The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis returns on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC), providing an opportunity for Cup drivers to win once again at an iconic venue. Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin top the list of drivers to watch.
Hamlin and Larson have not celebrated a Cup win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hamlin has finished third in The Brickyard 400 three times while Larson has one top-five finish and two top-10s.
Hamlin has five top-10 finishes in the last seven races at Indianapolis, albeit in a different car. He led 19 laps in 2020, the final race on the oval, but finished 28th due to a blown right-front tire.
Hamlin, who has been vocal about his desire to win the Brickyard 400 before he retires, has some extra experience at the track. He took part in a two-day Goodyear tire test alongside Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland, and he gained a better understanding of how the Next Gen car will perform.
The other factor playing in Hamlin's favor is that Indianapolis has some similarities to Pocono Raceway, the track where he has a NASCAR record seven Cup wins. Hamlin finished second in last weekend's race at The Tricky Triangle after winning a stage.
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Larson is in a similar situation as Hamlin. He has consistently performed well at Pocono, and he has some strong runs at Indianapolis. Like Hamlin, Larson also has multiple crown jewel wins in his career. The Brickyard 400 is not one of them.
"That's a race that's on everybody's bucket list," Larson told media members Wednesday afternoon. "...It's one that we all want to win."
One important thing to note is that Larson has never competed on the Indianapolis oval in a Hendrick Motorsports car. All of his previous Cup starts at the track were with Chip Ganassi Racing. Now, Larson will take on the track while driving for a team with 10 Brickyard 400 wins. His raw speed combined with Hendrick's success automatically make him a driver to watch.
Larson and Hamlin are in significantly different situations than Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, two other drivers who have had success on the Indianapolis oval. Busch has two Brickyard 400 wins while Johnson has four.
Johnson, the seven-time Cup champion, now drives for the team he co-owns instead of Hendrick Motorsports. He will take on the 2.5-mile oval in a Toyota Camry instead of a Chevrolet Camaro.
Johnson has also struggled to adapt to the Next Gen car. His best finish since returning to Cup competition is 28th in two races this season.
Busch has multiple wins in the Next Gen era, but he is winless this season. Richard Childress Racing has struggled overall this season to the point that Busch's best finish is third at Atlanta. He did not finish last weekend's race at Pocono, the track most comparable to Indianapolis, due to a crash sparked by contact from Corey LaJoie.
The past success and thousands of laps completed at The Brickyard could help Johnson and Busch turn the corner. This is no guarantee, however, based on recent evidence.