Caitlin Clark made her first look at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — on Josh Berry’s No. 4 Ford.
The rookie driver took his Stewart-Haas Racing entry the normal 2.5-mile oval with a picture of the WNBA’s rookie star plastered throughout the hood of his automotive.
Speedway officers had hoped to get the highest general decide within the WNBA Draft to the power for Might’s Indianapolis 500 festivities, however the Indiana Fever spent most of that point enjoying highway video games. This weekend, Clark is collaborating in All-Star actions in Phoenix.
So Panini, one among Berry’s sponsors, did one thing neither NASCAR nor IndyCar officers might — serving to make Clark the face of race weekend.
“Clearly, beginning our partnership with Panini has been actually cool, they’ve an enormous presence in NASCAR and in sports activities on the whole,” Berry mentioned earlier than Friday’s observe session. “For them to make use of the hood of our race automotive to attract consideration to the Caitlin Clark assortment that is out is de facto cool. I believe it has been a well-liked week on social media for our No. 4 automotive.”
Racing with a picture of another person on his automotive is a primary for Berry, not that he minds.
Clark has change into a world sensation over the previous two seasons. She’s helped make sellouts routine at ladies’s faculty and professional basketball video games.
Heck, her reputation may even assist the 33-year-old Berry enhance his profile as he switches to Wooden Brothers Racing subsequent season.
“The quantity of consideration the automotive has gotten this week via social media and every thing’s been actually cool and I am positive it’s going to proceed to construct via the weekend,” mentioned Berry, who was thirteenth on the velocity chart Friday with a quick lap of 180. “Hopefully, we will have race and make all of them proud.”
Berry is not the one driver who shall be making his last look for Tony Stewart’s crew this weekend. So will Chase Briscoe.
The No. 14 Ford, which Briscoe drives, was beforehand run by Stewart, a three-time Cup champion who received two Brickyard titles in his dwelling state. Sunday’s race will mark the tip of the road for that quantity.
Tyler Reddick had the quickest lap within the hour-long observe session Friday as he pushes to win the regular-season Cup title.
The 23XI Racing driver was clocked at 182.582 mph in his No. 45 Toyota. Ryan Blaney, of Group Penske, was second at 181.928 within the No. 12 Ford, whereas Denny Hamlin drove the No. 11 Toyota to 3rd at 181.561.
Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman rounded out the highest 5 in the one scheduled observe this weekend.
Michael McDowell was twenty seventh, at 179.076, after profitable final 12 months’s race on Indy’s 14-turn highway course.
Qualifying for the Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Saturday with the race set for Sunday.
Reporting by The Related Press.
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NASCAR Cup Sequence
Josh Berry
Caitlin Clark
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