The Brickyard 400 makes its return this weekend, opening up an opportunity for Denny Hamlin to check off an important item on his list of goals.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has achieved considerable success in NASCAR. He has 54 Cup wins, including seven crown jewels. What he doesn't have is a win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
The list of crown jewels -- or majors -- in NASCAR has traditionally included four races. The Daytona 500 is atop the list as the biggest race on the schedule.
The other crown jewels are the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
They think about it. They dream about it. They let it consume them.
This weekend, someone will win the #Brickyard400.@NASCAR | #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/8gs96ikUgD
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) July 15, 2024
"It puts a NASCAR major back on our schedule, certainly one I've been searching to win all of my career," Hamlin said about the 2.5-mile oval's return, per IMS. "When I come here, it's about the oval. I would value this win as much as any in my career."
Hamlin entered the 2024 season with seven crown jewel wins. He won the Daytona 500 three times (2016, 2019, 2020), the Southern 500 three times (2010, 2017, 2021), and the Coca-Cola 600 one time (2022).
Hamlin has never been able to kiss the yard of bricks on the start-finish line. His best finish in the Brickyard 400 is third in 2008, 2014, and 2018.
The veteran driver will have another opportunity to pursue the Brickyard 400 win as the Indianapolis oval returns for its first Cup race since the 2020 season. This will be a different event for Hamlin and his fellow Cup regulars considering that it will be the first featuring the Next Gen car.
"I mean if you're crazy about side-by-side racing, it probably won't be for you," Hamlin said last weekend at Pocono. "But it's just a big event and it's still over time, some of the best cars with the best engines, best aerodynamics, best execution on pit road, all of those things equal a win at that track.
"There's very many different ways you can win in NASCAR, right? It doesn't always have to be through the normal competition that always happened. We've seen fuel mileage be a part of the last few winners and things like that. Indy will be no different. It'll be an execution race. You'll need to qualify well, but you just never know what can happen."