Indianapolis Brickyard 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Denny Hamlin
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – In the Brickyard 400, Denny Hamlin will be Crown Jewel hunting and the road to victory lane goes thru him. Hamlin’s won the Daytona 500, the Southern 500, the Coca Cola 600, the Bristol Night Race, the spring Talladega race and winning the Brickyard 400 is next on his agenda. Hamlin’s been elite here, he’s arguably the premiere big flat track performer in NASCAR, he tested here just last month, and he was poised to win in 2020 until he had a flat tire while leading with 7 to go. There’s nothing to not like about Hamlin. At Pocono last week, Hamlin had the best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 2nd. In terms of 2024 Total Speed Rankings Season To Date At Conventional Tracks, Hamlin ranks 2nd so you can be confident he’ll be fast.
Indianapolis Track History – Denny Hamlin has been a super elite performer at Indy. He’s never won there but since 2014 minus 2020 and 2017 where he was a top five contender in both races but had misleading results, he’s finished in the top 6 every race and has a 4.2 average finish. Back in 2020 when the Brickyard was last visited, Denny Hamlin came close to victory lane but while leading with 7 laps to go, Hamlin had a flat tire and pounded the wall hard which led to his 28th. In the race, Hamlin finished 6th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, led 19 laps and had the best Total Speed Ranking. In 2019, Hamlin started in the rear of the field in a backup car, finished 8th in Stage #1, made an unexpected pit stop in Stage #2 which put him back in the pack and still rebounded to finish 6th. In 2018, Hamlin had a great car and if there wasn’t a late caution he was poised to win. When the checkered flag waved, Hamlin finished 3rd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and was tied for leading the most laps (37). In 2017, Hamlin was a top five contender but finished a misleading 17th. Late in the race while he was running in the top five he was caught up in a wreck. In the three races prior to that, Hamlin had results of 4th, 5th and 3rd.

Kyle Larson
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – At Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400, look for Kyle Larson to perform at a high-level and be a factor. The #5 team shows up with elite speed, week-in-and-week out with Larson ranking #1 for the season in terms of Total Speed Rankings (conventional), so there’s no question he won’t be fast and bring his best car for this crown jewel race. Last week at Pocono, Larson finished 13th and had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking. It wasn’t a performance to get excited about, but I also won’t count it too much against him.
Indianapolis Track History – Kyle Larson hasn’t raced at Indy for half a decade now and all of his previous races were in the Ganassi #42, but he’s performed at a high level and minus the two races where he’s had misleading results his average finish is 8.75. Back in 2019 when he most recently competed, Larson finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 5 laps but then crashed in the last Stage which led to his 33rd. On lap 126 which was three laps prior to his demise, Larson was running in 7th. In 2018, Larson finished 14th but he performed better than his result. In the race, Larson earned the 6th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. In 2017, Larson had a tough race and finished 28th after crashing like nearly everyone else. I will note he didn’t run bad. At the time of his demise with 6 laps to go he was running in 12th. In Larson’s three races prior to that, he had results of 5th, 9th and 7th.

Ryan Blaney
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – Fresh off a trip to victory lane at Pocono which is the best comp track for Indy, look for Ryan Blaney to be fast and be a factor. The #12 team is running well and clicking off good results, so I have no doubt he’ll show up with a lot of speed at this Penske owned track. In terms of Total Speed Rankings at “Conventional Tracks” this year, Blaney now ranks 3rd in terms of speed and over the last five, he’s ranked in the top five.
Indianapolis Track History – At Indy, Ryan Blaney has run well. Back in 2020 when it was most recently visited, Blaney showed potential but finished a misleading 32nd. In the race, Blaney was caught up in the competition caution mele on lap 15 which dropped him to the back, but he bounced back. On lap 88 he was back up to 12th, but then he crashed which led to his misleading result. In 2019, Blaney was one of the best. In the race he finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, led 19 laps and finished 7th when the checkered flag waved. In 2018, Blaney had a solid performance. He finished 11th, had a 10th place average running position and earned the 9th best driver rating. In 2017, Blaney had a fast car but finished 23rd. Late in the race with 6 laps to go while he was running around 12th he wrecked after contact with Larson. From the race I’ll note he finished 3rd in the first two Stages, had an 8th place average running position and earned the 9th best driver rating.

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