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 was the 26th running of the Brickyard 400. Contested over 160 laps on the 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 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 , nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four turns, two straightaways between the fourth and first turns and the second and third turns, and two 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. (W) denotes past winner of event.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (W) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (W) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ryan Newman (W) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch (W) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard (W) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Ryan Sieg (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 52 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 53 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 77 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial 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 .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.642 185.025 2 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.711 184.763 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48.754 184.600Official 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 .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 48.628 185.079 2 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48.873 184.151 3 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 49.033 183.550Official final practice results
Qualifying Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 48.448 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 14 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48.448 221 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 48.459 314 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48.576 422 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 48.598 548 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.601 62 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48.628 718 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.707 81 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.723 912 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 48.733 1010 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48.750 118 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.751 1217 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48.799 1388 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.828 1420 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.880 1543 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 48.905 1637 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48.929 1738 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 48.932 183 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.973 1942 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.974 2041 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.008 2134 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 49.044 226 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.107 2347 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 49.170 249 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.198 2513 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 49.217 2695 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 49.229 2719 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 49.260 2836 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 49.415 2924 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.439 3032 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 49.565 3100 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 49.618 3296 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 49.697 3311 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 49.826 3415 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 50.174 3551 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 50.491 3627 Ryan Sieg (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 50.884 3777 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 50.954 3852 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 51.134 3953 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 51.429 4054 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 51.550Official qualifying results
Race
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 50
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 102 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 84 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 75 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 66 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 50
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 102 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage Three Laps: 60
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 582 4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 160 523 15 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 160 344 29 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 355 3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 386 33 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 347 9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 160 458 22 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 160 359 24 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 2810 2 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 160 2711 20 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 3112 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 2513 25 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 160 2414 10 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 2415 16 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 160 2316 23 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 160 2117 21 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 160 2018 26 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 160 1919 30 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 160 1820 17 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 160 1721 13 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 1822 34 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 160 023 37 77 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 160 1424 36 27 Ryan Sieg (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 157 025 35 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Ford 157 026 40 54 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 157 027 27 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 156 1028 38 52 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 156 029 39 53 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 155 030 8 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 155 1131 12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 153 632 28 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 147 533 19 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 129 2234 11 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 109 335 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 105 1036 32 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 104 037 7 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 87 538 6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48 139 14 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 140 31 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 40 0Official 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:
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.
NBCSNBooth announcersTurn AnnouncersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Turn 2 Announcer: Mike Bagley Turn 3 Announcer: Dale Earnhardt Jr.Turn 4 Announcer: Jeff Burton Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
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.
PRN/IMS RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Pat PattersonAnnouncer: Jeff HammondHistorian: Donald Davidson Turn 1: Mark Jaynes Turn 2: Nick YeomanTurn 3: Jake QueryTurn 4: Chris Denari Brad GillieBrett McMillanRyan MyrehnMichael Young
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