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NASCAR heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with three races left ahead of the playoff season. After witnessing Chris Buescher and RFK Racing's resurgence in the past few weeks, the attention now shifts to the highly anticipated road course race at the Brickyard.
The famed speedway will host the NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader over the weekend. With the Gallagher GP IndyCar race on Saturday (2:30 PM ET), the Verizon 200 Cup Series race is scheduled at 2:30 PM ET on August 13.
The NASCAR Cup Series grid has ballooned to 39 with plenty of new faces on the grid. While Shane van Gisbergen makes a return, his fellow Supercars racer Brodie Kostecki, F1 champion Jenson Button, Le Mans winners Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller are also entering the event.
The Verizon 200 is building up to be the most anticipated road course race of the season with plenty of storylines to be followed. In this piece let's take a look at four drivers who are expected to have a strong weekend at the 2.4 -mile Indy road course.
4 NASCAR drivers to look out for in the Verizon 200 Cup Series race
#4 Chase Elliott
The #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver enters the weekend aiming for victory as it's the only way to save his wayward 2023 season. Being 55 points behind the cut-off mark, Chase Elliott's chances of pointing his way into the playoffs are bleak.
Elliott is a proven road course winner and has run well at the Brickyard. He has a top 5 finish in 2021 and crashed out while fighting for the lead last year. This weekend he needs a clean race to maximize his chances of winning.
#3 Kyle Larson
The #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver will play a starring role, no matter what kind of track NASCAR heads to. He has been the fastest HMS driver over the last few weeks and will be looking to lead his team this weekend at Indianapolis.
The 2021 Cup Series champion finished inside the top 3 in the debut Indy race and had an eventful outing last year as he wrecked out. Larson is eager to take on the road course ringers, particularly Shane van Gisbergen, who embarrassed the entire Cup Series grid in Chicago.
#2 Tyler Reddick
The #45 23XI Racing driver has got off to a brilliant start with his team this year as he dominated the first road course event at COTA. Since then, he has shown flashes of speed but has failed to put together a clean race on Sunday.
The winner of the 2022 Verizon 200, Reddick returns to defend his victory after losing out in Michigan. He is the best bet to prove NASCAR drivers' prowess on the road courses and not let the guest entrants steal the show.
#1 Shane van Gisbergen
Despite the raging playoff battle in the NASCAR Cup Series, Shane van Gisbergen is the protagonist for Sunday's race. After winning on his debut on the streets of Chicago, the Kiwi driver is back to repeat his extraordinary feat.
Van Gisbergen was in a league of his own in the Chicago Street race and is the favorite to win the Verizon 200. All eyes will be on the New Zealander, as he once again challenges the best stock car drivers in America.
Catch the action live on NBC, NBC Sports app, and IMS Radio at 2:30 pm ET, this Sunday.
