Nearly 30 years after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened Gasoline Alley to stock cars for the very first time, NASCAR has begun to take a different approach to racing across the fabled yard of bricks. For the second year in a row, the path to the winner’s circle at Indy has taken on more twists and turns, even as the prize of the Brickyard remains the same.
The NASCAR Cup Series visits Indianapolis for the Verizon 200 this weekend, its second-ever race on the speedway’s 14-turn road course configuration that goes through Indy’s infield. Last year, a chaotic ending saw A.J. Allmendinger pull off a stunning upset in the final laps, a victory that surely remains fresh in the minds of those drivers who see this weekend as their opportunity to earn a victory to make this year’s playoffs.
Much is at hand for those trying to make the playoffs, and much is also at stake for drivers like Chase Elliott — now looking for his fifth win of the year — and Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, both of whom are looking for redemption after being disqualified last week at Pocono.
The Verizon 200 begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on fuboTV (try for free).
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