Who wants to kiss the bricks?
OK, it sounds a lot more appealing to NASCAR drivers after 400 miles at Indianapolis Motor Speedway than it does to the average person.
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Thirty-nine hopefuls will strap in for the Brickyard 400 this Sunday with that goal in mind. The iconic oval is best known for hosting the Indy 500 each May, but NASCAR’s annual trips to the speedway since 1994 have produced many memorable moments, including the start of the brick-kissing tradition by Dale Jarrett in 1996.
So, what’s in store for Indy? What’s the TV schedule for the weekend? And who could contend for the win on Sunday? Here’s everything to know for the Brickyard 400.
When is the NASCAR race this weekend at the Brickyard?
Green flag for the Brickyard 400 is set for Sunday, July 26, at 2:20 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. All 39 cars will hit the track for 50 minutes of practice on Friday. For qualifying on Saturday, each driver will get one lap to set their fastest time, with the starting order set based on single-lap speed.
NASCAR TV schedule this weekend for the Brickyard 400
Adam Alexander (play-by-play), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for TNT/truTV, with Marty Smith and former Brickyard 400 winners Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray providing pre- and post-race coverage.
Here’s the full schedule for Indianapolis:
Friday, July 24 (truTV, HBO Max)
- Practice: 1 p.m. ET, truTV and HBO Max
Saturday, July 25 (truTV, HBO Max)
- Qualifying: 1:30 p.m. ET, truTV and HBO Max
Sunday, July 26 (TNT, truTV, HBO Max)
- NASCAR Nation Pre-Race: 1 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV and HBO Max
- Brickyard 400: 2 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV and HBO Max
Who is racing at the Brickyard? Here’s the entry list
Thirty-nine drivers will race at Indianapolis — the 36 full-timers, plus three part-time entries. Austin Hill will continue to fill in for Kyle Busch, as he has since the former champion died in May due to sepsis.
Star prospect Corey Heim, who won at San Diego last month, will continue his partial schedule for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing with his eighth start of 2026. Casey Mears and Daniel Dye will both make their third start of this season for Beard Motorsports and Live Fast Motorsports, respectively.
Here’s the entry list for the Brickyard 400:
NASCAR In-Season Challenge championship round
The Brickyard 400 is the fifth and final round of the In-Season Challenge, which is back for a second season.
Taking a page out of the NBA’s book, NASCAR added the In-Season Challenge with a knockout-style bracket and a cash prize for the winner this week. The 32-driver bracket has been whittled down to two, with No. 3 seed Ryan Blaney facing No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland.
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Whichever driver finishes better on Sunday will win the In-Season Challenge and be awarded the $1 million prize. Blaney is the heavy favorite, but the lower-seeded Gilliland has already upset three top-10 seeds on his path to the title round.
NASCAR Brickyard 400 picks and predictions
It typically takes a legend to win at Indianapolis.
In the first 29 editions of the Brickyard 400, there have been 17 different drivers to win. Fourteen of those have been named among NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, with the only exceptions being Jamie McMurray in 2010, Paul Menard in 2011 and Bubba Wallace in 2025.
Wallace’s win last year was no fluke, though. The 23XI Racing driver led the final 26 laps and held off Kyle Larson in overtime to seal his first crown jewel victory. He should once again be a factor this year.
The favorite on Sunday should be Denny Hamlin, who is still searching for his first Brickyard win. It’s the last crown jewel that the future Hall of Famer needs on his resume after previous wins at the Daytona 500 (3), Southern 500 (1) and Coca-Cola 600 (1). Hamlin, leading the points standings, is arguably having the best season of his 21-year career — this could be his moment at Indy.
Outside of Wallace and Hamlin, other contenders could include Larson, Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe.
Larson won the race in 2024 and finished second to Wallace last year. Blaney has finished seventh and third in the last two years at the track that his boss, Roger Penske, owns. Briscoe, an Indiana native, was on pole last year and led 34 laps before falling to 18th.
NASCAR past winners, race history for the Brickyard 400
Just three of the 39 drivers in the field are past winners of the Brickyard 400.
Keselowski (2018), Larson (2024) and Wallace (2025) have one win each, meaning no active drivers have multiple wins at the oval track.
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