Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Independence Day weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, the series will compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Independence Day weekend, Sunday, July 5 ,at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records.

This weekend’s race will be 400 miles (160 laps) and broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 50 laps each and the final stage will be 60 laps.

This weekend will mark the 27th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The first Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway took place on August 6, 1994; Rick Mast won the pole with a speed of 172.414 mph and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon took home the checkered flag.

The 26 NASCAR Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have produced 19 different pole winners and 15 different race winners. Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick lead the series in poles at Indianapolis with three each. Gordon also leads the series in wins at the Brickyard with five victories (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014).

Five former Indianapolis race winners are entered this weekend, led by seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson with four wins (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012); followed by Kevin Harvick (2003, 2019), Kyle Busch (2015, 2016), Brad Keselowski (2018) and Ryan Newman (2013).

The pole position is the most proficient starting positions in the field, producing five wins. The most recent driver to accomplish the feat was Kevin Harvick last season. In 2016, Kyle Busch became the first driver in history to sweep both the NASCAR Xfinity Series race from the pole and the NASCAR Cup Series race from the pole in the same weekend at Indianapolis.

The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Indianapolis is 27th, by Jeff Gordon in 2001. The deepest an active race winner has started is 16th by Jimmie Johnson in 2009.

NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola kicks off at IMS


Beginning this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and running through July 31, the NASCAR industry will honor United States Armed Forces and frontline healthcare heroes as part of this year’s expanded NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola – an industry-wide opportunity to recognize and thank those who have gone above and beyond to keep society safe and healthy.

For the first time ever, NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola will kick off with the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard (Sunday, July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), as the platform shifts to a mid-summer window due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We take pride in honoring all who work tirelessly to keep our nation safe, whether a frontline worker in the fight against COVID-19 or part of our U.S. Armed Forces protecting us around the world,” said Jill Gregory, executive vice president and chief marketing and content officer, NASCAR. “The NASCAR industry has always been passionate about saluting our nation’s heroes both past and present, and we once again look forward to recognizing those who serve.”

As part of the evolved campaign for 2020, NASCAR and Coca-Cola will create content opportunities to celebrate heroic work from our military and first responder community during the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with NBC, NASCAR and Coca-Cola will celebrate heroes in the military and medical community, and NASCAR and Coca-Cola’s dedicated actions to support our community. Through NASCAR digital and social channels, the industry will spotlight even more stories with a new “NASCAR Salutes Refreshing Moments” feature that will also be hosted on NASCAR.com/Salutes.

“While this crisis has impacted everyone’s daily lives, we are able to race because of the selfless acts by our military community and frontline workers,” said John Mount, vice president, sports marketing and region assets, Coca-Cola North America. “NASCAR Salutes offers an impactful opportunity to showcase our pride and appreciation for these heroes and their families.”

While NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola shifted due to COVID-19, the industry continued its tradition honoring fallen service members during the annual Memorial Day Weekend 600 Miles of Remembrance at the Coca-Cola 600. All 40 NASCAR Cup Series cars featured the name of a fallen service member on the windshield during the race in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

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