The Brickyard 400 is back where it belongs after a three-year hiatus between 2021 and 2023.
On Sunday, the Brickyard 400 will return to NASCAR. Indianapolis Motor Speedway has announced that Cookie Monster – Sesame Street’s beloved blue character – will serve as the Grand Marshal for the race, and 23XI Racing star Bubba Wallace will play a leading role in the festivities.
For some time, the Brickyard 400 was hailed as one of the banner NASCAR Cup Series races, but it only returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2024. In 2021, Roger Penske moved the event to the infield road course to boost faltering attendance and make it more thrilling.
But drivers were disappointed. Denny Hamlin was frustrated by the decision and believed the road course did not have the same aura as the speedway.
“We lost a crown jewel, Hamlin said. “People hated the racing, but I don’t know, are they really going to get more people out to the road course than what they did for the Brickyard 400? I’m not sure.”
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From 2021 to 2023, the NASCAR Cup Series race shifted to the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to inject more action into the contest. During those years, AJ Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick, and Michael McDowell surged to victory, but calls to return to the speedway remained.
Now, the Brickyard 400 is back where it belongs. Jeff Gordon, who serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, is a five-time winner of the event and understands its significance.
“It’s a big event and it’s a very special track,” Gordon told NASCAR.com. “And I know what it means to our teams to go compete there. And I know what it would mean to them to win it. They recognize the history of the track.
“They recognize the history of our organization at this track, and there’s just certain events that are that are bigger: the Daytona 500 or the Southern 500. And this is one of those events that’s really going to stand out.”
DON’T MISS
He added: “Maybe it lost a little bit of its luster and its uniqueness because we went there every year. And now we haven’t been back for a while, and I think the excitement is back. And I think that’s good. I think it should be like that.”
Last year, Kyle Larson stormed to take the checkered flag ahead of Reddick and win as the race returned to the oval. The Brickyard 400 takes place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 27.