Officially speaking, NASCAR recognises four races as its Crown Jewel races. One of them is the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, arguably the youngest Crown Jewel event. However, in recent years, people have begun to question the Brickyard 400’s Crown Jewel status. The fact that the 2026 Brickyard 400 was nothing to write home about is starting to highlight that criticism. Enter Denny Hamlin as the shining knight, as he has staunchly defended the iconic racetrack.

Denny Hamlin refused to blame the racetrack for the poor show

He told Actions Detrimental, “There ain’t been a pass for the lead in the Next Gen era, I don’t think. After one lap over restart last year, through the entire field, there was eight passes. Eight, for the entire race, after one lap over restart. I would love to work with the competition committee on coming up with a fix. We got to get the back of the cars up. Got to get the front of the cars down. That is the way to fix the racing at Indy. You have to make it to where the downforce is coming from the overbody, not the underbody. That’s what the O’Reilly’s cars, that’s why they put on such a great race. Whoever’s in front, they can’t get away, because the second-place guy just keeps jamming the nose up their a– and it’s getting them loose. Even if it’s an experimental thing for next year, like for just this one race, what do we got to lose? We need to understand and appreciate it for what it is, a fabulous facility. They do it first class there, all the way. This is a car problem, not an Indy problem. Yes, passing in Indy has been difficult for decades, but it ain’t been impossible.”

NASCAR and the Brickyard 400 have had a spotty relationship, but Hamlin insisted that lambasting the track isn’t the answer. Probably the only time it was ever the track’s fault was during the 2008 Brickyard 400. Arguably dubbed the worst NASCAR race, the event was plagued with multiple tyre issues stemming from a recent track resurface. Later on, the race moved to the road course after 2020 owing to poor on-track product. However, the experiment soon failed, and NASCAR reverted to the oval layout from 2024 onwards.

In Sunday’s race, Hamlin was among the challengers for the win. However, he could not finish higher than fifth on the track and failed to make an impression on teammate Chase Briscoe. That is why on his podcast, he observed that the number of overtakes in the whole race did not exceed double digits. Hamlin’s opinion was echoed by Joey Logano, who lamented the car’s inability to get close enough to make competitive passes or maneuver effectively in traffic at the speedway.

Hamlin also bemoaned how the O’Reilly’s Series cars put on a better show. He even suggested making changes to the Gen 7 cars to improve the quality of racing.

Why is there a debate around the Brickyard 400’s Crown Jewel status?

On the back of the bad race, ex NASCAR driver Kyle Petty slammed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the buildup to the race, he insisted that the Brickyard 400 was a Crown Jewel event. However, he has since done an about-turn and declared that Daytona, Darlington and Charlotte are the true Crown Jewel races. He said, “This is not our history. There’s places that are special to the sport. I think Indy is special to motorsports.”

Compared to the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Coca-Cola 600, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Crown Jewel status is consistently deemed fragile because it lacks deep-rooted stock car history and suffers from an on-track product that struggles with passing and aero-sensitivity. The track has faced, perhaps undeservedly, backlash over the years.

Clearly, people were not happy about what went down at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, entities like Hamlin insisted that this race shouldn’t threaten the Brickyard 400’s status. He firmly believes that if NASCAR can give the Cup Series a better car, it will translate into a better on-track product.