Total Control: Toyotas Dominate Cup Qualifying At Indy

Toyota drivers swept the top five starting spots for the Brickyard 400. (John Harrelson/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – For what feels like the first time all season, Team Toyota as a collective group showed top-tier speed in a NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session.

Sure, there have been flashes of brilliance by certain Toyota drivers at times – see Chase Briscoe as an example – but Saturday’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway showing by the whole group was nothing short of stellar.

At IMS, the Japanese manufacturer’s Cup Series fleet swept the top five starting spots for the first time ahead of Sunday’s crown-jewel Brickyard 400.

Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer Briscoe captured his series-leading fifth pole of the year and third in as many crown jewel races, but following him will be 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace in second, Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones in third, 23XI’s Tyler Reddick and JGR’s Ty Gibbs.

It’s a strong statement by the manufacturer seeking its third Brickyard 400 win and first in nine years.

“All in all, it was a good day and I appreciate everybody on this No. 23 team. We have a lot of speed,” said Wallace, who missed out on the pole by just .013 seconds. “I didn’t know where we were at in practice. And I tell you, I thought I ran a horrendous qualifying lap; I was all over the place with input and my steering wheel. But [crew chief] Charles Denike said ‘Let’s go’ after we crossed the line, and I was like ‘OK, what does that mean? Does that mean more speed or are we good?’ And it was good.

“Congrats to Chase Briscoe and the Joe Gibbs Racing guys, too. Chase has been on it this year in qualifying. The Toyotas are strong, and to have the first five starting spots are big,” he added. “I’m proud to be representing the brand. It’s a good Saturday in Indy.”

Saturday’s qualifying session on the iconic 2.5-mile oval required commitment through the sharp corners and long straightaways. Overstepping the limit on speed and handling meant paying a price, particularly on the exit of turn two.

Multiple drivers got into the wall during qualifying, with even more having to get out of the throttle to keep from crashing.

However, what was a top-five sweep for Toyota could have – and maybe should have – been six.

While on a likely pole-winning lap and with a quarter-second in the bank over Briscoe to that point, Denny Hamlin crashed hard exiting turn two as the last driver to qualify, slapping the outside wall before coming down the track and going nose-first into the inside SAFER Barrier.

The impact sent Hamlin to a backup car and he’ll start last in pursuit of an elusive Brickyard 400 victory.

John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club, who was also on pace for a strong lap, got into the wall as well. Christopher Bell and Riley Herbst will start 18th and 24th, respectively, as the only two Toyota drivers that seemed to struggle for single-lap speed Saturday.

For native Hoosier Briscoe, Indianapolis marks his 10th time starting inside the top five this season. Wallace earned his highest starting position since Circuit of the Americas back in March, while Jones posted his best qualifying effort all year.

Reddick starts fourth for the third time in the last four weeks. And for Gibbs, who will battle Ty Dillon and attempt to win $1 million in the final round of the In-Season Tournament, Sunday will be his 13th start inside the top 10 dating back to April at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Asked if he could win his first crown jewel in Sunday’s ‘400’, Wallace sounded cautiously optimistic.

“We’ll wake up tomorrow and get that feeling, but I think we can,” he said. “It starts with believing [in] yourself and your team. From day one, we have never given up on that, [even though] recently things haven’t gone our way. But we haven’t detoured off of the plan. You find your true self in your toughest moments, and we’re right where we want to be.

“There’s a lot of work still to do, but a lot of fun to be had.”

Step one towards a good weekend is complete for Team Toyota, but the next task is surviving 160 laps around the 2.5-mile oval to make the weekend complete.

Track position will be key on Sunday, and so far, the Toyota contingent has that variable in spades.

Coverage of the 29th Brickyard 400 presented by PPG begins Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m. ET on TNT, the IMS Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.