The NASCAR Cup Series returned to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway's oval course in 2024, following three seasons of running the infield road course.
Kyle Larson won the Brickyard 400 following an impressive late drive through the field, in a finish highlighted (or perhaps lowlighted) by a series of accidents and some controversial officiating.
Ryan Preece spun with two laps remaining in the #Brickyard400.
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 21, 2024
The caution flew after Kyle Larson took the white. pic.twitter.com/AxGKMa6h4G
Overall, though, the racing was dull and forgettable. Passing was next to impossible save for Larson's charge in the closing laps, which can be largely attributed to most of the rest of the field being forced to save fuel.
Drivers running midfield could inherit the lead on pit strategy and take off, while others could be cycled to the back after running up front and be completely stuck there.
Some will attribute that to NASCAR's NextGen car, but Indy's oval has struggled to put on exciting action for many years. There's a reason why it was ditched in favor of the road course between 2021 and 2023, which was hoped to be a solution, but that didn't work out as the road course does not offer the same prestige.
Obviously, Indy is a historic venue. The Indianapolis 500 is quite possibly the greatest spectacle in motorsports. The possibility of a driver such as Larson, who ran both Brickyard races in 2024, potentially winning both events in his career is something that gives IMS a unique appeal as one of NASCAR's crown jewels. Unfortunately, though, it's just about the only appeal.
The best thing that can be said racing-wise about any of the more recent Brickyard 400s is that pit strategy can throw an interesting wrench into things. However, there's other tracks where that's also the case, such as Pocono, which is better suited for stock car racing and has been a staple of the Cup Series calendar for 50 years.
The truth is simple: NASCAR needs to stop going to IMS. This track was not designed for stock cars, and the novelty has largely worn off. The Brickyard 400 may bring in high attendance numbers (mostly by virtue of IMS having the largest seating capacity of any track), but its calling card at this point goes no further than simply being at the same facility that hosts the Indy 500.
The Brickyard had a nice run as part of the Cup Series schedule, but it's time to pull the plug. If NASCAR is to continue to race in Indy, it should be across town at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
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The fat lady is yet to serenade Denny Hamlin's NASCAR career, but she's slowly beginning to warm up. On Friday, it was announced that Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing — an extension Hamlin says is "most likely" the final one of a career that has spanned two decades. Should 2027 be Hamlin's final season, it would be his 22nd year of full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition. Hamlin, 44, is a 58-time Cup Series winner and leads the series with four victories this season. Even in the twilight of his career, Hamlin is one of the best drivers in the garage — and that's completely intentional. "The ability to win week in and week out, that's a high motivating factor in wanting to do this," Hamlin said in a news conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday. "Certainly, as competitive as I am, I'm motivated by being able to win." "Who knows what could happen three years from now?," Hamlin said when asked about why he didn't opt for a longer deal. "I just want to make sure I give them (Joe Gibbs Racing) proper time, make sure I commit to them for not one year, (but) multiple years, let them continue to try and build the program. But no particular reason — if I was 26 I would take 10 years. I want to make sure I'm still at peak form in my final year." Hamlin will go for first Brickyard 400 win on Sunday, and a win at Indianapolis would give him a victory in all four of NASCAR's crown jewel races.
Right fielder Aaron Judge is not in the New York Yankees' starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Judge is dealing with an elbow issue, and that the 33-year-old superstar had trouble throwing the ball in from the outfield on Friday. Judge has undergone imaging, but he is still awaiting results. The severity of the injury, as well as the potential timetable for his return, is still unknown. Judge went 0-for-3 in the Yankees' 12-5 series-opening loss to the Phillies. He is batting .143 with a .600 OPS over his last eight games. Even taking that slump into account, Judge leads MLB with a .342 batting average, 1.160 OPS and 6.8 WAR through 103 games in 2025. He has racked up 37 home runs, 24 doubles, 85 RBIs and 90 runs, making him the heavy favorite to repeat as AL MVP. Judge missing any amount of time could give Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh a bump in the awards race, though, on top of hurting the Yankees' chances in the AL Wild Card race. New York reached the World Series for the first time in 15 years last October, but now boasts the ninth-best record in baseball.
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
The Cincinnati Bengals have finally reached an agreement with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, putting an end to what became the story of the offseason for the team. Stewart, drafted 17th overall in this year's draft, has finally agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $18.97 million deal that includes a $10.4 million signing bonus, according to his agent Zac Hiller of LAA. Now with this deal done, every first-round pick is signed. The road to this deal was a bumpy ride. For months, negotiations between Stewart’s camp and the Bengals front office stalled due to disagreements over contract language, particularly around guarantees. The team pushed to include contract language that could void the deal under certain off-field circumstances, but since other Bengals first-round picks did not face similar terms, Stewart stood firm and refused to sign. Both sides remained firm throughout the offseason, leading to a long standoff and a lot of reports of frustration from both sides. Despite the frustration and disagreement, the Bengals and Stewart’s group continued to engage in conversations, trying to find a resolution to the issue. And finally, after weeks of back and forth and weeks of controversy surrounding what Stewart may be forced to do, both parties appear to have met in the middle and found common ground. For the Bengals, getting Stewart signed and ready for training camp is a major win. Stewart was viewed as a developmental prospect who needed plenty of on-field reps to reach his full potential. Stewart's absence from earlier camps had slowed a lot of his progress. With the contract dispute resolved, he can now focus entirely on gaining important reps and continuing his development over the coming weeks. Now with this contract done and over with, the team can put their full focus on Trey Hendrickson, who is also seeking a long term deal. If the Bengals can get a deal done with Trey before the season kicks off, they would secure their edge-rushing room for not only 2025, but for years beyond. For a team looking to go all in on making the playoffs, signing Stewart was long overdue. Now it will be vital for the team to get Stewart up to speed with the rest of the roster, and allow him to get as many reps as possible before the 2025 season begins.
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