SPEEDWAY, Ind. — For the second week in a row, rain canceled NASCAR Cup Series practice – this time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Dominic Aragon | The Racing Experts

NASCAR Cup Series teams were set for a rare chance to practice for 50 minutes Friday ahead of Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Then, rain canceled the session.

A week before, Cup teams didn’t get to practice or qualify before taking the green flag for 400 laps at Dover Motor Speedway. Luckily, NASCAR scheduled a second practice session for the Brickyard 400 before qualifying at Indy.

While drivers will race on the same right-side tire compound as last year at Indy, the left-side tire compound is new. According to Goodyear, they designed the left-side tire compound to produce more lap time falloff and create passing. Teams ran the compound at Charlotte and Michigan but never at Indy.

“Building off last year’s successful return to oval racing at Indianapolis, we have an updated left side tire, which we’ve already seen at other tracks this year,” said Rick Heinrich, Goodyear NASCAR product manager.

Tires are a point of contention in the Brickyard 400 at Indy. In 2008, NASCAR threw competition cautions almost every 15 laps after experiencing catastrophic tire failures early on in the race. Attendance and ratings subsequently declined, leading to a three-year run on the road course before a 2024 return to the oval.

Kyle Larson is the defending winner of the Brickyard 400.

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com