In modern NASCAR, it has become increasingly rare for Cup teams to get full practice sessions as part of three-day race weekends. The Brickyard 400 is one of those rare occasions, but thunderstorms forced NASCAR to cancel on-track activity for the Cup Series on Friday.
However, in an attempt to get the teams some practice time, series officials have introduced a new session to be run on Saturday. The 39 Cup teams will get the chance to practice in a 25-minute combined session, instead of the 50-minute practice that was planned for Friday.
This session will follow Xfinity Series qualifying and immediately precede Cup qualifying.
Unfortunately, the weather outlook is not much better for Saturday afternoon. Temperatures at Indianapolis are in the late 80s and early 90s this weekend and there is a chance of more afternoon thunderstorms.
If weather forces the cancellation of this new practice session and qualifying on Saturday, it will be the second consecutive week where weather has denied teams any on-track activity before the race. In the event of a Saturday rainout, Denny Hamlin will start from pole position. Hamlin also announced on Friday that he has signed a new multi-year deal that will keep him at Joe Gibbs Racing for the next few years.
NASCAR has also been forced to cancel Truck qualifying at Indianapolis Raceway Park, a short track just a few miles away from the big track. Corey Heim will start from pole position.
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