michael McDowellCircle Sport – Leavine Family RacingChevrolet98Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsChevroletOfficial entry list

Practice

First practice Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.864 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.864 184.185 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.298 182.563 3 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 49.904 180.346Official first practice results

Final practice Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.749 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.749 184.619 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.842 184.268 3 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.975 183.767Official final practice results

Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 48.745 and a speed of . Busch said afterwards that the pole "means a lot to me and it means a lot to the guys on this team. To be able to sit on the pole here at Indy is something that I’ve always wanted to do. (Crew chief) Adam Stevens and the guys gave me a great piece this weekend.

After qualifying third, Tony Stewart said he wished he "could do a lap ... one more time and not clip the apron in (Turn) 4; I think we could have been on the pole. What we learned today for qualifying, we are going to have to take some of that and try to make a car a little better for tomorrow."

Making his first start since Homestead in November, Jeff Gordon – who qualified 21st subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. – said he was "much calmer than I was [Friday]. Usually, my heart is beating more for qualifying than it is for practice. But that wasn't the case [in practice]. I feel more relaxed and comfortable in the car."

Qualifying results Driver Team Manufacturer 118Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota48.43848.58948.745 219Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota48.50348.75648.768 314Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet48.54248.67948.826 411Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota48.69548.79248.892 52Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord48.50048.89149.022 631Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet48.80648.99349.126 74Kevin HarvickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet48.63549.00749.220 878Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota48.74248.95149.315 91Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet48.64448.95849.325 1042Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet48.91348.99249.346 1141Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet48.68149.02449.356 123Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet48.51249.00049.373 1348Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet48.43549.032 1422Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord48.99049.107 1524Chase Elliott (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet48.55449.162 1617Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord48.62049.175 1721Ryan Blaney (R)Wood Brothers RacingFord48.79249.228 1820Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota48.88149.228 1916Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord49.05249.228 206Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord49.10449.456 2188Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet48.76949.491 2234Chris Buescher (R)Front Row MotorsportsFord49.11449.651 2327Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet48.94949.670 2410Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet48.70949.984 2547A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet49.135 265Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet49.151 2795Michael McDowellCircle Sport – Leavine Family RacingChevrolet49.229 2823David RaganBK RacingToyota49.342 2943Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord49.391 3083Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota49.428 3115Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet49.469 3244Brian Scott (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsFord49.535 3338Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord49.630 3413Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet49.781 3598Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsChevrolet50.097 3693Ryan Ellis (i)BK RacingToyota50.274 377Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet50.461 3846Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet50.568 3955Reed SorensonPremium MotorsportsChevrolet51.084 4032Patrick CarpentierGo FAS RacingFord51.716 Failed to qualify 4130Josh WiseThe Motorsports GroupChevrolet52.737Official qualifying results

Race

First half Under clear blue Indiana skies, Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag at 3:22 p.m. During the first lap, Tony Stewart used all of the real estate on the backstretch and made a power move under Denny Hamlin to take second. The first caution of the race flew on the fourth lap for Matt DiBenedetto blowing an engine on the frontstretch. He went on to finish 40th.

The race restarted on the ninth lap. Busch just pulled away from the field during this run. By lap 19, he pulled to a five and a half second lead over teammate Denny Hamlin. During the run, Stewart began falling from second to eighth. Martin Truex Jr. kicked off a round of green flag stops on lap 25. More cars followed suit the next lap. Busch pitted from the lead on lap 28 and handed it to Brad Keselowski. Kevin Harvick made an unscheduled stop on lap 32 for what he believed to be a flat tire. It turned out that the tire wasn't flat. Keselowski and Joey Logano pitted on lap 42 and the lead cycled back to Busch.

The second caution of the race flew on lap 52 after Greg Biffle suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in turn 1. Logano opted not to pit under the caution and assumed the race lead.

The race restarted on lap 59. Busch ran down Logano to retake the lead on lap 63. A number of cars began hitting pit road on lap 84. Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson were tagged for speeding on pit road and were forced to serve a pass through penalty. Busch pitted on lap 87 and handed the lead to Carl Edwards. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled back to Busch.

Second half

A number of cars began hitting pit road on lap 112. The third caution of the race came out on lap 120 for David Ragan blowing a left-front tire and slamming the wall head-on in turn 2. Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray were tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the tail end of the field.

The race restarted with 33 laps to go. The fourth caution of the race flew with 30 laps to go for Regan Smith coming to a halt on the backstretch.

The race restarted with 26 laps to go. Debris in turn 1 brought out the fifth caution of the race with 10 laps to go. The top-five cars opted not to pit while the rest of the lead lap cars elected to hit pit road.

The race restarted with seven laps to go and the sixth caution of the race flew for a multi-car wreck in turn 1. It started when Edwards got loose and slammed into the wall, collecting drivers like Ryan Newman and Keselowski. “It felt like I just got tight down there,” Edwards said. "I had a little trouble there on the starts and I got down there, we were fighting really hard for the bottom and it felt like I got tight with whoever was on the outside of me. If indeed that is what happened, I apologize, that’s pretty frustrating. I don’t know if he came down or if I came up. It felt like I got in there and just scrubbed that right front. Hopefully a Toyota wins. I hate it for Stanley, Joe Gibbs Racing and everybody that was caught up in that wreck. It’s frustrating.” This brought out the red flag to ensue cleanup. The race resumed under caution shortly thereafter.

The race restarted on lap 159, with two laps to go in regulation. The seventh caution of the race flew half a lap later for a two-car wreck on the backstretch involving Trevor Bayne and Clint Bowyer.

Overtime

Attempt #1 The race restarted on lap 165 and the eighth caution of the race flew when Jamie McMurray slid down the access road in turn 1, coming back up onto the track and being hit by Ryan Newman.

Attempt #2 The race restarted on lap 169. Kyle Busch was leading at the finish and scored his second career victory at the Brickyard.

Post-race

Driver comments Busch said afterwards that his "Toyota was awesome today, it was just so fast and able to get out front and stay out front. Not even some of my teammates could challenge. This was hooked up and on rails.” “The repeat-ability there was something I wasn’t looking forward to,” Busch added. “I certainly didn’t want one, let alone (four) of them. You never know what is going to happen on those restarts. There’s a lot of gamesmanship that kind of gets played, and there was a little bit of back and forth a little bit with the guys in the different grooves. I think I had Kenseth to my outside. I had Truex to my outside. I think I had Carl to my outside and then Joey Logano to my outside, so there were a lot of different characters that we had to deal with on the restarts. But I always felt like I could hit my marks and set sail each time.”

Race results