Brickyard 400 Race Results: Paul Menard Upsets Field By Winning Indianapolis On Fuel Mileage Gamble

Paul Menard shocked the racing world at Sunday afternoon’s Brickyard 400 by saving enough fuel to hold off a hard-charging Jeff Gordon and score his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in one of the sport’s biggest races of the year.

The majority of Sunday’s race was typical Indianapolis Motor Speedway racing, with the field getting strung out during long, green-flag runs. Yet as the closing laps approached, a late caution put many teams in a position to gamble on fuel.

With the leaders stretching their fuel mileage to the end, Menard was able to save enough gas to hold off a charge by Jamie McMurray in the closing laps.

As Menard and others worked to conserve fuel, Gordon made his move towards the lead with plenty of gas in the tank. Gaining nearly a second a lap on the leaders, the No. 24 Chevrolet was able to get to second on the white flag lap but did not have enough to move past Menard.

Taking the checkered flag, Menard scored his first career win and became a serious contender for the Chase wild card in the process.

Here is how they finished: