Qualifying report

NASCAR Cup Indianapolis

NASCAR Cup Indianapolis: Reddick beats Elliott for Brickyard 400 pole

Tyler Reddick will lead the NASCAR Cup Series’ return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s iconic 2.5-mile oval track this weekend.

Jim Utter

Edited: Jul 20, 2024, 8:24 PM

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Reddick's No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota has shown speed since it first hit the track in Friday’s practice, when he was fastest in overall lap speed and in the 10-lap average.

He repeated his performance on Saturday, going fastest in Round 1 of qualifying and as the last car to make a run in the final round knocked Chase Elliott from the top spot with an average lap speed of 181.932 mph.

The pole is the second of the season for Reddick (his other came at Darlington) and eighth of his career.

Sunday’s race will be the first for the Cup Series on the oval course since 2020. NASCAR debuted at the track in 1994 and ran one Cup race for 26 consecutive seasons until moving to the Indy Road Course layout the past three years.

I made a mistake in Turn 1 but this Toyota Camry is so fast I was able to make it up the rest of the lap.

“I don’t know if you ever want to be loose here. It felt sketchy but it’s good speed and I’ve got to step up to the plate and deliver for everyone at 23XI Racing. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, but first pit stall selection will be key.”

Because of NASCAR new oval track lineup procedures, Reddick’s team co-owner Denny Hamlin will actually line up alongside him on the front row. Elliott will start third, William Byron fourth and Kyle Larson fifth.

Completing the top 10 will be Ty Gibbs, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, last year’s winner on the Indy Road Course Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek.

Round 1 / Group B

Reddick, who was fastest in practice on Friday, continued to show speed and led Group B with an average lap speed of 182.637 mph.

Elliott was second quick (182.430 mph) while his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson was third fastest (181.627 mph).

Also moving on to the final round of qualifying were Stenhouse and Blaney.

Among those who failed to advance from Group B were Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher.

Round 1 / Group A

Hamlin, the last car to make a qualifying attempt, rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with an average lap speed of 181.690 mph.

McDowell was second fastest (181.638 mph) while Gibbs was third (181.638 mph).

Also advancing to the final round of qualifying from the first group were Byron and Nemechek.

During his hot lap, Austin Cindric got loose and hit the Turn 4 wall with his No. 2 Ford although it did not appear to do much damage.

Among those who failed to advance, in addition to Cindric, were Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell.

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