2016 Brickyard 400

2016 Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard
Race details
Race 20 of 36 in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2016 "400 at the Brickyard" logo
The 2016 Brickyard 400 program cover.
Date July 24, 2016 (2016-07-24)
Location Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 170 laps, 425 mi (683 km)
Scheduled Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (640 km)
Average speed 128.940 mph (207.509 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 48.745 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 149
Winner
No. 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network NBCSN
Announcers Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte
Nielsen Ratings 2.8/5 (Overnight)
3.1/6 (Final)
5.2 million viewers
Radio in the United States
Radio IndyCar Radio Network
Booth Announcers Doug Rice, Pat Patterson and John Andretti
Turn Announcers Mark Jaynes (1), Nick Yeoman (2), Jake Query (3) and Chris Denari (4)

The 2016 Brickyard 400, branded as Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 24, 2016 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. As the 23rd running of the Brickyard 400, contested over 170 laps—extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) speedway, it was the 20th race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kyle Busch scored his second career victory at the Brickyard, the race had four lead changes among different drivers and eight cautions for 31 laps, and one red flag for seven minutes and 45 seconds.

An advertisement for the 2016 Brickyard 400.

This is the first Brickyard 400 without Dale Earnhardt Jr. since the 1999 edition and the first Brickyard 400 without an Earnhardt in the starting lineup.

Also, this marked the final Brickyard 400 starts for 5-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon and 2-time Brickyard 400 winner Tony Stewart.

Report

Background

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the track where the race will be held.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.

Constructed in 1909, it is the original speedway, the first racing facility so named. It has a permanent seating capacity estimated at 235,000 with infield seating raising capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world.

Considered relatively flat by American standards, the track is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km), nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four 0.25-mile (0.40 km) turns, two 0.625-mile long (1.006 km) straightaways between the fourth and first turns and the second and third turns, and two .125-mile (0.201 km) short straightaways – termed "short chutes" – between the first and second, and third and fourth turns.

Entry list

The preliminary entry list for the race included 41 cars and was released on July 15, 2016 at 10:12 a.m. Eastern time. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was slated to run the race in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, but concussion symptoms forced him to sit out and be replaced by Jeff Gordon.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford
7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota
24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Patrick Carpentier Go FAS Racing Ford
34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford
38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota
83 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota
88 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
93 Ryan Ellis BK Racing Toyota
95 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet
98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

First practice

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.864 and a speed of 184.185 mph (296.417 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.864 184.185
2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.298 182.563
3 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 49.904 180.346
Official first practice results

Final practice

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.749 and a speed of 184.619 mph (297.115 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.749 184.619
2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.842 184.268
3 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.975 183.767
Official final practice results

Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 48.745 and a speed of 184.634 mph (297.140 km/h). Busch said afterwards that the pole "means a lot to me and it means a lot to the guys on this team. To be able to sit on the pole here at Indy is something that I’ve always wanted to do. (Crew chief) Adam Stevens and the guys gave me a great piece this weekend.

After qualifying third, Tony Stewart said he wished he "could do a lap ... one more time and not clip the apron in (Turn) 4; I think we could have been on the pole. What we learned today for qualifying, we are going to have to take some of that and try to make a car a little better for tomorrow."

Making his first start since Homestead in November, Jeff Gordon – who qualified 21st subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. – said he was "much calmer than I was [Friday]. Usually, my heart is beating more for qualifying than it is for practice. But that wasn't the case [in practice]. I feel more relaxed and comfortable in the car."

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.438 48.589 48.745
2 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.503 48.756 48.768
3 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.542 48.679 48.826
4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.695 48.792 48.892
5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48.500 48.891 49.022
6 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.806 48.993 49.126
7 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.635 49.007 49.220
8 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 48.742 48.951 49.315
9 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.644 48.958 49.325
10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.913 48.992 49.346
11 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.681 49.024 49.356
12 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.512 49.000 49.373
13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.435 49.032
14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 48.990 49.107
15 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.554 49.162
16 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48.620 49.175
17 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 48.792 49.228
18 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.881 49.228
19 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.052 49.228
20 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.104 49.456
21 88 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.769 49.491
22 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 49.114 49.651
23 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.949 49.670
24 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.709 49.984
25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 49.135
26 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.151
27 95 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 49.229
28 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 49.342
29 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 49.391
30 83 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 49.428
31 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 49.469
32 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 49.535
33 38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 49.630
34 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 49.781
35 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 50.097
36 93 Ryan Ellis (i) BK Racing Toyota 50.274
37 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 50.461
38 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 50.568
39 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.084
40 32 Patrick Carpentier Go FAS Racing Ford 51.716
Failed to qualify
41 30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 52.737
Official qualifying results

Race

First half

Under clear blue Indiana skies, Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag at 3:22 p.m. During the first lap, Tony Stewart used all of the real estate on the backstretch and made a power move under Denny Hamlin to take second. The first caution of the race flew on the fourth lap for Matt DiBenedetto blowing an engine on the frontstretch. He went on to finish 40th.

The race restarted on the ninth lap. Busch just pulled away from the field during this run. By lap 19, he pulled to a five and a half second lead over teammate Denny Hamlin. During the run, Stewart began falling from second to eighth. Martin Truex Jr. kicked off a round of green flag stops on lap 25. More cars followed suit the next lap. Busch pitted from the lead on lap 28 and handed it to Brad Keselowski. Kevin Harvick made an unscheduled stop on lap 32 for what he believed to be a flat tire. It turned out that the tire wasn't flat. Keselowski and Joey Logano pitted on lap 42 and the lead cycled back to Busch.

The second caution of the race flew on lap 52 after Greg Biffle suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in turn 1. Logano opted not to pit under the caution and assumed the race lead.

The race restarted on lap 59. Busch ran down Logano to retake the lead on lap 63. A number of cars began hitting pit road on lap 84. Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson were tagged for speeding on pit road and were forced to serve a pass through penalty. Busch pitted on lap 87 and handed the lead to Carl Edwards. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled back to Busch.

Second half

Kyle Busch won his second straight Brickyard 400.

A number of cars began hitting pit road on lap 112. The third caution of the race came out on lap 120 for David Ragan blowing a left-front tire and slamming the wall head-on in turn 2. Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray were tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the tail end of the field.

The race restarted with 33 laps to go. The fourth caution of the race flew with 30 laps to go for Regan Smith coming to a halt on the backstretch.

The race restarted with 26 laps to go. Debris in turn 1 brought out the fifth caution of the race with 10 laps to go. The top-five cars opted not to pit while the rest of the lead lap cars elected to hit pit road.

The race restarted with seven laps to go and the sixth caution of the race flew for a multi-car wreck in turn 1. It started when Edwards got loose and slammed into the wall, collecting drivers like Ryan Newman and Keselowski. “It felt like I just got tight down there,” Edwards said. "I had a little trouble there on the starts and I got down there, we were fighting really hard for the bottom and it felt like I got tight with whoever was on the outside of me. If indeed that is what happened, I apologize, that’s pretty frustrating. I don’t know if he came down or if I came up. It felt like I got in there and just scrubbed that right front. Hopefully a Toyota wins. I hate it for Stanley, Joe Gibbs Racing and everybody that was caught up in that wreck. It’s frustrating.” This brought out the red flag to ensue cleanup. The race resumed under caution shortly thereafter.

The race restarted on lap 159, with two laps to go in regulation. The seventh caution of the race flew half a lap later for a two-car wreck on the backstretch involving Trevor Bayne and Clint Bowyer.

Overtime

Attempt #1

The race restarted on lap 165 and the eighth caution of the race flew when Jamie McMurray slid down the access road in turn 1, coming back up onto the track and being hit by Ryan Newman.

Attempt #2

The race restarted on lap 169. Kyle Busch was leading at the finish and scored his second career victory at the Brickyard.

Post-race

Driver comments

Busch said afterwards that his "Toyota was awesome today, it was just so fast and able to get out front and stay out front. Not even some of my teammates could challenge. This was hooked up and on rails.” “The repeat-ability there was something I wasn’t looking forward to,” Busch added. “I certainly didn’t want one, let alone (four) of them. You never know what is going to happen on those restarts. There’s a lot of gamesmanship that kind of gets played, and there was a little bit of back and forth a little bit with the guys in the different grooves. I think I had Kenseth to my outside. I had Truex to my outside. I think I had Carl to my outside and then Joey Logano to my outside, so there were a lot of different characters that we had to deal with on the restarts. But I always felt like I could hit my marks and set sail each time.”

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 170 45
2 18 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 170 39
3 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 170 38
4 4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 170 37
5 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 170 36
6 7 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 170 35
7 14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 170 35
8 8 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 170 33
9 12 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 170 32
10 23 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 170 31
11 3 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 170 30
12 16 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 170 29
13 21 88 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 170 28
14 22 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 170 27
15 15 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 170 26
16 11 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 170 25
17 5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 170 25
18 26 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 170 23
19 9 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 170 22
20 33 38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 169 21
21 31 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 169 20
22 24 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 169 19
23 27 95 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 168 18
24 34 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 168 17
25 29 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 168 16
26 37 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 168 15
27 32 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 168 14
28 38 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 167 13
29 35 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 167 12
30 20 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 167 11
31 6 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 166 10
32 36 93 Ryan Ellis (i) BK Racing Toyota 166 0
33 39 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 165 8
34 40 32 Patrick Carpentier Go FAS Racing Ford 164 7
35 2 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 154 6
36 17 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 152 5
37 28 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 117 4
38 25 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 71 3
39 19 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 53 2
40 30 83 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 4 1
Official race results

Race summary

  • Lead changes: 4 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 8 for 34
  • Red flags: 1 for 7 minutes, 25 seconds
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 17 minutes and 46 seconds
  • Average speed: 128.940 miles per hour (207.509 km/h)

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

NBCSN
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen
Color-commentator: Jeff Burton
Color-commentator: Steve Letarte
Dave Burns
Mike Massaro
Marty Snider
Kelli Stavast

Radio

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and the Performance Racing Network jointly co-produced the radio broadcast for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, and aired on IMS or PRN stations, depending on contractual obligations. The lead announcers and two pit reporters were PRN staff, while the turns and two pit reporters were from IMS.

PRN/IMS Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Pat Patterson
Announcer: John Andretti
Turn 1: Mark Jaynes
Turn 2: Nick Yeoman
Turn 3: Jake Query
Turn 4: Chris Denari
Brad Gillie
Brett McMillan
Kevin Lee
Michael Young

Standings after the race


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