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NASCAR fans are crying foul after a controversial finish to Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With some fans even going so far as to claim that the race was rigged.
New SMT Data Adds Fuel To Fire Of NASCAR’s Controversial Brickyard 400 Ending
Now new in-car data from the drivers competing for the race win has been made available to the public, and it hasn’t helped clear things up any further.
Chronological order.
Larson is orange. Blaney is green.
Top number is MPH.
Bottom number is Throttle %.You can also see Larson restarts in 1st gear vs Blaney in 2nd. And has fresher tires. Which should definitely help his launch.
Here’s the evidence. You be the judge? pic.twitter.com/Fv1fnolxBm
— Couch Racer (@CouchRacerShop) July 23, 2024
On the second-to-last restart of the race, eventual winner Kyle Larson took the lead from reigning series champion Ryan Blaney. Larson assumed his spot on the front row for the restart after previous race leader Brad Keselowski pulled into the pits having run out of fuel.
Larson, on the preferred inside lane, then passed Blaney in the first corner following the restart.
“There’s no way they should’ve let that go green. That’s ridiculous,” Blaney said on the radio. “They just GAVE it to him (Kyle Larson). It’s f—— over, I’m on the top. I ain’t gonna win from the top. Gave it to f—— golden boy. Son of a b—-.”
By rule, Keselowski had to be the first car to accelerate on the restart since he was leading the race. But when he pulled off the track, Blaney took the lead and control of the restart.
Both Blaney and a number of fans felt that Larson accelerated before he did, which would have made the restart illegal and Larson would have been penalized.
On Monday night, Twitter user @CouchRacerShop shared the SMT data for Blaney and Larson (and third-place driver Todd Gilliland) from the restart. The data appears to show the drivers accelerated at virtually the exact same time, but Larson was carrying more speed at the time of fire-off.
That’s consistent with the assessment of fellow driver Denny Hamlin, who felt Larson gained a slight advantage by rolling the restart (which is also illegal).
But Hamlin also said that Larson would have likely taken the lead regardless in turn one by virtue of having the inside lane.