NASCAR raced against the clock Sunday after lightning delayed the start of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records — better known as the Brickyard 400 — at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race went the scheduled distance plus an overtime period before darkness hit the track.
The extra lap was needed after the race leader blew a tire and crashed with seven to go.
MORE: Highlights from Indianapolis race
Tire wear once more was a major problem at Indy: Multiple right fronts fell apart, leading to crashes for Ryan Newman, William Byron, Erik Jones, Alex Bowman and, most importantly, Denny Hamlin, who was trying to secure his first Brickyard triumph when he wrecked from the lead after a blowout.
A dream run in the #Brickyard400 ends in a hard crash for @dennyhamlin.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2020
He was able to climb from his car under his own power. pic.twitter.com/VhCyxsQsWB
Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing, issued a statement after the race:
Goodyear racing director Greg Stucker on tire issues seen today: pic.twitter.com/blnUgmyuWy
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 6, 2020
Below are the complete results from Sunday's race at Indianapolis:
Who won the NASCAR race at Indianapolis?
Hamlin's wreck gave Kevin Harvick an opening to score his fourth victory of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, his third consecutive top-two finish following a win and a second (with Hamlin on the opposite end of both) last weekend at Pocono Raceway, his second consecutive win at Indy and his third Brickyard triumph overall.
That's going to be one big celebration. 🍻
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2020
Retweet to congratulate @KevinHarvick on his fourth win of 2020! pic.twitter.com/2mUG2JOk9I
Harvick said his team had an idea that Hamlin's tires were wearing down.
"We knew he [Hamlin] was going to be really close on tires and [crew chief] Rodney [Childers} told me on the radio, he said, 'Just make sure you keep the pressure on him,'" Harvick said. "That was all the pressure I could give."
MORE: Updated NASCAR schedule for 2020
NASCAR at Indianapolis results
Harvick, the series' points leader, led a race-high 68 of the 161 laps on the 2.5-mile IMS oval. He also won Stage 2 and banked another playoff point.
Matt Kenseth finished second, his best result since coming out of retirement this year. Harvick teammate Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski and rookie Cole Custer completed the top five.
Below are the complete results from Sunday's Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records — better known as the Brickyard 400 — at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
| Finish | (Start) | Driver | Car | Laps |
| 1 | (11) | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 161 |
| 2 | (21) | Matt Kenseth | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 3 | (5) | Aric Almirola | Ford | 161 |
| 4 | (9) | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 161 |
| 5 | (30) | Cole Custer # | Ford | 161 |
| 6 | (7) | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 161 |
| 7 | (27) | Michael McDowell | Ford | 161 |
| 8 | (13) | Tyler Reddick # | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 9 | (17) | Bubba Wallace | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 10 | (1) | Joey Logano | Ford | 161 |
| 11 | (10) | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 12 | (35) | Christopher Bell # | Toyota | 161 |
| 13 | (2) | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 14 | (29) | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 15 | (19) | John Hunter Nemechek # | Ford | 161 |
| 16 | (22) | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 161 |
| 17 | (32) | Ross Chastain(i) | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 18 | (16) | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 161 |
| 19 | (15) | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 161 |
| 20 | (37) | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 160 |
| 21 | (34) | JJ Yeley(i) | Ford | 160 |
| 22 | (40) | BJ McLeod(i) | Chevrolet | 160 |
| 23 | (33) | Quin Houff # | Chevrolet | 159 |
| 24 | (28) | Garrett Smithley(i) | Chevrolet | 159 |
| 25 | (39) | Josh Bilicki(i) | Chevrolet | 158 |
| 26 | (25) | Joey Gase(i) | Ford | 157 |
| 27 | (18) | William Byron | Chevrolet | 156 |
| 28 | (6) | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 153 |
| 29 | (38) | Timmy Hill(i) | Toyota | 153 |
| 30 | (3) | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 132 |
| 31 | (20) | Chris Buescher | Ford | 99 |
| 32 | (12) | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 96 |
| 33 | (23) | Erik Jones | Toyota | 73 |
| 34 | (14) | Ryan Newman | Ford | 60 |
| 35 | (26) | Brennan Poole # | Chevrolet | 24 |
| 36 | (24) | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet | 20 |
| 37 | (4) | Justin Allgaier(i) | Chevrolet | 17 |
| 38 | (8) | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 16 |
| 39 | (31) | Corey LaJoie | Ford | 15 |
| 40 | (36) | Ryan Preece | Chevrolet | 14 |
# Rookie. (i) Ineligible for series points.
Average speed of race winner: 123.162 mph.
Time of race: 3 hours, 16 minutes, 5 seconds. Margin of victory: 0.743 seconds.
Caution flags: 9 for 43 laps.
Lead changes: 11 among 9 drivers.
Lap leaders: J. Logano 1-14; R. Chastain(i) 15; G. Smithley(i) 16; K. Harvick 17-41; W. Byron 42-51; C. Elliott 52-77; W. Byron 78-82; A. Dillon 83-87; K. Harvick 88-122; M. Kenseth 123-134; D. Hamlin 135-153; K. Harvick 154-161.
Leaders summary (Driver, times led, laps led): Kevin Harvick 3 times for 68 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 26 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 19 laps; William Byron 2 times for 15 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 14 laps; Matt Kenseth 1 time for 12 laps; Austin Dillon 1 time for 5 laps; Garrett Smithley(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Ross Chastain(i) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage 1 Top 10: 24,20,3,9,4,11,21,18,2,14
Stage 2 Top 10: 4,9,11,21,3,42,18,1,95,14