Bubba Wallace won the Brickyard 400 last year, but before major drama erupted as rain arrived with just 4 laps to go. While gripping action unfolded with multiple overtime laps, the rain provided an anticlimax.

Fans are left wondering if that will be the same case with the Brickyard 400 this year, or if it will be more of the same. Having just witnessed a 3-hour rain delay in Atlanta and a curtailed Charlotte 600, fans would hate to see another rain-affected race.

Fans will be excited to know that while most of the weekend looks cloudy, the highest predicted chance of rain is a low 50 percent, but only during the evening of Sunday, July 26.  

With the Cup race scheduled for a 2 pm ET start time on Sunday, that should still give the race enough time to end before the predicted late-night showers and thunderstorms predicted by The Weather Channel. 

According to the weather predictions for Friday, there will be a minimum temperature of 79° F with a maximum of 63° F while precipitation is predicted to be under 15 percent throughout the day. While it is mostly cloudy, the ARCA Menards and Truck races should go on without a delay. 

Saturday will experience temperatures between 81°F and 70°F. The chances of precipitation are at 16 percent for the day and 23 percent for the night, with partly cloudy weather predicted for the NOAPS race. 

With a maximum of 24 percent chance of precipitation on Sunday, mostly for the night, the Cup race is expected to go off smoothly with its 2 pm ET start time. Temperatures will range between 89° F and 72° with partly cloudy skies predicted.

Key storylines to watch out for 

Every Cup race has multiple storylines that keep the fans hooked. And heading to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway holds greater significance this time around with just 5 races remaining till the Chase kicks in. 

With the win-and-you’re-in format out, there’s a lot to fight for this time around at the Brickyard. Three-time Cup champion Joey Logano comes off a win after a dismal season for the Penske 22 Ford team and will hope to build on that momentum as he currently sits 15th on the points table. 

Apart from the eyes on Logano, last year’s race winner, 23XI’s Bubba Wallace will also have some attention around him. After the historic win in a nail-biting finish last year, Wallace hasn’t gone to victory lane. Could Wallace follow in Logano’s steps and get a late win in the regular season?

There’s also a million dollars at stake with two Ford drivers set to battle it out for a winner-takes-all for the In-Season Challenge. Ryan Blaney comes in as the favourite against Todd Gilliland, the underdog.

Blaney enters as the higher seed, but Gilliland has caused several upsets already. The 25th seed has come up and won against Spire’s Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar and also HMS’ Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott. 

Interestingly enough, Gilliland finished in 8th at North Wilkesboro ahead of Ryan Blaney, who finished in 11th. 

Who do you think will win the In-Season Challenge? Let us know. 

Read more at Daytona Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason