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Fan gearing up for Brickyard 400 fun, heat

SPEEDWAY Ind. (WISH) – The buildup has started for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Fans will have a lot to do and race track officials are warning people to stay hydrated throughout the weekend.

It’s the 24th year of NASCAR action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but you may have seen the billboards saying, “NEW Rules New Race”. That’s because if you didn’t know this season NASCAR has implemented a new format and early reviews from fans is that they love it.

Both the Xfinity 200 race and the Brickyard 400 will follow similar rules. This weekend, like every other NASCAR race this season, will happen in three stages and each stage there are cup points on the line. After only 50 laps points are awarded to the top 10 finishers of stage one. Then there’s a caution flag that will follow. After 100 Laps, similar points are handed out for the top 10 drivers through stage two. Finally, an overall race winner is crowned after 160 laps. The top 10 will also get points toward the race for the cup. IMS official Alex Damron says it’s a way to keep fans engaged throughout the entire race.

“Stage racing has been really successful this year.” Said Damron. “It’s a change that NASCAR made during the offseason ahead of the 2017 season it’s been at every track so far this year and received a lot of positive feedback from fans. So, what you’ll see at the end of stages which is different than last year is drivers going all out to win that stage and get points for the playoffs so it definitely makes the racing more exciting.”

Off the track there are a ton of things for fans starting today at 4:30 will the annual Haulers parade happening on Main street in Speedway along with “NASCAR Fan Fest”.

A warning for fans from track officials to start drinking water now. There are more than 100 misting stations but they still want fans to start hydrating now before it’s too late.

For more on events happening this weekend, click here.