NASCAR at Indianapolis 2016: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule, More
Jeff Gordon returns to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunday at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, branded as the Combat Wounded Coalition 400.
Call it perfect timing for the event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as Gordon will hop into a car in place of the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. and give everything he has to Hendrick Motorsports.
Other storylines persist, of course. Veterans such as Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson have disappointed as of late, while streaking drivers and defending winners have the ability to sneak under the spotlight of Gordon's return and seize a checkered flag.
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Here's a look at everything to know about what looks set to be one of the top races of the year.
Viewing Details
Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
When: Sunday at 3 p.m. ET
Watch: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Sports
Tickets: ScoreBig
Sprint Cup Standings
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 622 | 4 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 556 | 3 |
| 3 | Carl Edwards | 587 | 2 |
| 4 | Jimmie Johnson | 514 | 2 |
| 5 | Matt Kenseth | 506 | 2 |
| 6 | Kevin Harvick | 636 | 1 |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 602 | 1 |
| 8 | Joey Logano | 571 | 1 |
| 9 | Martin Truex Jr. | 540 | 1 |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | 505 | 1 |
| 11 | Tony Stewart | 287 | 1 |
| 12 | Chase Elliott | 499 | 0 |
| 13 | Ryan Newman | 497 | 0 |
| 14 | Austin Dillon | 488 | 0 |
| 15 | Jamie McMurray | 474 | 0 |
| 16 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 461 | 0 |
NASCAR at Indianapolis Lineup
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson |
| 4 | 31 | Ryan Newman |
| 5 | 19 | Carl Edwards |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon |
| 7 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 8 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr |
| 9 | 10 | Danica Patrick |
| 10 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 11 | 22 | Joey Logano |
| 12 | 24 | Chase Elliott |
| 13 | 1 | Jamie McMurray |
| 14 | *21 | Ryan Blaney |
| 15 | 16 | Greg Biffle |
| 16 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr |
| 17 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 18 | 2 | Brad Keselowski |
| 19 | 41 | Kurt Busch |
| 20 | 5 | Kasey Kahne |
| 21 | 27 | Paul Menard |
| 22 | 95 | Michael McDowell |
| 23 | 6 | Trevor Bayne |
| 24 | 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 25 | 88 | Jeff Gordon |
| 26 | 34 | Chris Buescher |
| 27 | 23 | David Ragan |
| 28 | 15 | Clint Bowyer |
| 29 | 13 | Casey Mears |
| 30 | 20 | Matt Kenseth |
| 31 | 43 | Aric Almirola |
| 32 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 33 | 38 | Landon Cassill |
| 34 | 7 | Regan Smith |
| 35 | 44 | Brian Scott |
| 36 | 46 | Michael Annett |
| 37 | *98 | Cole Whitt |
| 38 | *93 | Ryan Ellis |
| 39 | *30 | Josh Wise |
| 40 | *55 | Reed Sorenson |
| 41 | 32 | Patrick Carpentier |
Drivers to Watch
Matt Kenseth
Lost in the struggles of Johnson and sometimes Kevin Harvick are the successes reaped by someone such as Matt Kenseth.
Kenseth put on a show last time out, in New Hampshire, leading for 38 laps before hitting Victory Lane to secure his second win of the season. His run of momentum started the week before, though, when he placed eighth in Kentucky to end a three-race skid without a top-10 finish.
While the No. 20 Toyota seems to be heating up at the right time, his car failed inspection after the win, with Jeff Gluck of USA Today detailing the punishment:
It makes for quite the interesting scenario Sunday. Kenseth has the talent to make it two in a row and seems to have plenty of momentum, but how will the negative post-race events play into the scenario?
That's hard to say. Either way, Kenseth rarely finishes outside the top 10 (he's got eight finishes in the top 10 this year), and one of the worst stretches of the season seems behind him.
Kyle Busch took this race last year, swooping in to lead 19 laps and get the win. For those with short memories, it was part of his epic return from injury and made even special considering it was his third checkered flag in a row.
Busch isn't going for three in a row this year. What he is doing, though, is putting an odd five-race stretch of 10th-place or worse finishes behind him. He's seemingly recovered fully, with three top-10 finishes over his last four outings.
It looked like Busch was going to nab a win in New Hampshire too. He started second, led 133 laps and wound up finishing eighth. That's not an ideal finish, but he's kept his momentum alive by wreaking havoc at the XFINITY Series, as NBC Sports explained:
If it works, it works. Busch isn't a stranger to that level of competition, much as he isn't a stranger to IMS.
Sunday, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise to see Busch take advantage of some faltering major names and cruise to a win at a track on which he's quite comfortable. It'd be a major story, though not as big as the next guy pulling in a win.
Jeff Gordon
This time last year, the globe was wondering whether Gordon would even get a win during his farewell season. He eventually did in Martinsville in November, but IMS wasn't kind to him—he finished 42nd.
Funnily enough, Gordon will take a seat at the wheel for Earnhardt, who finds himself in much of the same position as the Rainbow Warrior was last year.
The good news? He is so dominant at IMS it's easy to believe he could contend Sunday. In fact, he's so historic there those in charge had different plans for Gordon before Earnhardt pegged him as a driver, according to Gluck:
"They know that I'm old and not in the kind of shape that I was," Gordon said, according to Fox Sports' Joe Menzer. "But of any track we could come to—heat or no heat—where I feel like I could come to and do a good job, it's right here at Indianapolis."
A normal driver wouldn't stand much of a chance in Gordon's position. But his history and track time at IMS suggest differently, even if he did struggle at the event last year.
Gordon's return promises to headline Sunday, and if the rest of the field aren't on their games, it might do so afterward too.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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