Final practice, air demonstrations and music acts round out schedule Friday, May 24 at IMS. Read More>
Two departure times provide more flexibility for fans who want to commute to the track on their bike on Race Day. Read More>
This partnership represents the first time a major athlete's sponsorship has been decided by a vote using blockchain technology. Read More>
View images from the shortened first day of the Indianapolis 500 Open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
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Josef Newgarden unveils the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Ticket View Photos>
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway prides itself on its fire rescue and medical response teams that arrive to the scene of an accident within seconds. But how do they get that good? On Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles takes you through the annual Motorsports Safety Training at IMS, which features specific training scenarios for INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and more to make sure every driver at IMS is safe. Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits down with Doug Boles to talk about the pain of coming so close to scoring back-to-back wins, how he wanted to compete on ovals after his Formula 1 career and the transition to Andretti Global. Watch Video>
Why does Scott McLaughlin move his hands around so much in the car? What "button" is he pushing? What's the pressure of the iconic Yellow Submarine like? We cover that and so much more with Scott McLaughlin on the latest Doug and Drivers. Watch Video>
July 22, 2016 | By Phillip B. Wilson
When reviewing Matt Kenseth’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series accomplishments, he’s celebrated a championship in 2003, won the Daytona 500 twice and his 38 career victories include wins in the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. “When you look at a season, you want to win every race but obviously there’s some races that are bigger than others and feel bigger than others,” Kenseth said during Brickyard 400 testing last week. “I think the Daytona 500 is the biggest stock car race there is anywhere. Between the Southern 500, the Brickyard and the 600 at Charlotte, (those) are the other biggest three races in my mind.” Kenseth has come close in the Brickyard 400 with two runner-up finishes and seven top-five runs in 16 starts. It’s fair to say this race is the one missing from his impressive resume as he returns for Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard. Despite not winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he always seems to be in contention. “The finishes don’t all look great,” Kenseth said. “We’ve had some really great runs here. There’s been a couple of ‘em I thought we for sure had the car to win the race and we just didn’t have things go right, which is disappointing when you have a car that can win here in one of the biggest races of the year and you always want to do that, everybody wants to say they have a win here.” He mentions one race when he was chasing five-time winner Jeff Gordon and ran over a piece of debris, forcing him to limp home. In a couple of other attempts with cars capable of winning, he blew a right rear tire as well as got caught up in an accident. Because he’s continually been fast and in the hunt at IMS, Kenseth has reason to be confident in his chances this weekend in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “I feel like overall we’ve probably performed here as good or better than anywhere,” he said. Although his victory last weekend at New Hampshire stands, Kenseth’s car failed a post-race laser inspection with NASCAR announcing punishment on Wednesday. His team was docked 15 championship points in the owner standings and the driver’s 15-point deduction dropped him from eighth to ninth in The Chase standings. NASCAR did not take away three bonus points for winning the race. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff was fined $25,000. That said, Kenseth’s place in The Chase is secure. He’s typically among the top race contenders each week and, despite finishing 15th in the points last year, is usually in the running for a championship. He won the 2003 series title for Roush Racing in just his fourth full-time season. He’s since finished second in points twice, fourth twice, fifth, seventh twice, eighth twice and ninth. At 44, Kenseth says he doesn’t have time to think much about what he’s accomplished. He does sometimes dwell on what he hasn’t done, which makes Sunday’s race as important as any to add to his list of achievements. “At this point, I probably think more about my failures than my successes,” he said. “When you’re here, you’re in the heat of the battle and it’s such a what have you done for me lately and you’re trying to compete each and every week and trying to get better and figure out how to go beat those guys and win races, I’m pretty much consumed with that. “I think it’s maybe something you look back on as you get older and don’t race anymore and you’re away from it, you maybe appreciate it, enjoy it maybe a little more. I will say that, as you get older, you definitely appreciate and enjoy the race wins and the successes more than when you were younger because you realize they’re not forever and you realize how hard it is to be able to win at this level.”