NASCAR Cup Series

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the famed 2.5-mile rectangle in the Midwest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 20th time on Sunday for a 400-mile race which will certainly have some foreshadowing into the future this week and here is why.

Military families experienced disbelief and then excitement Saturday afternoon thanks to Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola, Eckrich and Operation Homefront. A group of military families and wounded warriors, invited by Operation Homefront and Eckrich, were gathered at a private home to enjoy the summer afternoon with games, music, friends and family. When time came to start grilling, however, the party goers realized there was a problem. Their hosts had forgotten a key element to the cookout: the Eckrich smoked sausage.

Ryan Newman became the 9th driver in the history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to win 50 poles in his 424th attempt. He won the pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a lap of 187.531 mph with a new track record for the NASCAR series at a time of 47.992 seconds

Ryan Newman, No. 39 Quicken Loans/The Smurfs Chevrolet SS, was the final driver to make a qualifying run during Saturday afternoon’s time trials for the 20th Annual Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard, but he made it count.

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS/THE SMURFS CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER: - THAT WAS QUITE A LAP, AND YOU WENT OUT LAST! "That is the benefit of going out last. You can see, and watch. You have the tracker up there, and you can see where guys are making the most time. I guess I did part of my home work, and the guys definitely did their homework."

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Starting Position: 4th - Did you have the fast time until turn three? "It felt like I had a mile until I got to turn three. I just steered up the race track driving in too hard. I told Darian (Grubb, crew chief) next time tell me I'm that much to the good I'll drive a little bit more conservatively for the last few corners."

In winning the Coors Light Pole Award at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ryan Newman, a native of South Bend, Ind., became the ninth driver with at least 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series poles.

CARL EDWARDS, NO. 99 FASTENAL FORD FUSION – “We have a fast race car and I am pretty proud of that lap. If I did it again I don’t know that I could go any faster. That was a pretty good lap. Hopefully that holds up for a top two or three. If we can start up front I think we have the pit crew and crew chief on the box and a car that can win this race. I want to win this thing badly.

DANICA PATRICK, NO. GODADDY CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the differences between IndyCar and stock car racing at Indianapolis, her expectations for Sunday’s race, her comfort level and rookie expectations, and more

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and discussed his success at Indy, what it would mean to win this weekend and other topics.