Austin Cindric grew up attending races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, dreaming of the day he could compete on the historic 2.5-mile oval. On Sunday, he’ll finally have that opportunity.
NASCAR and race officials decided to return to the track’s iconic oval after a three-year stint with a 200-mile road-course event, reverting to its original name, the Brickyard 400, for the 30th anniversary of Cup racing in Indy.
“I’ve always loved this racetrack and watched countless laps on the oval,” said Cindric, whose father is Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “I haven’t raced the Brickyard 400 myself yet, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing it firsthand and driving in the correct direction around the track.”
While Cindric isn’t new to the oval—he competed in two Xfinity races there before moving up to full-time Cup driving in 2022—he understands that winning on the road course, like he did in the 2021 Xfinity race at Indy, isn’t quite the same.
Cindric is just one of 10 drivers who got their first official laps in the Cup series during Friday’s practice session. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, with the race set for Sunday.
For Cindric and many others, the return to the oval feels overdue.
“Even though I won here in 2020 on the road course, kissing the bricks and climbing the fence meant a lot,” said Chase Briscoe. “But winning on the oval carries a deeper significance. The history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway is rooted in the oval, not the road course.”
Race and track officials have spent many years trying to bring back the large crowds that attended the first Brickyard race in 1994. Interest waned after the 2008 race due to tire wear issues.
They tried different dates, moving it from September to July, and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, they added IndyCars to the schedule, creating a rare double feature of America’s top two racing series. They used the Xfinity race as a test run for the road course.
A year later, all three series raced on the road course, but complaints persisted. Responding to feedback, they returned to the oval, excluding the open-wheel cars, which pleased many fans.
“I don’t think anyone considered the road course a top-tier race, so returning to the oval restores its prestige,” said Brad Keselowski, the most recent winner on the Indy oval in 2018.
“It’s huge for our sport and means a lot to me as a driver. Winning this race and being part of that special list is meaningful.”
Whether racing on the oval will boost ticket sales remains uncertain. Drivers noted during practice that the new Cup cars handled more like IndyCars on the track.
Clearly, Sunday’s race will be different. Pit strategies will change, and Michael McDowell acknowledged he would have had a better chance defending his 2023 road course win than on the oval.
However, most agree that changing tracks is the right decision. “I think it’s a great chance for us to return to that tradition,” Tyler Reddick said after recording the fastest lap in practice at 182.582 mph.
“This race is really challenging, and there was a strong desire to try something new. But Indianapolis demands perfection. If you want to win, you can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
Reddick currently ranks third in the standings, trailing Chase Elliott by 15 points with five races left before the playoffs start.
For Cindric, who grew up surrounded by some of racing’s legends and at one of the world’s most renowned tracks, nothing compares to what he’ll experience this weekend for the first time.
“My earliest memories of racing are at this track, watching cars race around here more than anywhere else — from both sides of my family,” he said. “So when I think about racing, this is what comes to mind.”
