Surprising and Not Surprising: Brickyard 400 at Indy

By

-

August 1, 2011

With Big Machine Records as the presenting sponsor, the Indy pre-race festivities were destined to feature artists such as Reba McIntire and Rascal Flatts performing ‘America the Beautiful’ and the national anthem respectively, as well as CEO Scott Borchetta waving the green flag for the race start.

[media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 18^th annual Brickyard 400 presented by BigMachineRecords.com:

Surprising: In spite of leading the race at the halfway point, clicking off a position a lap in the final twelve laps of the race, and being the only car assured of finishing the race with enough fuel, it was surprising that the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon did not win the race.

Gordon did, however, come in a solid second, improving his point standings to being just 52 points behind leader Carl Edwards. This was Gordon’s 14^th top 10 finish in 18 races at Indianapolis Speedway and his ninth top-10 finish in 2011.

“Oh my goodness what a day,” Gordon said. “I am so proud of this Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet team. I mean they were just flawless.”

“It was all we could do to put pressure on those guys and hope they would run out,” Gordon said of his battle with those in danger of running out of fuel. “I passed all of them but one.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the one that Gordon could not get past was a driver with a family history as storied as the Brickyard itself. Dedicating the win to his father John, Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet won his first ever NASCAR race at the track where he had been coming with his family since he was a youngster.

“You know I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and my Daddy has been trying to win this race for 35 years,” Menard said. “So this is for my Dad.”

“I can’t believe we won Indy,” Menard continued. “This is just a really special place for my family and myself.”

Menard made a little history at the Brickyard himself, becoming the first driver to win his first career race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is also the first Indy win in a Menard’s sponsored race car.

This is Menard’s sixth top-10 finish in 2011 and his first top-10 finish in five races at Indy. He also became the fourth different first-time winner for the 2011 NASCAR season.

Surprising: One of the biggest surprises of the day was how many drivers pitted under green for fuel directly after a restart towards the end of the race. One of those drivers who did just that was NASCAR’s favorite son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in his No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet.

Junior’s fuel strategy did not, however, play to his advantage. He finished 16^th and dropped one more position in the point standings to tenth, just barely maintaining Chase contention status.

“You don’t want to be hanging around out there on the race track when everybody else is already inside a fuel window,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “So, yeah I can understand why it turned out like it did.”

Not Surprising: Since the Brickyard is considered one of the ‘big’ races on the NASCAR schedule, it was not surprising that two drivers who have won ‘big’ races in the past had good runs. Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet and winner of the Darlington Showtime Southern 500, scored the third place finish and Jamie McMurray, Daytona 500 and defending winner of the Brickyard 400 last year, took fourth in his No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet.

“It was a great run for the Furniture Row Chevy and my guys worked their butts off all weekend,” Smith said. “This is not a great track for me, so I am happy and if I couldn’t win, the guy in Victory lane is my best friend on the circuit and I can’t wait to congratulate him.”

“We got a little bit lucky today,” McMurray said. “We’ve had a tough year and a lot of things go wrong and a lot of bad luck. So, it’s very nice to have good luck and a good finish.”

Surprising: In spite of an uncertain future for 2012, with his ride for Rick Hendrick ending at the end of the season, Mark Martin in his No. 5 Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet pulled off a surprisingly good top-10 finish.

Martin took the checkered flag at the Brickyard in eighth place, advancing his point standings by two spots up to the 18^th position.

Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the winner of the final Nationwide race at Lucas Oil Raceway continued his great weekend run over at the Brickyard. Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, finished top-10.

“It was kind of an up-and-down day for the Miller Lite Dodge,” Keselowski said of his ninth place run. “At the three-quarter part of the race, I thought we were going to win the Brickyard.”

“It just didn’t quite work out, but we made our car faster throughout the day and I was proud of that.”

Surprising: Even Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, surprised himself by battling not only track position and fuel strategy but also a tussle with Tony Stewart in the pits to attain a top-10 finish.

“I definitely had no idea that the day would be so ugly, but yet come out of it smelling like a rose I guess,” Busch said. “We worked our butts of this whole weekend trying to get something out of nothing.”

Not Surprising: In spite of a crew chief change, Jeff Burton, RCR veteran and NASCAR statesman, continued his downward spiral. Burton finished 35^th in his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet.

“We had a little miscommunication on pit road,” Burton said. “The radios blanked out and I couldn’t hear him (Burton’s new crew chief Luke Lambert). I drove by pit road and it just put us in a hole the rest of the day.”

“We were fast but we just had a lot of crap go on.”

Surprising: With so many media pundits predicting a victory at Indy, it was surprising to see how badly Indy 500 champ Juan Pablo Montoya finished. JPM, piloting his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, finished 28^th.

“It sucks when you run good all day,” Montoya said. “We unloaded really bad but at the end, we were a really competitive car.”

“Right now it’s all about looking at the future.”

Not Surprising: After their one, two finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it was not surprising to see the two drivers of Stewart Haas Racing have another fairly good day. Tony Stewart, piloting the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet overcame adversity on the track and on pit road to finish sixth.

Stewart’s teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, also had a decent day, finishing 12^th. Both drivers maintained their positions solidly in the top ten in the point standings.

“I just fought for everything I could get all day,” Stewart said. “We didn’t have the best car by any means.”

“Whatever you get here, you appreciate it because you had to earn it,” Stewart continued. “You don’t get anything free here.”

Brickyard 400 Win Special Not Only for Paul Menard but Richard Childress

By

SM Staff

-

August 1, 2011

Perhaps it was caught up in the commotion of Paul Menard’s first victory. Or because it was Menard in victory lane and not Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer or Jeff Burton but Richard Childress was the winning car owner Sunday in the Brickyard 400.

[media-credit id=66 align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]The win in Indianapolis was as surprising as Childress announcing last season that his organization was going back to four cars. Childress though, knew that it was all a matter of putting the right people in the right places.

“I’m just so proud of that whole Menard team,” said Childress. “I caught a lot of flack back early last year when we decided to go with four teams. I’ve been watching Paul ever since he won the Nationwide race. He doesn’t tear equipment up, he’s consistent, he’s really good. Got a cool head on him in all situations.”

Childress said he knew that once the right situation presented itself they’d win and that bringing over Slugger Labbe as Menard’s crew chief and having the support of John Menard was also important to the deal and the team’s success.

It took Menard 167 races to find victory lane and a few different organizations before he landed at RCR. Childress was prepared to make him a winner and looked forward to all four of his teams being contenders. Menard started the season off as one of the more consistent drivers on the circuit before backsliding through the points.

Whispers though still started about whether Menard could be working toward his first career win. When practice started Friday Menards wasn’t among those to watch and by his account they were off. But Childress saw the car come to life on Saturday and it gave him the confidence to lean into Menard’s car on Sunday and tell him it was going to be his day.

Pulling into victory lane on Sunday suddenly wasn’t as farfetched as everyone thought. And it certainly didn’t come from Menard lucking his way into the win either. He battled back from a pit road penalty and going through the grass to avoid a spinning Landon Cassill with 41 laps to go.

From there it was about nursing his draining fuel tank and proving the critics wrong and Childress right.

“For a first-year team to come out like this, it’s very gratifying,” the team owner said. “They work hard, Slugger is as hard a working guy as you’ll see around the shop, the racetrack. The first time with the four-car team, I don’t think we were as prepared coming in. I said we’ll be more prepared, we know the mistakes we made, and we’re sure not making them now.”

For Childress it was the fourth time in 2011 that he’s been to victory lane. Prior to Menard’s win he celebrated on three different occasions with Harvick. The organizations other two teams, Bowyer and Burton have struggled lately but Childress believes that things can quickly turn in their favor as quickly has it has against them.

In the end though, some things stay the same. Childress again was standing on the frontstretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, perhaps with a driver he and most others thought he’d never be standing with, preparing to kiss the bricks. It was the third time he would do so as a car owner.

“It’s eight years from 1995 to 2003 and eight more years till today,” said Childress talking about his wins. “It doesn’t seem like we’ve been coming here 18 years. I remember coming in here the first time I think in ’93 to do our test with Dale. The first time the cars ran down that front straightaway and though, ‘Man, would it be cool to win at Indy.’”

It was August of 1995 when Childress and the man who he would rise to the top of the sport with won the second running of the Brickyard 400. It was Earnhardt’s 66th career victory but it was as special as the first one for he and Childress. Except, the two didn’t kiss the bricks that day and Earnhardt never would.

Harvick replaced Earnhardt in 2001 and in 2003 he too won at the Brickyard. It was the fourth career win for Harvick and the second Brickyard win for RCR. Then, 16 years after standing with Earnhardt in the sunset, Childress was walking to victory lane for a third time with a third driver.

“To be here again 18 years later [from tire test] and to win with Paul, Slugger, this whole group, to win for RCR, I couldn’t be happier,” said Childress. “Kind of got to pinch myself. I hope it ain’t eight years more before we win it. I’ll be a old man by then.”

The Final Word – Indianapolis was the best darn broadcast of the year

By

Ron Thornton

-

August 1, 2011

There are times when everything just comes together. Sunday was one of those times, as ESPN began their portion of the season with the best broadcast of the year. They had a track that lent itself to a majestic visual display, cameras located in positions that presented the action in a most appealing and thrilling fashion, and a result that kept you watching to the final lap. In short, the Brickyard 400 was as good as it gets.

[media-credit name=”Brian Douglas” align=”alignright” width=”257″][/media-credit]Talent is good, but daddy’s money is pretty good, too. It gave Paul Menard a leg up in getting his racing career underway, but that did not come with any measure of respect from the fans. After Sunday’s victory, his first in Sprint Cup, on that particular track, the lad has finally arrived. Ham and eggers don’t win at Indianapolis, and now he sits in one of the wildcard positions for the Chase. Right at this moment, life is pretty darn good for Paul Menard.

Good finish to the event, thanks to a late charge by Jeff Gordon who picked his way through the field to wind up second. It was good to see both Regan Smith and Jamie McMurray right behind to provide each with a strong result. Dale Earnhardt Jr is now 10th in the standings, with a 19-point cushion over Denny Hamlin, who with a win looks very strong to wind up claiming that other wildcard spot.

Did anyone hear Rusty Wallace on Sunday? Me neither. 15 minutes away, and a day before, he was part of that horrid Nationwide broadcast from Lucas Oil Raceway. The venue and the announcers, along with camera location, can and do make a difference. As much as I like ole D.W. and the team of Petty and Dallenbach, I liked what I heard from Allen Bestwick, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett. Now I’m trying to think of when the last time was I had anything good to say about the ESPN coverage. I think the answer is…never.

From Indianapolis the boys venture east to Pocono, a track that is a rounded corner triangle that I always believed was configured in a way that should provide more entertaining racing on television than it has. Maybe the good folks at ESPN have finally discovered how to present the action in a fashion that will remind us of what we saw this past weekend. It is a venue that has had nothing but A-list winners for more than a decade. It is a list that includes such names as Gordon, Biffle, Hamlin, Stewart, Edwards, and Johnson.

While Edwards, Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, and the Busch brothers look comfortable to make the Chase, there are others still digging to make sure they are there at the end. There are no shortage of story lines to follow, so there are plenty of reasons for hard core fans to be watching. The secret now is to present something on television that causes even the more pedestrian among us to stop and give it a look. Enjoy the week.

Agreeing With Dale Jr.; The speedway was made for Indycars

By

SM Staff

-

August 1, 2011

Once again, NASCAR went to the hollowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and I find myself agreeing with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. According to Twitter feeds during the race, Earnhardt said over his team radio that the speedway was made for Indycars. Of course, Earnhardt was talking about pit road, but his observation rings true. The great Indianapolis Motor Speedway is not a stock car track.

[media-credit name=”Brian Douglas” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]For most of the day, fans must have fought sleep. While the great Indianapolis 500 is a spectacle not to be missed, the Brickyard 400 is a snoozer. It came down to a fuel mileage race. Wow, we get that at Michigan and Pocono. How nice. And we had a surprise winner again. Of course, the class of the field didn’t win, and the so-called aero push led to runaway leaders, so there wasn’t much excitement. It was nice to see Paul Menard finally win a race, but many fans felt like Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth had the best cars, or did they?

Just like at Darlington (and many other venues this year), fuel mileage was king. If your car was able to stretch fuel and not pit as the laps ran down, you could win. Put Mr. Menard in that category. And to make things worse, we get to go to Pocono next. Why? It is woefully obvious to me that stock cars need to run at tracks with banking. It’s just the way things should be. Sure, Martinsville isn’t banked so much (exactly the same 12 degrees as Indy), but its small size welcomes close racing. Not so at Indy .

The attendance tells the story. NASCAR and IMS seemed to be happy that attendance only dipped 2,000 from last year. The place holds 257.000 people and it was only about 54% full (NASCAR’s estimate of 138.000 was probably generous). You could see the empty seats all around the speedway. So the question is why does NASCAR continue to run this race.

It was a great thrill, and probably still is, for the NASCAR drivers to run at Indy. Many had dreamed of running there and have to be a rush to do so once a year in a stock car. Unfortunately, the show isn’t so great. Much like the two road races run every year, the races just don’t fit in what stock car racing is. In the effort to make NASCAR racing a national sport, we go to tracks that just aren’t suited for stock cars. While places like Darlington, Rockingham, and North Wilkesboro were suited for this brand of racing, they were pushed aside to go into California, Chicago, New Hampshire, and other places that don’t fit the norm. It’s like playing football in Wrigley Field. Something’s wrong with it all.

And yet we continue and will continue for the foreseeable future. As attendance continues to decline in places where stock car racing is only partially appreciated, the end game will eventually come. It’s just a matter of time. But what Dale, Jr. said today is known by most everyone competing. Stock car racing needs banking and a wide pit lane. And someday, everyone will get the message. Maybe.