Tyler Reddick Paces Brickyard 400 Practice

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – NASCAR is back where it belongs on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in preparation for Sunday’s running of the Brickyard 400.

Friday was all about practice for both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, with both series getting a 50-minute session on-track to dial in their machines around the 2.5-mile circuit before their respective races over the next two days.

Tyler Reddick came away as the fastest driver in Cup Series practice, setting the quick time of 49.293 seconds, 182.582 mph.

“When you come to a place like this, that’s something you always hope for,” Reddick said of his speed in practice. “I’ve been fortunate. We ran the road course here to be really, really strong and obviously it seemed like Denny had a good test and we were able to get some good data from the wheelforce car.”

“So yeah, it’s tracks like this. It’s always a question mark to some degree, you know, how close is your preparation and sim are gonna be, but it seemed like everyone did a pretty good job. Pretty happy with how the car drives. Certainly, it’s interesting how the draft works. Like I do feel like there is some sort of tow that you get out there, but also the dirty air that comes with it is a challenge. It was just a big learning session, I guess.”

The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota has won before at Indianapolis, but it was on the IMS road course, so he will be looking to be the first to win on both configurations.

“That would be nice,” Reddick added. “Obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do still, but it’s nice to know that the speed and handling is there in our Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry. But yeah, we got qualifying ahead. We’re just gonna have to have to execute. I think this is an easy track to make a mistake and have a really bad lap. Qualifying will be huge.

“Qualifying for the pit selection will also be very important. This pit road is pretty scary. Having a good pit stall is gonna help the confidence of your pit crew and just help you out with a smooth day in general.”

Ryan Blaney was second fastest in the session, followed by Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman.

Kyle Larson returns to Indianapolis for the first time since running the Indy 500 back in May, clocking in sixth-quick. The remainder of the top-10 went to the RFK Racing duo of Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, along with William Byron and rookie Carson Hocevar.

Next up for the Cup Series is qualifying to set the field for the return to the Brickyard 400, which is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET on USA Network.

Chandler Smith as Fast as Xfinity Internet

In Xfinity Series practice, Chandler Smith, who had never turned a lap on the IMS oval before Friday, led the way in NASCAR’s second-tier series, noting it was a full circle moment for him to finally be able to hit the track at speed.

“I’ve never made any laps here on the oval. This is actually where it all started for me as a 3-year-old kid watching the Brickyard 400. After that race is when I picked up the phone and called my dad and was like, Hey, I wanna do this. I want to race. To be top of the charts, granted we mocked up, still it’s surreal,” Smith said.

“Just to be able to be here in a competitive car and make laps around this oval with all the history and the meaning that it has to me is definitely an emotional weekend. Pretty cool. So, was able to learn a lot, did a lot of single car stuff, did a little bit in dirty air, got a good read on that, and then was able to make a mock qualifying run. So, I think we honestly checked all of the boxes that we came into the week and wanting to check for practice.

Parker Kligerman clocked in second fastest, followed by Indy 500 veteran Conor Daly, who is running the Xfinity Series race on the IMS oval on Saturday as well as the Truck Series race on Friday night out at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Brandon Jones was fourth, with Riley Herbst rounding out the top-five.

“I learned a lot at a real fast pace,” said Daly. “That was the first time I’ve ever driven one of these cars on an oval. It’s just about feeling the load limits of the car. I don’t know if I really huck it into the corner, what it’s going to do. When we tried to do a mock run, that was a really good feel for me to be like ‘Okay, what is the grip potential?’ That was definitely the first step. I got in and I was like I wish we could do another one right away.

“Honestly, the car right now is as fast as Xfinity internet, like it’s really nice. And it’s been fun. It’s been great. It’s just nice to get a practice in. I feel like anytime I’ve done anything in a stock car has been like, ‘Alright, we’ll see you in the race.’ And it’s been like, OK, cool.

“We’re happy so far, but I have a ton to learn still. A ton.”

Brickyard 400 Practice Results