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Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Winners, Losers from Brickyard 400: From Bubba Wallace to Joey Logano
The NASCAR schedule took us to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for one of the most iconic races in the sport. Sunday's Brickyard 400 was a good one, both because of the In-Season Challenge and thanks to the tightening of the NASCAR standings now with only four races left in the regular season. Let's dive into the winners and losers from the Brickyard 400 after the overtime finish. Winner: Bubba Wallace Bubba Wallace was in position to win, then rain brought out the red flag and sent it to overtime. Crew chief Charles Denike reported that they had enough fuel for one overtime, but the second was a big uncertainty. Christopher Bell wrecked Zane Smith just seconds before the white flag, preventing Wallace from winning. He stayed out, rolling the dice on fuel and battling Kyle Larson at the restart to secure the win. Wallace earned his spot in the NASCAR playoffs with a phenomenal performance. Related: Loser: Ross Chastain Ross Chastain's surprising late-night win at the Coca-Cola 600 proved necessary given his recent struggles. Coming into the Brickyard 400, Chastain was coming off a 33rd-place finish at Dover and had an average finishing position of 25.2 over his last five races. It didn't get any better on Sunday. Stuck at the back of the field with many drivers saving their equipment, Chastain eased off the throttle slightly but was then pushed into the wall by Michael McDowell. The rough collision ended his day prematurely. Related: Winner: Chase Briscoe With his spot in the playoffs already locked up, the Brickyard 400 provided Chase Briscoe with another opportunity to strengthen his odds of making a deeper run. Entering the weekend tied for ninth in playoff points (six), he earned two playoff points by posting the top qualifying time and winning Stage 1. At the very least, he's positioning himself to be in the top seven when the playoffs begin. Related: Loser: Kyle Busch The snake-bitten two-year run for Kyle Busch continues. He worked his way up from 13th on the starting grid to sixth place at the end of Stage 1, earning five points. The No. 8 team's strategy put them in a decent position for the rest of the day. However, Busch was among the cars that sustained damage during a restart, and the car fell off the pace, leaving him outside the top 20 for the remainder of the race. Winner: Denny Hamlin Denny Hamlin had the fastest car in practice and was seconds away from being on the pole for the Brickyard 400, then a little overaggressive driving caused a crash. It dropped him to the back of the field and put him in a backup car at a track was passing is extremely difficult. Thanks to a combination of great driving and pit strategy, he made his way back to third at the end of Stage 2 (eight pints) and he started the final restart in second. Related: Loser: Erik Jones' tire changer No one expected Erik Jones to win the Brickyard 400, but the driver of the No. 43 car was having a very good race by his standards. Unfortunately, a mistake on pit road undone all of that on Sunday afternoon. During a pit stop late in the second stage, the No. 43 car's tire changer gunned the tire while the car was still on the ground. Moments after Jones got back on track, the wheel came flying off, leaving only the rubber tire clinging. Jones slammed into the wall, sustaining damage that ended his day, and the tire changer is headed for suspension. Loser: Ty Dillon's Cinderella run ends Everyone in NASCAR, except the Gibbs family, was hoping that Ty Dillon would pull off a miracle in the In-Season Challenge Championship. He was a huge underdog against Ty Gibbs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the slimmest hopes of an upset were dashed early. The No. 10 car sustained damage in a restart collision that involved multiple cars. Dillon spent the rest of the afternoon a lap down, allowing Gibbs to easily take home the $1 million prize. Loser: Joey Logano Paul Wolfe seemed to execute the perfect race strategy, aligning Joey Logano's final pit stop that would position him to be the leader with under 20 laps to go. Unfortunately for Logano, the tire went down and forced him back onto pit road before he could take the lead. To make matters worse, after getting fuel and new tires, the car had no power and required multiple pushes before it got going. From the doorstep of a potential victory to a heartbreaking day for Logano. Related Headlines Titans Waive Former First-Round Pick Acquired in Disastrous Eagles Trade for A.J. Brown NFL Expert: Shedeur Sanders is Not a Viable Starting Quarterback Option MLB Trade Rumors Roundup: Latest on Twins Sell-Off, Mets, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers and More Bryce Harper Tells Rob Manfred To 'Get the F*** Out' in Heated Salary Cap Confrontation
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Report: Why the NASCAR Playoff Format is Unlikely to Change in 2026
The regular-season portion of the NASCAR schedule is drawing to a close next month with the four remaining races of the regular season. It sets up an exciting 16-team playoff featuring the top drivers in the sport. However, there's just as much focus on the NASCAR playoff format in 2026. During Sunday's episode of The Teardown, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic shared that he no longer believes the NASCAR playoff format will be changed next year. While many in the industry want to see a change, several factors now seem likely to prevent it from happening next season. 'I went from 90 percent sure the format is going to change next year to…maybe 20 percent.' The Athletic's Jeff Gluck on the likelihood of the NASCAR playoff format being changed in 2026 In an in-depth segment, starting at the 56-minute mark, Gluck explained some of the things going on behind the scenes with the NASCAR playoff committee. He is part of a committee consisting of '30 to 40 people,' which includes team owners, current drivers, other media members, and former drivers. So far, they've met twice and also discussed ideas through emails. Related: NASCAR playoff format: Round of 16 (3 races), Round of 12 (3 races), Round of 8 (3 races), Championship 4 (one race) Following the second meeting, which occurred during the week of the Coca-Cola 600 (May 25), there was 'a lot of movement' toward changing the NASCAR playoff format next season. Gluck said that as of a few weeks ago, he even thought there was a '90 to 95 percent chance' the one-race championship would be abolished for 2026. However, the television rights partner for the playoff races (NBC) has a significant voice in a potential change and is reportedly the 'hangup' in it happening. That's because, in 2023, NBC agreed to a media rights deal (2025–31) that pays out more than $1 billion a year to NASCAR for the broadcasting rights to the playoffs, including the championship round. 'TV wants a playoff. They want eliminations…they want something close, to I think, what is happening now. They don't want to go too far from that. Too radically different.' Jeff Gluck on NBC's role in discussions of changing the NASCAR playoff format Also Read: As The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi immediately followed up with, NBC agreed to this multi-billion-dollar deal with the expectation of having playoff races and a single championship race to broadcast. Dramatically changing the playoff format could alter NBC's NASCAR ratings when competing directly with the NFL. For as important a voice as fans, drivers, and media members have in the process, TV rights represent the biggest source of revenue for NASCAR. With chartered teams now receiving a bigger share of revenue under the new charter agreement signed this offseason, the sport wants to ensure its biggest source of funding is happy. Also Read: Ultimately, a change to the playoff format is still likely coming in the next few years, but it's not something NASCAR officials want to rush. There is also a more pressing matter at play that is likely the final reason the playoff format will stay the same next season. NASCAR still hasn't released its schedule for the 2026 season yet, but the goal is to get it out in early to mid-August. That simply doesn't leave the playoff committee enough time to reach consensus on a new playoff format and then give it to NASCAR with enough time for the schedule to be adjusted. As a result, the 16-driver playoff with a one-race Championship 4 will likely still be used in 2026. One key difference, though: the championship race will take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway instead of Phoenix Raceway. Related Headlines Eugenio Suarez Leaves Game After HBP: Did Diamondbacks Lose Biggest Trade Asset? Tributes Pour In for Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg Following Death Report: NYPD Officer Among 5 Killed in Midtown Building Shooting That Houses NFL Headquarters MLB Trade Roundup: Twins Begin Sell-Off as Brewers, Tigers Make Moves
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
Briscoe wins Brickyard 400 pole to earn top starting spot in 3rd straight crown jewel race
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chase Briscoe became the first driver to win poles at NASCAR's first three crown jewel races in one season Saturday, taking the Brickyard 400 pole with a fast lap of 183.165 mph. His late run bumped Bubba Wallace out of the top starting spot. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won nine career poles, five coming this season including those at the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and now the only race held in Briscoe's home state. He'll have a chance to complete a crown jewel sweep at the Southern 500 in late August. Briscoe has the most pole wins this season, his latest coming on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval. It also came on the same weekend his sister was married in Indiana. Briscoe has never won the Brickyard. Wallace starts next to Briscoe on the front row after posting a lap of 183.117 mph. Those two also led a pack of five Toyotas to the front of the field — marking the first time the engine manufacturer has swept the top five spots. Qualifying was held after a brief, rescheduled practice session. Friday's practice was rained out. Briscoe's teammate, Ty Gibbs, has the early edge in the championship round of NASCAR's first In-Season Challenge. He qualified fifth at 182.445. Ty Dillon starts 26th. The winner will be crowned champion and walk away with $1 million. Last week's race winner Denny Hamlin faces a major hurdle in winning his first Brickyard title. He crashed hard during qualifying and will start from the back of the field, 39th, as he tries to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup's crown jewel races. The 44-year-old Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with JGR on Friday. Defending race winner Kyle Larson starts 13th. ___
Fox Sports
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Briscoe wins Brickyard 400 pole to earn top starting spot in 3rd straight crown jewel race
Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chase Briscoe became the first driver to win poles at NASCAR's first three crown jewel races in one season Saturday, taking the Brickyard 400 pole with a fast lap of 183.165 mph. His late run bumped Bubba Wallace out of the top starting spot. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won nine career poles, five coming this season including those at the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and now the only race held in Briscoe's home state. He'll have a chance to complete a crown jewel sweep at the Southern 500 in late August. Briscoe has the most pole wins this season, his latest coming on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval. It also came on the same weekend his sister was married in Indiana. Briscoe has never won the Brickyard. Wallace starts next to Briscoe on the front row after posting a lap of 183.117 mph. Those two also led a pack of five Toyotas to the front of the field — marking the first time the engine manufacturer has swept the top five spots. Qualifying was held after a brief, rescheduled practice session. Friday's practice was rained out. Briscoe's teammate, Ty Gibbs, has the early edge in the championship round of NASCAR's first In-Season Challenge. He qualified fifth at 182.445. Ty Dillon starts 26th. The winner will be crowned champion and walk away with $1 million. Last week's race winner Denny Hamlin faces a major hurdle in winning his first Brickyard title. He crashed hard during qualifying and will start from the back of the field, 39th, as he tries to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup's crown jewel races. The 44-year-old Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with JGR on Friday. Defending race winner Kyle Larson starts 13th. ___ AP auto racing: recommended Item 1 of 3
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Briscoe wins Brickyard 400 pole to earn top starting spot in 3rd straight crown jewel race
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chase Briscoe became the first driver to win poles at NASCAR's first three crown jewel races in one season Saturday, taking the Brickyard 400 pole with a fast lap of 183.165 mph. His late run bumped Bubba Wallace out of the top starting spot. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won nine career poles, five coming this season including those at the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and now the only race held in Briscoe's home state. He'll have a chance to complete a crown jewel sweep at the Southern 500 in late August. Briscoe has the most pole wins this season, his latest coming on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval. It also came on the same weekend his sister was married in Indiana. Briscoe has never won the Brickyard. Wallace starts next to Briscoe on the front row after posting a lap of 183.117 mph. Those two also led a pack of five Toyotas to the front of the field — marking the first time the engine manufacturer has swept the top five spots. Qualifying was held after a brief, rescheduled practice session. Friday's practice was rained out. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Briscoe's teammate, Ty Gibbs, has the early edge in the championship round of NASCAR's first In-Season Challenge. He qualified fifth at 182.445. Ty Dillon starts 26th. The winner will be crowned champion and walk away with $1 million. Last week's race winner Denny Hamlin faces a major hurdle in winning his first Brickyard title. He crashed hard during qualifying and will start from the back of the field, 39th, as he tries to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup's crown jewel races. The 44-year-old Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with JGR on Friday. Defending race winner Kyle Larson starts 13th. ___ AP auto racing:
