Caitlin Clark made her Indianapolis Motor Speedway debut – in Josh Berry’s No. 4 Ford.
The rookie driver competed for Stewart-Haas Racing in the traditional 2.5-mile oval race with an image of the WNBA rookie on the hood of his car.
Speedway officials had hoped to get the top overall pick in the WNBA draft to the facility for the Indianapolis 500 festivities in May, but the Indiana Fever spent most of that time playing away games. This weekend, Clark is participating in All-Star activities in Phoenix.
So Panini, one of Berry’s sponsors, did something neither NASCAR nor IndyCar officials could: make Clark the face of the race weekend.
“It’s obviously really cool to start our partnership with Panini, they have a huge presence in Nascar and in the sport in general,” Berry said before Friday’s practice session. “For them to use the hood of our race car to draw attention to the Caitlin Clark collection that’s out is really cool. I think it’s been a popular week on social media for our No. 4 car.”
For Berry, it’s the first time he’s racing with someone else’s image on his car, but he doesn’t mind.
Clark has become an international sensation over the past two seasons, helping to make sold-out games at women’s college and professional basketball games a routine occurrence.
Her popularity could even help the 33-year-old Berry gain more exposure when he moves to Wood Brothers Racing next season.
“The amount of attention the car has gotten this week through social media and everything has been really cool and I’m sure it will continue to grow throughout the weekend,” said Berry, who was 13th on the speed list on Friday with a fast lap of 180. “Hopefully we can have a good race and make them all proud.”
Berry isn’t the only driver making his final appearance for Tony Stewart’s team this weekend. Chase Briscoe is one of them.
The No. 14 Ford that Briscoe drives was previously driven by Stewart, a three-time Cup champion who won two Brickyard titles in his home state. Sunday’s race marks the end of the line for that number.
Tyler Reddick set the fastest lap during Friday’s hour-long practice session as he battles for the regular-season Cup title.
The 23XI Racing driver was clocked at 182.582 mph in his No. 45 Toyota. Ryan Blaney, of Team Penske, was second with 181.928 in the No. 12 Ford, while Denny Hamlin drove the No. 11 Toyota to third with 181.561.
Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman completed the top five during the only scheduled practice this weekend.
Michael McDowell finished 27th with 179.076 after winning last year’s race at Indy’s 14-turn street circuit.
Qualifying for the Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Saturday, with the race scheduled for Sunday.
