NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte discusses the return of the Brickyard 400 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and how the action and strategy might be different with the Next Gen car. Also, handicapping the championship contenders and playoff field as NASCAR heads into a two-week break.
What Steve Letarte remembers about his first exposure to the Brickyard 400 and why it’s such a magical moment and place for NASCAR (2:30); what it’ll be like for the 10 full-time Cup drivers who will be racing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the first time in NASCAR’s premier series (5:00); why the Brickyard requires such a phenomenal skill set of technical precision (8:30); how the Next Gen might impact the action with potentially better racing (12:30); why track position and holding the lead will continue to be so important (15:00); the importance of fuel conservation and strategy during the Next Gen era when changing four tires is much faster than filling a tank (17:30); how the fuel game impacted Denny Hamlin at Pocono (20:00); how do Cup teams keep track of the fuel consumption of every car they’re racing and how it’s different than the pre-Next Gen era (22:30); why the Brickyard 400 always has been such a championship and playoff barometer (25:00); how it feels to kiss the bricks at Indy (28:30); how close Steve Letarte came as a crew chief to winning the Brickyard 400 (30:00); who currently are the Cup championship favorites with five races left in the regular season? (31:30); sizing up the chances of Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace for making the playoffs (34:00); the trials of Kyle Busch (35:30); the grueling stretch of 23 consecutive weeks of racing that will end with the Brickyard 400 (38:30).
Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.