INDIANAPOLIS — Auto racing is synonymous with Indiana. Racers who grew up in the Hoosier state have an extra incentive to win whenever their respective tour makes a stop in their homeland.
There are several Hoosier drivers competing in either the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, Truck or ARCA races on Brickyard 400 weekend and they're all trying to score a win in their home state.
Here are all the drivers who call Indiana home competing this weekend:
BRICKYARD 400
Chase Briscoe
Stewart-Haas Racing is set for its final Brickyard 400 appearance on Sunday. The team has won the 400 three times, once with Ryan Newman (2013) and twice with Kevin Harvick (2019, 2020). Chase Briscoe would like to give the team a proper send-off and bring the team their fourth Brickyard trophy.
The 29-year-old Briscoe hails from Mitchell, Indiana. He is the 2016 ARCA Menard's Series champion, 2017 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year, 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year and the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year.
Briscoe has one Cup win in four-and-a-half seasons with SHR. His first and only Cup win came at the spring Phoenix race in 2022.
(NOTE: the video at the top of this story is about a charity event Briscoe hosted in 2023)
In the Xfinity Series, Briscoe dominated the 2020 season, winning 9 races over the course of the season, including the inaugural stock car race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course. That year, Briscoe made it into the Championship 4, but finished fourth in the championship after spinning in the final laps of the season finale race at Phoenix.
He will drive the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang on Sunday.
Justin Haley
In the offseason, 25-year-old Justin Haley made the bold decision to leave the established Kaulig Racing team to join the smaller Rick Ware Racing squad as its driver of the No. 51 Ford Mustang.
The decision came as a minor shock to the rest of the NASCAR paddock, but has seemingly paid off so far. Through 21 races, Haley has scored two top-10 finishes, the most ever scored in a single season by the RWR No. 51 car. In 2023, the No. 51 car finished 35th in owner's points. So far in 2024, Haley has moved the No. 51 Ford up to 29th in the owner's standings.
Haley calls Winamac, Indiana his home but currently resides in North Carolina. He scored his first career win in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019 at the rain-shortened July race at Daytona in just his third start. He followed that up in 2021 during his rookie season by scoring his first top-10 on a non-superspeedway race track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
In 2023, Haley battled Shane van Gisbergen for the win in the inaugural Chicago Street Race, finishing second.
He will drive the No. 51 Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang on Sunday.
PENNZOIL 250/T-SPORT 200
Greg van Alst
Making his second NASCAR Xfinity start and his first at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend is Greg van Alst.
A regular in the ARCA Menards Series and around Anderson Speedway, the 43-year-old Anderson native is doing double duty this weekend at IMS and Indianapolis Raceway Park. He'll race his normal ride Friday afternoon in the Circle City 200 ARCA race at IRP and then take over the SS-Greenlight No. 07 entry on Saturday.
Van Alst currently sits second in points in the ARCA Menard's Series championship, 40 points behind points leader Andres Perez.
He will drive the car he owns, the No. 35 Zaki Ali Personal Injury Attorney Ford, at IRP on Friday before getting behind the wheel of the No. 07 CB Fabricating Chevrolet Camaro for SS-Greenlight Racing on Saturday at IMS.
Conor Daly
Last year, Noblesville's Conor Daly was expected to make his first start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in five years on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course for Alpha Prime Racing. However, the IndyCar veteran failed to make the race.
This year, his chances of failing to qualify are virtually nonexistent. With 38 cars entered for the Xfinity race and 35 trucks entered at IRP, Daly is guaranteed to do double-duty this weekend.
After finishing 10th in this year's Indianapolis 500, Daly made his first stock car start of 2024 in last month's ARCA race at Mid-Ohio where he finished eighth.
On Friday, Daly will pilot the No. 44 Power Plus Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports in the Truck race. On Saturday, he will race the No. 26 Polkadot Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing.
CIRCLE CITY 200
Zachary Tinkle
Returning to his hometown, Speedway's Zachary Tinkle will make his third start this season in the ARCA Menard's Series on Friday.
The 22-year-old Tinkle is the 2019 CRA Late Model Sportsman Champion and 2019 Late Model track champion at Anderson Speedway. He finished 13th in last year's ARCA race at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
On Friday, he'll race the No. 11 Racing For Rescues Toyota for fellow Indianapolis native Andy Hillenburg's Fast Track Racing.
Brayton Laster
"The Pizza Man" is back in his home town.
Greenwood's 22-year-old Brayton Laster is set for his second ARCA Menard's Series start of 2024 in Friday's Circle City 200. Last year, Laster made his first ARCA start at IRP driving for Fast Track Racing, but finished 20th after a mechanical problem.
Laster is recognizable by his pizza-themed helmet that he wears on race day due to his love of pizza. He is always looking for the best pizza he can find during his racing travels.
He will race the No. 06 Toyota for Wayne Peterson Motorsports on Friday.
Presley Sorah
Making his second career ARCA Menard's Series start in Friday's is Cambridge City's Presley Sorah.
The 20-year-old cut his teeth at the age of 10 racing go-karts across the state of Indiana. Last year, he raced late models on both dirt and asphalt as he continued to grow as a racer.
Sorah is also an accomplished e-racer, having won the 2022 championship in the iRacing Monday Night Pro Series as a rookie. He tested an ARCA car for the first time earlier this year at Daytona and made his ARCA Menard's Series East debut at Five Flags Speedway in March.
His first start in the national ARCA Menard's Series came last month at Iowa where he finished 25th for Clubb Racing Inc.
According to his website, Sorah runs social media pages for multiple race drivers and teams and also occasionally performs spotter duties. Off the track, he works as a paraprofessional at Western Wayne Elementary School in Cambridge City and holds a part-time position at the Golay Community Center.
On Friday, Sorah will race the No. 12 HDFive-Tatanka Sauce-PresleySorah.com Toyota for Fast Track Racing, racing alongside fellow Hoosier Zachary Tinkle as a teammate.
Isaac Johnson
Martinsville, Indiana's Isaac Johnson returns to the track where he made his first ARCA Menard's Series start last year.
The 24-year-old racer started the first two races of the ARCA Menard's Series season at Daytona and Phoenix where he finished 18th and 24th respectively driving for fellow Hoosier Greg van Alst.
Johnson started his racing career behind a computer, e-racing competitively in various sim racing leagues. He eventually branched out into karting and midget racing before later making the step up to late model racing. According to his website, Johnson moved from dirt late model racing to pavement in 2022 and 2023, which propelled him to make his first ARCA start in last year's race at IRP.
He finished 12th on debut last year driving for Costner Weaver Motorsports.
On Friday, Johnson will pilot the No. 34 George E. Booth Co.-Endress+Hauser Ford for Greg van Alst.