The NASCAR schedule took us to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for one of the most iconic races in the sport. Sunday's Brickyard 400 was a good one, both because of the In-Season Challenge and thanks to the tightening of the NASCAR standings now with only four races left in the regular season.
Let's dive into the winners and losers from the Brickyard 400 after the overtime finish.
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Bubba Wallace was in position to win, then rain brought out the red flag and sent it to overtime. Crew chief Charles Denike reported that they had enough fuel for one overtime, but the second was a big uncertainty. Christopher Bell wrecked Zane Smith just seconds before the white flag, preventing Wallace from winning. He stayed out, rolling the dice on fuel and battling Kyle Larson at the restart to secure the win. Wallace earned his spot in the NASCAR playoffs with a phenomenal performance.
Related: Brickyard 400 results, NASCAR stage results today
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Ross Chastain's surprising late-night win at the Coca-Cola 600 proved necessary given his recent struggles. Coming into the Brickyard 400, Chastain was coming off a 33rd-place finish at Dover and had an average finishing position of 25.2 over his last five races. It didn't get any better on Sunday. Stuck at the back of the field with many drivers saving their equipment, Chastain eased off the throttle slightly but was then pushed into the wall by Michael McDowell. The rough collision ended his day prematurely.
Related: NASCAR points leaders today after Daytona
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With his spot in the playoffs already locked up, the Brickyard 400 provided Chase Briscoe with another opportunity to strengthen his odds of making a deeper run. Entering the weekend tied for ninth in playoff points (six), he earned two playoff points by posting the top qualifying time and winning Stage 1. At the very least, he's positioning himself to be in the top seven when the playoffs begin.
Related: NASCAR Xfinity results from Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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The snake-bitten two-year run for Kyle Busch continues. He worked his way up from 13th on the starting grid to sixth place at the end of Stage 1, earning five points. The No. 8 team's strategy put them in a decent position for the rest of the day. However, Busch was among the cars that sustained damage during a restart, and the car fell off the pace, leaving him outside the top 20 for the remainder of the race.
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Denny Hamlin had the fastest car in practice and was seconds away from being on the pole for the Brickyard 400, then a little overaggressive driving caused a crash. It dropped him to the back of the field and put him in a backup car at a track was passing is extremely difficult. Thanks to a combination of great driving and pit strategy, he made his way back to third at the end of Stage 2 (eight pints) and he started the final restart in second.
Related: Denny Hamlin Warns Driver Who Try Specific Move on Him
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No one expected Erik Jones to win the Brickyard 400, but the driver of the No. 43 car was having a very good race by his standards. Unfortunately, a mistake on pit road undone all of that on Sunday afternoon. During a pit stop late in the second stage, the No. 43 car's tire changer gunned the tire while the car was still on the ground. Moments after Jones got back on track, the wheel came flying off, leaving only the rubber tire clinging. Jones slammed into the wall, sustaining damage that ended his day, and the tire changer is headed for suspension.
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Everyone in NASCAR, except the Gibbs family, was hoping that Ty Dillon would pull off a miracle in the In-Season Challenge Championship. He was a huge underdog against Ty Gibbs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the slimmest hopes of an upset were dashed early. The No. 10 car sustained damage in a restart collision that involved multiple cars. Dillon spent the rest of the afternoon a lap down, allowing Gibbs to easily take home the $1 million prize.
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Paul Wolfe seemed to execute the perfect race strategy, aligning Joey Logano's final pit stop that would position him to be the leader with under 20 laps to go. Unfortunately for Logano, the tire went down and forced him back onto pit road before he could take the lead. To make matters worse, after getting fuel and new tires, the car had no power and required multiple pushes before it got going. From the doorstep of a potential victory to a heartbreaking day for Logano.
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