Indianapolis Brickyard 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Denny Hamlin
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – In the Indianapolis Brickyard 400, Denny Hamlin will be Crown Jewel hunting and the road to victory lane likely goes thru him. Hamlin’s won all the other Crown Jewel races but kissing the bricks has eluded him. Hamlin’s been elite at Indy and he’s also the premiere big flat track performer in NASCAR. At Pocono a few weeks ago, Hamlin finished 1st, had the best Driver Rating and had the best Total Speed Ranking. In this crown jewel race, everybody brings their A-game and in 2026, nobody has been better than the #11 team. On Sunday, look for Hamlin to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Indianapolis Track History – Denny Hamlin has been a super elite performer at Indy. Hamlin’s never kissed the bricks but since 2014 minus 2024, 2020 and 2017 where he’s had misleading results, Hamlin’s finished in the top 6 every race and has a 4.0 average finish. In the Next Gen era, Hamlin ranks 4th for Driver Rating, 5th for Speed but has a misleading 17.5 average finish. Last year, Hamlin had a rocket but came up short of victory lane and finished 3rd. That said, that wasn’t an easy 3rd. In the race, Hamlin started in the rear of the field in a backup car after crashing in qualifying, finished about 18th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2 and earned the 8th best Driver Rating. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 12th with his speed over the segments being 32nd, 9th, 1st and 9th. I believe if Hamlin would’ve raced his primary car and didn’t start in the back, this race was his for the taking. In 2024, Hamlin was a contender but finished a misleading 32nd. In the race, Hamlin started 2nd, won Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, had a 7.7 average running position, led 21 laps, was running in 5th on lap 156 but then on lap 157, Busch had contact with Hamlin and as a result, Hamlin ducked down pit road for gas (and probably to check out his car) which dropped him way back in the pack. Then during a late restart, Hamlin crashed which led to his 32nd. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 2nd. Back in 2020 when the Brickyard was next most recently visited, Hamlin came close to victory lane but while leading with 7 laps to go, Hamlin had a flat tire and pounded the wall which led to his 28th.

Kyle Larson
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – 2024 Brickyard 400 champion, Kyle Larson will be tough to beat at Indianapolis, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends his long winless streak. Indy’s been a great track for him and in the Next Gen, he’s 2 for 2 at finishing in the top 2 (1.5 average finish), and ranks 2nd for both Next Gen Speed Rankings and Driver Rating. This spring at Pocono, Larson finished 5th and ranked 7th for Speed. Heading into the weekend, I would view Larson as a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Indianapolis Track History – Kyle Larson has performed at a super-elite level at Indy and been a factor to win both Next Gen races. Last year, Larson started 13th, had an 8.6 average running position, led 19 laps, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and then finished 2nd overall. Additionally, Larson finished 8th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2 and was running in 2nd before overtime. In terms of speed stats, Larson ranked 3rd for both Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. In 2024, Larson was strong and raced his way to victory lane. I wouldn’t say Larson had the best car and he did get a late assist during an overtime restart. In the race, Larson earned the 3rd best Driver Rating, had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking and led 8 laps. During overtime, leader Brad Keselowski ducked down pit road after the “choose cones” were picked and that immediately bumped Larson up to the front row in the inside lane and from there, Larson hit the afterburners. Back in 2019 in his next most recent race, 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.

Tyler Reddick
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – Tyler Reddick will be a contender at Indy. The #45 team is one of the best, week in and week out and this Crown Jewel race is where the best of the best shine. At Indy, Reddick has been stout, coming close to victory lane in 2024 and having a 5.0 average finish over his two incident free races. In the Next Gen over the last two, Reddick ranks 3rd for Speed and 3rd for Driver Rating. At Pocono a few weeks ago which I would look to for correlation, Reddick finished 2nd and ranked 6th for Total Speed Rankings.
Indianapolis Track History – Tyler Reddick has been strong at Indy. Last year, Reddick finished 29th but I wouldn’t read into that result. In the race, Reddick started 4th, had the 4th best average running position (8.5), earned the 9th best Driver Rating and was running in 6th before overtime came out but then he had to pit for fuel and was then caught up in an overtime #1 wreck. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Reddick ranked 9th but take note his speed over the segments were 6th, 13th, 8th and then 21st (was saving fuel). In 2024, Reddick started on the pole, finished 2nd, earned the best Driver Rating, had the best Average Running Position (7.0) and led the most laps (40). In terms of speed stats, Reddick had the best Total Speed Ranking and was the Fastest Driver Late In A Run.

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