These NASCAR drivers are looking to avoid another flop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Denny Hamlin returned to Victory Lane and picked up his series-leading fourth win of the season at Dover one week ago. This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday for the running of the Brickyard 400 (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

This will be the 22nd race of the season and will serve as the final round of the In-Season Challenge, which will see the underdog Ty Dillon matched up against Ty Gibbs. The highest finisher of the two will take home the $1 million prize as the champion of the inaugural tournament.

This will only be the second race on the Indianapolis oval since 2021, with Kyle Larson winning his first Brickyard 400 one year ago in a double-overtime finish over Tyler Reddick. While Hamlin enters the weekend looking for his first win at the Brickyard and a second straight this season, these three drivers are ready to get to Indianapolis and put a difficult weekend at the Monster Mile behind them.

Ross Chastain, No. 1 (Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet)

Dover did not go as planned for Chastain, who entered the weekend with two top-three finishes in his last three starts there. He never had track position and crashed out of the race on Lap 384, ultimately finishing a disappointing 33rd. That was his fourth finish outside the top 20 in the last five races, continuing a difficult summer stretch following his Coca-Cola 600 win on Memorial Day weekend.

It is hard to know what to expect from Chastain this weekend at Indianapolis, given he finished 15th in his only start with Trackhouse Racing there last season. Pocono is the most recent track the series visited that is somewhat similar to the Brickyard in terms of layout. Chastain was 26th there, so a bounce-back weekend may not be in the cards for him on Sunday.

William Byron, No. 24 (Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

Byron's brutal stretch of races continued at Dover when he got caught up in a wreck on the Lap 393 restart following the nearly one-hour red flag for rain. He eventually finished 31st, his fifth finish outside the top 20 in the last seven races. While he was among the top five for most of the day at Dover, he did not have the finish to show for it and now finds himself second in points to teammate Chase Elliott after previously leading the standings for most of the season.

The Brickyard has not been kind to Byron in his career. In four starts on the oval, he only has one top 10 (2019) and back-to-back finishes outside the top 25. His consistency was on point earlier this season despite his lone win in the Daytona 500. With the regular season down to its final five races, getting back to that consistency is going to be crucial for Byron to establish some momentum as the playoffs loom.

Christopher Bell, No. 20 (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

Bell still managed to salvage an 18th-place finish at Dover despite a pair of spins while battling for the lead. He elected to stay on track during the final green-flag pit cycle and benefitted from a caution for rain, which helped him regain the track position he lost after the first spin. That was all for nothing, as Bell spun alongside Hamlin on the ensuing restart, ending any chance he had at the win.

On the bright side for Bell, his 67 laps led at Dover were his most in a points-paying race since he led 105 at Phoenix on March 9. He is also coming off a fourth-place finish in his second start on the Indianapolis oval last season. If he can keep his car under him, perhaps he can match his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin on Sunday with his fourth win.