NASCAR Drivers Offer Unvarnished Opinions Of Moving Indy Race To Road Course

NASCAR’s upcoming weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has polarized both its drivers and its fans.

For 27 years, Cup Series drivers have raced around Indy’s iconic 2 1/2-mile oval for the right to kiss the bricks. This year, however, the race will take place on the track’s road course.

Out with the Brickyard 400, in with the Verizon 200.

So, how do drivers feel about the change? Some offered their thoughts ahead of the event.

(H/T: For The Win.)

Denny Hamlin, via Autoweek: “We lost a crown jewel. People hated the racing, but I don’t know, are they really going to get more people out to the road course than what they did for the Brickyard 400? I’m not sure.

“I don’t love it; I don’t love the move. It took away a crown jewel.”

Joey Logano, via FTW: “It doesn’t matter, nope. I don’t believe so. It’s Indy. It’s a race track that everyone in the world wants to win at — not just our country. It is a world-class facility, and everyone in the world wants to say they’ve won at Indy, whether it’s on the road course or on the oval, in a stock car or an Indy car or a tricycle. You want to say you’ve won at Indy, so I think that’s all it takes for me. I’ll still kiss the bricks at the end of it. It doesn’t matter.”

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Aug 10, 2021

Kevin Harvick, via Autoweek: “For me, I grew up with a certain perception of how I wanted to race, and I just believe (for) with the biggest racing series in the country that when you go to the Brickyard, you race on the oval.”

Martin Truex Jr., via Autoweek: “I’m not going to throw up. I haven’t won two in a row there or whatever like (Harvick) has. That’s probably a little bit of that. It is a historic track, but I don’t know. I don’t really think about things like a lot of people. I’m looking forward to the road course and another opportunity to get a win.”

Brad Keselowski, via FTW: “I kind of go back and forth on that one. Some days yes, some days no. I still want to win it. I still want the trophy, but there’s something special about being on the oval track.”

Aric Almirola, via FTW: “It’s still Indy. You’re still going to Indy. You’re still gonna cross that yard of bricks. It’s still gonna be very special, but it’s not the oval. It’s not the track that all of the legends raced on in IndyCar and NASCAR and everybody that showed up for the Brickyard 400.

“That has always been a crown jewel event, and it still will be, but it’s definitely gonna be different being on the road course.”

Obviously, some differing opinions from some of the biggest names in the sport.

Regardless, the race will take place, and it could carry huge playoff ramifications. The Verizon 200 is scheduled to start around 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.