Denny Hamlin has won nearly everything NASCAR has to offer.
The Brickyard 400 presented by PPG remains the biggest race victory missing from his résumé, and at 45 years old, Hamlin knows opportunities to change that are running short.
Last year's Brickyard Weekend brought news that Hamlin (photo, top) had signed a contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing through the 2027 season, a deal he acknowledged could be his last in the NASCAR Cup Series. Whether it is or not, every trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway carries added significance.
That urgency is matched by the season he is producing.
Hamlin enters Sunday's race at 2 p.m. ET as the NASCAR Cup Series points leader, holding a 68-point advantage over Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota for the team Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan. Through 21 races, Hamlin has delivered one of the strongest seasons in the series with four of his 64 career victories, 11 top-five finishes, 13 top 10s, a series-best 863 laps led and an average finish of 8.7.
If there was ever a year to finally kiss the bricks, this may be it.
Yet Cup Series victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has remained elusive. Hamlin is winless in 17 Brickyard 400 starts despite six top-five finishes and nine top-10 results. Four of those top fives have been third-place finishes, including last year's charge from the rear of the field after crashing in qualifying.
"This is one I've been searching to win all of my career," Hamlin said. "I would value this win as much as any in my career."
The Brickyard 400 is one of NASCAR's four crown jewel events alongside the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. Hamlin has won three Daytona 500s, three Southern 500s and one Coca-Cola 600, making the Brickyard the lone missing piece of his crown jewel collection. Only Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt have completed the sweep.
Hamlin admitted he'll be willing to take calculated risks if the opportunity arises late in Sunday’s 160-lap race.
The final lead change has come within the final eight laps in five of the last eight races.
"I've got a couple shots at this left," Hamlin said. "For me, it would probably be more desperate. This isn't a race where I count points. I count, 'Did you win or did you not?' My team knows what I want them to do this weekend, and hopefully we execute."
Hamlin was fifth fastest in practice Friday in the No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota with a top speed of 182.697 mph. Qualifying for Sunday’s race is at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
Logano Also Chasing History
Joey Logano also is pushing hard this weekend to win at the Brickyard in the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford of Team Penske.
Fresh off his victory over Hamlin last weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the three-time Cup Series champion owns wins in nearly every major race NASCAR offers. He has captured the Daytona 500, multiple NASCAR All-Star Races and several inaugural events, but Indianapolis continues to elude him.
"Probably No. 1 on the list," Logano said. "With the history of the track, obviously, who I drive for and the history of what (Roger) Penske has done here, I feel like I've been able to accomplish a lot at Team Penske, but there's one thing that kind of sits out there and hanging that I'd really like to say that I've won at Indy for Roger."
In 14 Brickyard starts, Logano owns four top-five finishes, eight top 10s and 80 laps led. His closest calls came with runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2019.
"Those will stick around and hurt long," Logano said. "But eventually, I'll pucker up and kiss those bricks."
Team Penske owns a record 20 Indianapolis 500 victories but just one Brickyard 400 win, earned by Brad Keselowski in 2018.
"When you go to Indy, I'd say the spotlight is a little brighter on those Penske cars," Logano said. "The storyline comes up of how many INDYCAR wins are in the ‘500’ and the lack of Brickyard wins. There's a few, but there's not enough of them.
"You think about that, that we were falling behind our INDYCAR SERIES brothers."
Indianapolis remains one of NASCAR's defining events for Logano.
"Daytona, Indy and championships -- those are the big three," he said.
Briscoe Chasing Home-State Dream at Brickyard
Chase Briscoe grew up in Mitchell, Indiana, about 90 minutes south of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, dreaming of one day winning the Brickyard 400.
A lifelong Tony Stewart fan, Briscoe raced for Stewart-Haas Racing from 2021-24 before joining Joe Gibbs Racing last season after SHR closed. Last year, he earned the Brickyard 400 pole but finished 18th. This weekend, he's hoping to finish the job in the No. 19 Mobil 1 Toyota.
No victory would mean more for Briscoe.
"I would put this race over the Daytona 500 or any race," Briscoe said. "You could take every win I've ever had away. If I could just have one Brickyard 400 win, I would be happy and content."
Briscoe knows chances to accomplish that dream are limited.
"You only get to run here maybe 15 times in your career," he said. "Every time you don't win, that's one less opportunity."
He won an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at IMS in 2020, but the victory came during the COVID-19 pandemic without fans in attendance. It was also on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.
"What makes Indy so special to me is all my family, friends and fans being here," Briscoe said. "I didn't get to experience that with any of them."
Allgaier’s Dominant Season
Justin Allgaier continues to put together the best season of his career.
The JR Motorsports driver arrives at Indianapolis seeking his seventh NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of 2026 after charging from seventh to first on an overtime restart in the last race two weeks at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
Already the regular-season champion with three races remaining, Allgaier also owns a strong Indianapolis résumé, highlighted by his 2018 victory. That win remains one of the most meaningful of his career, with a framed photo of his team and family kissing the bricks hanging in his home.
However, his youngest daughter, Willow, wasn’t in the photo because she wasn’t born yet and often asks why because she doesn’t understand the time period.
"I would love nothing more than to have another photo with that," Allgaier said. "I thought we were close last year. I thought we had the best car last year. It didn't pan out the way we wanted it to, and I think that's what makes it so difficult."
Allgaier led a race-high 37 laps last year but was collected in a crash with 13 laps remaining.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifies at noon ET Saturday ahead of the Pennzoil 250 presented by Take 5 Oil Change at 4 p.m.
Veteran Honored with Vehicle Donation During Brickyard Weekend
An Indiana veteran will receive a refurbished vehicle Saturday morning during Brickyard Weekend through the NABC Recycled Rides program in partnership with Allstate, Penske Collision and PPG.
Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Scott McLaughlin will take part in the presentation at 8:20 a.m. ET during the PPG Golf Outing at Brickyard Crossing Golf Course.
The recipient, Matthew Hedges, is a U.S. Navy veteran nominated by Veterans Support Network Inc. After overcoming PTSD and depression following his military service, Hedges rebuilt his life, secured employment and is raising his family. The donated 2019 Chevrolet Silverado is expected to provide reliable transportation as he continues working and pursuing his education.
The truck was donated by Allstate and refurbished by technicians at Penske Collision of Indianapolis as part of the NABC Recycled Rides program, which provides reliable transportation to veterans and others in need.
