There’s plenty to race for as the NASCAR Sprint Cup tour makes its 20th stop of the season. Just 100 points separate Ryan Newman (7th) and Greg Biffle (13th) as the race for the chase is on.
What’s more, drivers like Jeff Gordon will tell you there’s considerable bragging rights at stake in winning this race, held at the grandaddy of all race tracks, and home to the Indianapolis 500- the crown jewel of the IRL.
Track Facts
Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first races in August of 1909. The NASCAR Winston Cup Tour made its debut at the famed venue on August 6, 1994. Jeff Gordon- who grew up in Pittsboro, Indiana won the inaugural Brickyard 400.
The 2.5 mile track is a rectangularly edged oval track. It features two long
straightaways of 3,300 feet on both the front and back stretches. The short straightaways “short shutes” measure 660 feet at both ends.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a darn close to flat track with 9 degrees banking in the turns and no banking on the straightaways.
Total capacity is 350,000. IMS can seat over 257,000 in the grand stands.
Top Performers
Jeff Gordon holds the record for career wins at Indy with 4. Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson have each won two- with Johnson winning in 2006 and 2008, Stewart took the checkered in 2005 and 2007. Race commentator Dale Jarrett also has two wins here.
With a pole run of 186.292 miles per hour, Casey Mears holds the qualifying record in a time of 48.311 seconds. He accomplished the feat on August 7, 2004 in a Dodge for Chip Ganassi. Jeff Gordon holds the track for career poles with 3.
On August 5, 2000, Bobby Labonte ran the fastest race for Joe Gibbs in a Pontiac. His speed? 155.912 miles per hour in a time of 2 hours, 33 minutes and 56 seconds.
The fewest caution flags waved in a NASCAR race here on August 5, 1995 when only one yellow flag came out for Dale Earnhardt’s victory. Strange as it may seem, it was NOT last year’s race that holds the record for the most cautions. 13 cautions came out twice- most recently on August 8, 2004 in Jeff Gordon’s fourth and last victory at the Brickyard.
A record 26 lead changes occurred in last year’s race won by Jimmie Johnson. only 9 occurred in the 2000 and 2004 events.
There were still 40 cars running at the finish of the 2008 race. The record for the fewest at the finish happened at IMS in 2004’s race.
Where & When To Catch The Action
The checkered flag is due to fly at 2:19 PM Eastern, 11:19 AM Pacific time on Sunday, July 26, 2009. ESPN takes the reins for providing the coverage. Play-by-play announcer is Dr. Jerry Punch, joined by analysts Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett. Host Allen Bestwick is joined in the studio by Brad Daughrty and Rusty Wallace. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake serve as pit reporters.
Radio broadcast is handled by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway network and can also be heard on Sirius satellite radio.
Who Will Win?
As of this writing, qualifying has not yet occurred. That will occur at 10:10 Eastern time, 7:10 Pacific and will be broadcast on ESPN2. 6 of the 15 race winners at the Brickyard have come from the top three starting spots. Jeff Gordon had the farthest back starting position of a race winner when he won the 2001 race.
Having a gutsy car will be important for the long straights, but having good handling will be key in the flat turns. 1994 pole winner Rick Mast gives an interesting sense of the track on the Rowdy.com preview edition. He says you have to train yourself not to be fearful of gunning into the wall as you head to the turns, as your instincts may be to slow down going into the turns and that will cost precious track position.
When it comes to racy machinery, few would argue the Hendrick cars are the class of the field, as HMS cars have won 7 of 19 races, 9 if you include the Hendrick-supplied Stewart- Haas Racing team.
Among them, Mark Martin was fastest in second practice and he’s riding high off a Chicago win where his Chevy dominated. Dale Earnhardt Jr. may merit something of a dark horse consideration. The “88″ car ran a top 10 in Friday afternoon practice.
Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart top the leaderboard when one looks at the last
five years of racing at Indy. Both run 1-2. Oddly enough, 3-time defending champion and defending Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson has 3 DNFs along with his two wins- a rare place where it’s “all or nothing at all” for Team “48.”
Nearly anywhere you go, you have to be aware of JGR’s Kyle Busch. While he has no Indianapolis wins, he does sport 3 top 10s in 4 starts. Teammate Denny Hamlin is also a solid runner with a pair of top 10 finishes in 3 IMS starts.
There are some interesting names showing up near the top of the practice starts. Thanks to his Indy car days, the surging Juan Pablo Montoya is not only familiar with the track, but he seems to have the car of late to match his skills. 1988 champion Bill Elliott, racing for the Wood Brothers is also running flat out strong in practice. In 2009, it seems as though less is more for the “21″ team as Elliott has been producing strong qualifying efforts and solid race finishes on a part-time schedule.
Some of the Dodge boys have been looking solid. Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Reed Sorenson have all represented Penske and RPM well on the practice charts.
Greg Biffle was tops in morning practice, and that’s interesting as Roush- Fenway has no wins at Indianapolis. Could “The Biff” be the one to change that? Carl Edwards has had some solid finishes and he’s looking to break a 2009 dry spell. Bobby Labonte also registered a good time in practice in a Roush aligned Yates/HOF Ford.
This could be a real duel of a couple of old pros. Though he’s shown nothing brilliant in practice, Jeff Gordon has to be considered a threat because of his track record at Indianapolis and the HMS equipment runs. Tony Stewart is a momentum racer and he’s just been flat-out good all year. The idea that these two will battle it out for bragging rights in the Hoosier state is no reach at all.
From where I sit, I think these two are the ones to watch. At the same time, both Busch brothers could be factors and let’s not forget the recently hot Kasey Kahne and Juan Pablo Montoya- as both have a lot riding on this race.
It’s a safe pick, maybe boring in the minds of some, but I can’t get around Tony Stewart as my pick to win the race. The fiery competitor will ratchet it up an extra notch with its personal significance to the “Rushville Rocket.” “Mighty Mo” is on his side and I don’t think it will be leaving here.
I’ll go with the hometown pick, Tony Stewart, to be your race winner- with a load of fierce competition from Gordon, Johnson, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Martin and maybe even some running near the front by Dale Jr.
PHOTO CREDITS- IMS Entrance by bbikerr1. For more of his works visit flickr.com or click on the hyperlink. Labonte and Ragan by John Harelson/ Getty Images for NASCAR, Tony Stewart by Rusty Jarrett/ Getty Images for NASCAR, Kasey Kahne by Jamie Squire/ Getty Images.
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