The 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard was a

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

race that was held on August 15, 2021, at

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

Speedway, Indiana Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 11,812 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. History Speedway was ...

. It was the 28th running of the Brickyard Classic. Contested over 95 laps -- extended from 82 laps due to an overtime finish, on the road course, it was the 24th race of the

2021 NASCAR Cup Series The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, wher ...

season. This race marked the first time the race was contested on the infield road course.

A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger's professi ...

earned his first victory since 2014, as well as his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory, and the race also marked the first career NASCAR Cup Series victory for

Kaulig Racing Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet ...

Report

Background

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in

, (an

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

suburb of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

) in the United States, is the home of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

and the

Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...

. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately west of

Downtown Indianapolis Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65, Interstate 70, and the White River, and is situated near the geographic center of ...

. Constructed in 1909, it is the original speedway, the first racing facility so named. It has a permanent

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

estimated at 235,000 with infield seating raising capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world. After running the support races last year on the road course, the Speedway moved the Cup Series feature division to the road course configuration. As a result, the July 4 weekend spot it held was occupied by

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

and the race was moved to mid-August. As was the case during the pandemic-affected 2020 season, the

NTT IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

will race on the Saturday card with the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix. Prior to the race, NASCAR had the rumble strip on turn 6 removed after it caused severe damage to several cars during the first lap of the Xfinity race the day before.

Entry list

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

Practice

Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...

was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 1:29.577 and a speed of .

Practice results

Qualifying

William Byron scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:27.765 and a speed of . Byron was the only driver in the 1:27 range during the entire event, and the first NASCAR race car to exceed 100 MPH average speed on the road course.

Qualifying results

Race

William Byron won the pole in qualifying for the first Cup race on the Indianapolis Road Course. Pit strategy came into play for the start of the race, allowing Tyler Reddick to win both stages while Martin Truex Jr. suffered tire issues and Brad Keselowski spun into the wall. Late in the race, Byron spun with Kyle Busch while Joey Logano and Daniel Suárez both got into the tire barrier. On the restart, Reddick made contact with teammate Austin Dillon and collected Cole Custer and Alex Bowman. In overtime, Chase Briscoe was penalized for not stopping after missing a corner while battling Denny Hamlin for the lead and then spun Hamlin (Briscoe said after the race that he wasn't told about the penalty.) A. J. Allmendinger took advantage and took the lead and held off Ryan Blaney for his second career Cup victory and the first Cup win for Kaulig Racing.

Stage Results

Stage One ''Laps:'' 15 Stage Two ''Laps:'' 20

Final Stage Results

Stage Three ''Laps:'' 47 After finishing third and Hamlin finishing twenty-third, Larson took the lead in the regular-season points standings. Hamlin however was able to officially qualify in the Cup Playoffs based on points.

Race statistics

* Lead changes: 13 among 11 different drivers * Cautions/Laps: 6 for 25 * Red flags: 2 for 23 minutes and 22 seconds * Time of race: 3 hours, 20 minutes and 59 seconds * Average speed:

Media

Television

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

covered the race on the television side as part of a Radio Style Broadcast for the race. Rick Allen, and

Steve Letarte Steven Letarte (born May 14, 1979) is an American professional NASCAR crew chief and sportscaster who works for NBC Sports as a color commentator on their telecasts for NASCAR. He also works as a consultant for Spire Motorsports, a NASCAR Cup ...

called the race from the broadcast booth. MRN broadcaster

Mike Bagley Mike Bagley is an American motorsports commentator who works for the Motor Racing Network. He is the secondary turn announcer for MRN and has worked for the radio network since 1992 and became a turn announcer in 1998. Since 2008, Bagley has been ...

called the race from Turn 1,

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

had the call from Turn 7, and Jeff Burton had the call from Turn 12. Dave Burns, Marty Snider, and

Kelli Stavast Kelli L. Stavast is an American sportscaster who works for NBC Sports as a pit reporter for both their NASCAR (in both the Cup and Xfinity Series) and IndyCar Series coverage. She has reported for numerous other forms of motorsports throughout he ...

handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Rutledge Wood Rutledge Wood (born April 22, 1980 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an auto racing analyst and TV show host. Wood was one of three hosts for History's ''Top Gear'' along with Adam Ferrara and Tanner Foust, which premiered on November 21, 2010. Until ...

handled the features from the track.

Radio

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

and the

Performance Racing Network The Performance Racing Network (PRN) is a radio syndication network controlled by Speedway Motorsports (SMI) founded in 1981. PRN airs NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series events held at Speedway Motorsports and Penske Corporation-owned and manag ...

jointly co-produce the radio broadcast for the race, which was be simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, and air on IMS or PRN stations, depending on contractual obligations. The lead announcers and two pit reporters are PRN staff, while the turns announcers and two pit reporters are from IMS.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. *. – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

References

{{Brickyard 400 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard

Verizon 200 The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 2021, replacing the Brickyard 400 which was run on a 2.5-mile oval from 1994 t ...