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July 2024 News
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7/5 - The race at Mid-Ohio this weekend marks the start of the IndyCar Hybrid Era.
An electric motor can provide an additional 60 hp for several seconds per lap. On
the down side, the system adds 105 lbs to the rear of the car.
IMS Museum Starts STEAM Program

July 9 - The IMS Museum has announced the hiring of its first
Director of Education,
Jake Apollos. He will provide creative and
strategic leadership for all aspects of educational programming,
including directing a new STEAM classroom, for the re-imagined
Museum, opening spring 2025.

“Creating an environment that inspires and engages young people in
science, technology, art and math has always been a cornerstone of
our plan for the re-imagining of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Museum, and we are grateful to The Lilly Endowment for helping us
bring a robust STEAM education initiative to Indiana students of all
ages and from all backgrounds, especially those from
underrepresented populations,” said IMS Museum President
Joe
Hale
. “We are excited about the expertise Jake brings to the Museum
s STEAM classroom, educational programming and partnerships, all
of which will make the science behind the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway come to life for students.”
BRICKYARD 400 NEWS
The Brickyard 400 Returns!

NASCAR last raced on the Indy oval back in 2020.  Unfortunately, no spectators were
allowed due to the pandemic.

After a racy Xfinity race on Indy's roadcourse, NASCAR decided to switch to the road
course for both series, even though some folks didn't want the Brickyard 400 event to end.

The "200 at at the Brickyard" (cup race) and "Pennzoil 150" (Xfinity race) were ran in
2021-2023.  The IndyCar series also held a roadcourse race on those weekends!  It was
the first time the two racing entities competed at the same track on the same day.
Nascar Cup Practice  -  Friday, July 19

In today's practice session,
Tyler Reddick posted the fastest lap at 182.582 mph in 23XI
Racing’s No. 45 Toyota.

Ryan Blaney, last week’s winner at Pocono Raceway, was second-fastest in the No. 12 Team
Penske Ford at 181.928 mph.

A pair of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota teammates in
Denny Hamlin and (181.561) and
Christopher Bell (181.371) were third and fourth in that order, with Alex Bowman’s No. 48
Hendrick Motorsports entry clocking in 180.930 mph as the fastest Chevrolet.

The 50-minute session went largely incident-free, save for a brief halt for debris and a practice-
ending spin by
Erik Jones in the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota. But most drivers were
welcoming of the change back to the oval configuration that had been in place from the historic
1994 inaugural through to 2020.

The switch back to the oval provides
Martin Truex Jr. with one more shot at winning at the
prestigious venue, as he prepares for what is expected to be his final Brickyard race in his
farewell Cup Series season.

“It’s huge. I mean, just the history here, with what this track means to motorsports in general
across the world. So it’s very, very cool to get to come here,” said Truex, who placed 20th on
the opening speed chart. “I wish we were a little bit faster today because qualifying and track
position is going to be everything. So tomorrow is a very, very important qualifying day, but
having the chance to win here no matter what, it’s huge. It’s special, and somebody’s going to
have a big day on Sunday.”

Brickyard 400 Practice 1 Results  
Jimmy Johnson Returns
Tyler Reddick Fastest
Nascar Cup Qualifying
The Xfinity Series practiced earlier in the day.  Chandler Smith was fastest with a lap at
166.756 mph in the No. 81 QuickTie Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Conor Daly, who competed at the Iowa Speedway last Sunday in the IndyCar Series, was
3rd fastest today at 164.995 mph in the No. 26 Polkadot Toyota of Sam Hunt Racing.

Qualifying for tomorrow's Pennzoil 250 will be at noon.  The race  will begin at 3:30 pm.
7/19 - Alex Rossi crashed his No. 7 Arrow McLaren during practice in Toronto,
breaking his right thumb.  He won't be able to race this weekend.  
Riley Herbst held off Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer and Aric Almirola of Joe
Gibbs Racing to prevail in a wild finish in the Xfinity Series
Pennzoil 250 today.

Herbst, who started second in the No. 98 Ford, held off pole sitter Custer by 0.167 of a
second for his second career Xfinity Series victory. Almirola was third in the No. 20 Toyota,
0.224 of a second behind the winner after a sizzling three-way fight for the lead on the last
two laps of the 100-lap race.

The 1-2 finish for Stewart-Haas Racing – co-owned by two-time Brickyard 400 winner
Tony
Stewart
and Gene Haas – was bittersweet as the team is disbanding after this season.

Herbst lost the lead to Custer on a restart on Lap 90, and it appeared Custer might cruise to
victory. He built a lead of 1.384 seconds by Lap 95. But Herbst began to chip away, trimming
that lead to 0.649 of a second on Lap 97 and 0.270 of a second on Lap 98.

Almirola also was gaining ground on the two leaders and took the lead on the front
straightaway at the end of Lap 99 on a breathtaking move with the white flag in the air.
Herbst and Custer were racing side-by-side for the lead low on the straightaway, and
Almirola moved within inches of the wall to clear the dueling pair and slice down across the
noses of their Fords for the top spot.

On the final lap, Herbst chased Almirola and dove under him for the lead in the short chute
between Turns 3 and 4 and held on to the checkered flag. It was the last of 12 lead changes
in the race.

Herbst and Custer combined to lead 77 of the 100 laps, with Custer out front for a race-high
47 and Herbst 30.
In two rounds of qualifying for the Brickyard 400,
Tyler Reddick continued the strong form he showed
in leading practice Friday by winning the pole for the
160-lap NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday.

Reddick turned a top lap of 181.932 mph in the No. 45
Toyota of 23XI Racing, co-owned by
Michael Jordan
and Denny Hamlin.

Reddick’s boss, Hamlin, qualified second at 181.492 in
the No. 11 Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Chase Elliott will start third in the No. 9 Chevrolet
fielded by Hendrick Motorsports after his best lap
of 181.803. Teammate
William Byron will join him
in Row 2 after his qualifying lap of 180.155 in the No. 24.

Kyle Larson helped Hendrick Motorsports put three cars in the top five qualifying spots
with his best lap of 181.298 in the No. 5 Chevrolet.  Larson is racing on the IMS oval for
the second time this season, as he race in the 108th Indianapolis 500 in a Hendrick-Arrow
McLaren entry.

Ty Gibbs filled Row 3 after qualifying sixth at 180.043 in the No. 54 Toyota of Joe Gibbs
Racing.

Qualifying Results (pdf)

Spotters Guide / Starting Grid  -  (pdf version)
Tyler Reddick Won Pole for Brickyard 400
Saturday, July 19
Xfinity PENNZOIL 250
Riley Herbst Celebrates Winning Pennzoil 250
Nascar Cup
Brickyard 400 Race
Sunday, July 21
07/21 - Pascal Wehrlein won the 10th Formula E Drivers' World Championship
with the Porsche team in London, the last round of the 2024 series. While his team
mate had 5 wins to his 3, Da Costa had two DNFs and Wehrlein none.
Kyle Larson Won 2024 Brickyard 400
31-year-old Kyle Larson overcame an early, unscheduled pit stop by charging from 12th place
into the lead over the final 32 laps. He won battles for the lead off the final two restarts and
barely avoiding a third overtime to win his first Brickyard 400 under caution.

Larson was running third when race leader
Brad Keselowski ran out of fuel and pulled off the
track just before the second-to-last restart. That put Larson in position to pull into the shorter
inside lane, next to
Ryan Blaney's second-place car, and Larson easily leapfrogged Blaney —
just ahead of a five-car crash that brought a red flag and a second overtime.

This time, after needing an assist to get his No. 5 Chevrolet refired, Larson again beat Blaney
on the inside and reached the finish line before another caution flag came out.

Pole winner
Tyler Reddick wound up second as Blaney dropped to third.

Keselowski gambled he could run the final 59 laps without pitting for fuel — and he essentially
did. What he didn't count on was the race going an extra seven laps. And Blaney had been
trying to fend off the hard-charging Larson for several laps, even blocking his low line once, to
stay in front.

“That’s a heartbreaker. We did everything right today,” said Blaney, who finished third after the
fateful twist. “He was in prime position to win, and it just didn’t work out for us.”

But with most drivers in fuel-saving mode, Larson just kept pushing hard.

Denny Hamlin won the first stage, his first ever at Indianapolis, and Bubba Wallace took the
second stage.
7/28 - George Russell won the F1 Belgium GP, but was later disqualified after his
car was found to be 3.3 lbs under weight.  His teammate,
Lewis Hamilton, then
inherited the win as all the drivers moved up one position.