Kissing the bricks at the Brickyard. (c)Getty Images, Used by Permission from NASCAR.
A pair of NASCAR races and a GRAND-AM will be held at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, with an ARCA race in New Jersey rounding out the activities for race enthusiasts in the Mid-West and Mid-Atlantic regions. And you can bet your bottom brake caliper that we here at CV Products will be participating at each venue. We’ll be alongside our huge semi-trailers in the pits, bringing racers everything they need for their machines and plenty of gear and accessories for fans lucky enough to have a pit pass clutched in their hands.
If Green Bay, Wisconsin, is hallowed ground for football, then Speedway, Indiana, is the same for auto racing. The Indianapolis 500 and this weekend’s Brickyard 400 both have a permanent seating capacity for more than 250,000-plus people and infield seating that raises the number 400,000. By far, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in the world.
Here’s where to find us this Thursday through Sunday:
Brickyard 400
This is the 20th running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis, featuring a display of racing skills that continues for 400 consecutive miles over the 2.5-mile track. Of the previous 19 races here, series champs won an impressive 15. Jimmie Johnson — who last won in 2009 — and Jeff Gordon have each won four times at Indianapolis. A fifth victory would match the record held by Michael Schumacher.
- Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup
- When: Sunday, July 28
- Racetrack: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Television: 1 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Note: CV’s trailer is in the pits and available for people with pit passes only
Indiana 250
NASCAR Nationwide Series leader Sam Hornish Jr. heads into Indianapolis seven points ahead of Regan Smith. A former Indy 500 winner (2006 for Team Penske), Hornish was second best to Brad Keselowski at Indianapolis last year. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon comes to the table with an eye on the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus. He will be pitted against fan favorites Hornish, Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers for the bonus.
- Series: NASCAR Nationwide Series
- When: Saturday, July 27
- Racetrack: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Television: 4 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Note: CV’s trailer is in the pits and available for people with pit passes only
Brickyard Grand Prix
While Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race is always the thing, fans arriving as early as Thursday will find plenty of on- and off-track activities to keep themselves occupied. On Friday, visitors to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be treated to the Brickyard Grand Prix – a race featuring 16 Daytona Prototypes, 16 Grand Touring cars, and three GX rides squaring off against one another in a 3-hour GRAND-AM Rolex series race. In the meantime, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series hauler parade arrives on Main Street at 6 p.m. on Thursday with tours of the haulers, live music and local cuisine. A Fan Zone will be set up, featuring drivers from the Rolex Series and Continental Tire Challenge, who will attend an autograph session at 6:25 p.m. Eastern Time A Fan Walk and another autograph session will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Friday on the infield straightaway between turns 7 and 8. Drivers scheduled to appear include Tony Kannan, Joey Hand, Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Allmendinger, Scott Pruett, Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Boris Said and more. Fans can have their picture taken with the Continental Tire models, enter to win a checkered flag signed by the race winners, and compete to see how quickly they can get out of a race seat.
- Series: GRAND AM
- When: Friday, July 26
- Racetrack: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Television: 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 26 on SPEED
- Note: CV’s trailer is in the pits and available for people with pit passes only
Barbera’s Autoland 150 presented by Driven Racing Oil
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards makes its sixth appearance to the New Jersey Motorsports Park for the second leg of the Bill France Four Crown Championship. The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country, and that always includes plenty of events in addition to the main race. Qualifying races for the ARCA event begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, with fan parade laps just before noon Sunday, followed by an ARCA driver autograph session. The flag drops at 1 p.m. Sunday for the main race.
- Series: ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America)
- When: Sunday, July 28
- Racetrack: New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, New Jersey
- Note: CV’s trailer is in the pits and available for people with pit passes only
