Carl Edwards won the pole and led 20 laps on his way to a 13th-place finish. Harvick led a race high of 75 on his way to a third-place finish. The race had 16 lead changes among six different drivers, as well as nine caution flag periods for 36 laps.
This was the Busch's 33rd career victory for, fourth of the season, third consecutive and his first at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This was also the fourth win at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. His victory moved him to 32nd in the points standings, 23 points back of Justin Allgaier for the 30th-place Chase cutoff and 483 points back of Harvick. Despite being the winning manufacturer, Toyota left the Brickyard trailing Chevrolet by 80 points in the manufacturer standings.
On July 7, NASCAR announced that a higher drag aero package would be used for the weekend's race.[14] The changes to the cars included a nine-inch spoiler, one-inch wicker bill, 43-inch radiator pan and a two-inch leading edge for the splitter.[14]
Changes to qualifying
In lieu of knockout qualifying, the weekend's race used the single-car qualifying method that's also used at Daytona and Talladega.[15]
Entry list
The entry list for the Brickyard 400 was released on Friday, July 17 at 9:28 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-six cars were entered for the race. All but one was entered the previous week's race at New Hampshire. Chase Elliott attempted to make his fourth career start in the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Josh Wise drove the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford. Brian Scott returned to the seat of the No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet. Michael McDowell made his first entry since Kentucky in the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Ford. Jeff Gordon, tied with Michael Schumacher for all-time winningest driver at Indianapolis, made his 22nd and final career start at the Brickyard.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 49.596 and a speed of 181.466 mph (292.041 km/h).[17] Less than three minutes into the session, the hood of Denny Hamlin's car snapped up and smashed his windshield.[18] No significant damage was sustained and he returned to finish twelfth in the session.[19]
Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 49.454 and a speed of 181.987 mph (292.880 km/h).[20] Early in the session, Timmy Hill crashed into the barrier before the entrance to pit road.[21]
Carl Edwards won the pole with a time of 49.056 and a speed of 183.464 mph (295.257 km/h).[22] “This is really cool," Edwards said. "Just to be here racing is cool and with all the work the guys put in yesterday, we started out terribly and we were really slow. Just proud of everybody for digging deep. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and these guys have done a great job. TRD, Toyota and everybody has put a lot of effort in and to have Stanley Tools on the pole for the Brickyard 400, this is cool.”[22] "Overall from where we have been this weekend to what we picked up today I am proud of what my Shell Pennzoil team has done," Joey Logano said after qualifying second. "We have a good piece. I look forward to the race tomorrow. Clean air is king. If we can get a good start and settle in and click some laps off and run our strategy we can be there in the end."[22] "Unfortunately that wasn’t the one that paid, but that got us in the second round which was the important part," Tony Stewart said after qualifying fourth. "The second round we were a little bit freer than we were the first round. I was a little busy inside the car. We got that track bar adjuster and I was moving it around quite a bit during the lap.”[22]
The race was scheduled to start at 3:39 p.m. Eastern time, but started at 3:42 when Carl Edwards led the field to the green flag. He wouldn't lead the first lap, as he lost the lead to Joey Logano exiting turn 2. Edwards pulled up on Logano exiting turn 4 and took the lead for the first time on lap 12. Kevin Harvick was able to pull to within half a second of the leader several of times, but Edwards was able to pull away. Harvick hit pit road for the first time on lap 28, leading to the first round of green flag pit stops. Most of the field had made their stops while Edwards still continued to stay out. He and his teammate Kyle Busch hit pit road on lap 32 and the lead was given to Harvick. Austin Dillon was tagged for speeding on pit road and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty. He was tagged again for speeding while serving and was forced to serve another penalty.[23]
Second quarter
Debris on the backstretch brought out the first caution of the race on lap 44. The debris was a pair of orange balloons caught on the backstretch catch fence. Logano opted not to pit and regained the lead as Harvick made his pit stop.[23]
The race restarted on lap 50. The second caution flew the same lap when Clint Bowyer, exiting turn 4, got loose and spun down into the grass and Jeff Gordon, trying to avoid him, overcorrected and hit the wall in turn 4, creating a two-car crash.[24] “I was underneath Kasey Kahne and we were just racing for position,” Gordon explained. “I saw (Clint) Bowyer get sideways. I don’t know what caused it. Me and Kasey were trying to check up to avoid it. I don’t know if he got loose or we just both got loose together. Then I just lost control and got in the wall.”[25]
The race restarted on lap 55. Logano gave up the lead on lap 62 to pit and handed it back to Harvick.[26]Danica Patrick gave up fifth to pit on lap 84. Harvick pitted from the lead on lap 84 and handed it to Brad Keselowski, who gave up the lead to pit the next time by and handed it to Kyle Busch. Debris on the front stretch brought out the third caution of the race on lap 90. Harvick opted not to pit and retook the lead.[23]
Second half
Halfway
The race restarted on lap 97. The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 107 when Aric Almirola got loose, slid down the backstretch, and hit with the inside wall. A number of cars behind Harvick opted to pit under caution.[23]
The race restarted on lap 112. The fifth caution of the race flew with 40 laps to go when Brian Scott got loose and slammed the wall exiting turn 2. Everyone but Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne opted to pit. Harvick was one of those drivers who opted to pit, and this gave the lead to Keselowski.[23]
Fourth quarter
The race restarted with 36 laps to go. David Ragan shot ahead of Keselowski going into turn 1 to take the lead with 35 laps to go. He pitted with 34 laps to go and handed the lead back to Keselowski. Debris on the backstretch brought out the sixth caution of the race with 20 laps to go. That debris was a piece of Justin Allgaier's tire. Keselowski opted to pit under caution, giving the lead back to Harvick.[23]
The race restarted with 14 laps to go. The seventh caution of the race flew with 13 laps to go when Dale Earnhardt Jr. got pushed into the grass in turn 1, came back up, and spun out.[23]
The race restarted with eight laps to go. Kyle Busch got the jump on Harvick to pass him in turn 1 and take the lead with seven laps to go. Debris in turn 2 brought out the eighth caution of the race with six laps to go. That debris came from Casey Mears's car.[23]
The race restarted with two laps to go. The ninth caution of the race flew when Trevor Bayne got rear-ended and went into the wall while going into turn 1 at the restart.[23]
Green-white-checker finish
Kyle Busch, seen here at Sonoma Raceway, won his third straight race of the season.
The race restarted with two laps to go at a green-white-checkered finish. Busch shot ahead of Logano and drove off to score his 33rd career victory and his first at the track.[27]
Post-race
Driver comments
“The new high drag aerodynamic package used at Indianapolis was hoped to create more drafting and passing. While there was some of that sporadically on track, Sunday’s race had the same flavor as most Brickyard 400s at Indianapolis. Strategy was the key ingredient that provided spice and interest with fuel mileage as usual a big part of the day. As many drivers predicted restarts, especially with the new package, were wild but again at Indianapolis that’s nothing new. Perhaps a bigger impact will come next month when the high drag rules are used at Michigan International Speedway.’’
“It’s really a treat to win here at Indy,” Busch said. “I appreciate all the fans that I have, all the fans that NASCAR has and Toyota has now captured a win at every single active Cup Series race track – that’s pretty awesome for us to be able to do that. I can’t thank this crew enough. Everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, all the men and women there, you work so hard and pour your hearts into it. I can’t thank everyone that has stood behind me all year.”[29]
“Yeah, I thought overall the day went well,” Logano said. “You know, you come to Indy, it's all about the win, either win or finish last. It doesn't really matter anywhere in between. At least that's the way I race when we come to a racetrack like this, Daytona and Indy. It's all about getting trophies and rings and making out with bricks. Unfortunately we come up a little bit short.”[29]
“You always want to put yourself in position for a win at the end and that’s what we did today,” Truex said after finishing fourth. “We fought hard and stayed patient all day. We got caught on pit road again when the caution came out, but fortunately we had enough time to get back to the front. We had good cars the past four races but had horrible luck. Today it came together and it’s a good feeling to regain momentum.”[30]
After being passed for the lead on the final lap of the previous day's Xfinity Series race, Ryan Blaney rebounded to finish twelfth.[31] "It was a good run for us," he said of the Indy run. "I wish things played out a little better for us in the end, but it wasn't too bad when we finally got track position. That was so huge today. I thought when we got a little bit of clean air, we were pretty good. But it was hard to get that. We were in a good spot for that last restart but it really didn't go our way. I was wanting to get some help and the 2 car [Brad Keselowski, who finished tenth] really didn't help us out. But I'm really proud of these guys. After starting 30th, we worked our way up there and I can't thank them enough."[31]
Media comments
"“We’re digesting the signs from it. The fans and the industry saw the race unfold as we did. There were certainly some components, the balance of competition, the opportunities that this package presented for the drivers to perform were of benefit, but we’ve heard the expressions of some of the drivers that didn’t like some of characteristics of the project. We can absorb all of the science and the data we collect, including talking to the industry, the drivers, the crew members and the competition departments of the teams and the car owners to take all of that now and absorb it. That’s part of the reason we created this specific package for Indianapolis – to see the characteristics of it, knowing that there are a lot of personalities in the garage area that have different opinions … but it’s on NASCAR to come up with the one that we put in front of the fans on each individual racetrack each weekend. So, we’ll take time.’’
NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton discussing the sanctioning body's thoughts on the aero package.[32]
Members of the NASCAR media gave their thoughts on the aero package used for this race. Pete Pistone, lead writer for the Motor Racing Network and co-host of The Morning Drive on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, described the race as having "the same flavor as most Brickyard 400s at Indianapolis."[28]
Jim Utter of Motorsport.com also said it "didn’t look all that different than Brickyards of the past and not at all like the predictions (or hopes) of lots of “pack racing” and drafting."[33]
Dave Moody expressed that the race "wasn't any worse, but it wasn't much better, either."[34]
Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press was more critical of NASCAR's decision to use a higher downforce package saying that "the route NASCAR followed has failed, and the series is stubbornly staying the course despite the results."[35]
Speaking on behalf of the sanctioning body on The Morning Drive on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Monday morning, NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton explained to Mike Bagley and Pete Pistone that NASCAR has been making these changes "to build the most competitive type of motorsports we can build. We want our product on the racetrack to be pleasing to the fans and that means close competition."[32] But he also said that they're "digesting the signs from it" and that they'll "take time" dissecting the results of the package.[32]
IndyCar Radio Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Pat Patterson, and former NASCAR drive John Andretti called the race from the Pagoda as the field was racing down the front stretch. Mark Jaynes called the race from atop the stands outside turn 1 when the field was racing through turn 1. Jake Query called the race from atop the turn 2 stands when the field was racing through turn 2. Rob Albright called the race from atop the turn 3 stands when the field was racing through turn 3. Chris Denari called the race from atop the turn 4 stands when the field was racing through turn 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Nick Yeoman worked pit road for the radio side.
Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings.
References
^"2015 NASCAR Schedule"(PDF). NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 26, 2014. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 4, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
^"Points standings"(PDF). Jayski.com. NASCAR Statistics. July 26, 2015. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 7, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
^"Manufacturer standings"(PDF). Jayski.com. NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications. July 27, 2015. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 7, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
^Pistone, Pete (July 15, 2015). "Qualifying Format Changes". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 18, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^Spencer, Lee (July 24, 2015). "Hamlin loses a hood". Motorsport.com. Motorsport.com, Inc. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
^ abPistone, Pete (July 26, 2015). "Busch Sweeps Indy". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
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