EDITING NOTE

This is being posted on July 22nd, however, the race is not until July 29th. Do not panic and think you need to be posting this afternoon! The Nationwide series in Chicagoland today.

Poll

Also, I'm trying out a new rundown format this week. Tell me what you think!

Points, Intro, and Congratulatory Remarks

It is time to begin our long stretch of 17 consecutive races to the end of the season! Two weeks ago, Brent won Loudon and by default, earned the Segment 3 points lead. At the same time, he knocked a big dent in the lead held by our points leader, Carl Martin. So lets take a look at how our overall points are looking as we head into Indianapolis....

1) carlm54stl 2033 Leader
2) JuniorCar 1989 -44
3) Leprechaun93 1946 -87
4) Cowboy6622 1944 -89
5) SupplySgt 1931 -102
6) bblackstone 1905 -128
7) zjerry 1886 -147
8) 02 Earnhardt 1877 -156
9) 03JGMonte 1856 -177
10) lougreen03 1850 -186
11) montecarlo3831 1840 -196
12) butch049 1815 -218
13) 77GP 1747 -286
14) silverfish33 1711 -322
15) STUMPMI 1655 -378
16) adgm2005 1435
17) RocknSS04 1142
18) SuperSportSteve 928
19) 01 Monte SS 908
20) Ricks 2006 SS 520
21) 06 Mistre SS 428
22) Teacher 306
23) yutzybrian 211
24) nichols2k 175
25) MnteCarloSS47 124
26) monte06ltz 92
27) Racebound2 83
28) Possum 77
29) 04chevyboy 76
30) Emily666 61
31) SS Means Super Sexy 60
32) mousehousemoparman 54



Segment 3



1) JuniorCar 126 Leader
2) MnteCrloSS47 124 -2
3) SupplySgt 122 -4
4) zjerry 117 -9
5) Ricks 2006 SS 117 -9
6) 02 Earnhardt 115 -11
7) Leprechaun93 115 -11
8) butch049 114 -12
9) nichols2k 113 -13
10) STUMPMI 110 -16
11) Cowboy6622 110 -16
12) adgm2005 109 -17
13) 03JGMonte 109 -17
14) 77GP 107 -19
15) montecarlo3831 107 -19
16) carlm54stl 101 -25
17) lougreen03 95 -31
18) bblackstone 95 -31
19) silverfish33 91 -35



Defending Winner zjerry

The "Indianapolis of the West"

Years ago, a track of similar shape and configuration existed in Ontario, California. The stock cars used to end their season there. Richard Petty infamously won his last title in 1979 at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Southern Cali over Darrell Waltrip. It was the same shape, only smaller at 2.0 miles, whereas Indy is 2.5. It held great racing, but just like Riverside road course, real estate, progress and emininet domain did the track in....



Much like Indy, this race even held three wide starts for a time period....



But it wasn't Indy, it never held the same luster, and for years, NASCAR never ran a rectangle shaped track after Ontario was dropped in 1980.


Indianapolis History

We all know how historic this place is with the now Indy Car series. NASCAR did tire tests and "informal" tests here for years, and the track actually made improvements ot the infield and added pit exit roads for the stock cars to use. This was a much anticipated event and at one point in time, ti actually held a bigger purse than the Daytona 500. Tony Stewart said this race was a bigger one to him than Daytona!

It is the same length as Daytona, 2.5 miles, but has flat corners and a notably rectangular shape.



And this place is as old as cars themselves...



However, some people as of lat ehave been complaining about boring racing at Indy, especially with this new COT.

I know I hate this place in the video games. I can dominate Pocono, I can handle Loudon and Martnisville... but I just can't hold my own at Indy. Haven't been able to do it in any video game for 10-15 years now.




THIS WEEKEND AT INDY

The Favorites

Far and above, the clear favorites this week have to be the cars with the bow ties on the front. Chevrolet is going for 10 consecutive wins at the Brickyard. Their combination of horsepower and flat track cornering serves them well here. And certainly, the most favorite Chevrolets to win have to be the Hendrick cars.

Jeff Gordon is one of the best here, statistically. And he needs a good run to even begin thinking about being in the chase this year.

Kasey Kahne ran well here early in his career for Evernham, but the last couple of years in Fords and Toyotas haven't been kind to him. I have to think that Kasey Kahne will be running very well when we return to here for the

Two Hendrick drivers are notably absent here. I will get to them later.... and both may surprise you as to why....

Tony Stewart is another Hendrick related car and I've got to say, he is good at Indy, and he is a hot hand right now. However, his bad run last week at Loudon on a flat track might not be the best sign for him. HE even finished way better than he ran last week. Pony wasn't as strong as I thought he should be at Pocono, but he was really good at Michigan....

Kevin Harvick is also a good driver at Indy and notably blew the quarterfender off his car doing a burnout the year he won here. He is pretty decent here, and what has held the team back all year is the 1.5 program. Well this isn't a 1.5 mile race.... it's a 2.5 mile flat track!

And although I crack this track up to be a good one for the Chevrolets, there is one Ford team to watch out for. Greg Biffle. Greg Biffle has four consecutive Top 10 runs at Indy, and as you remmeber, some of those last 4 years weren't good at all to the 16 team! This year, Biffle is good.. .but in the last few weeks, Biffle has seemed to just "cool down" a little bit.

The "Ones to Watch"

I notbaly left out Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr in the "Favorites" category. Here is why...

Jimmie Johnson has won at Indianapolis three times. However, his other finishes include wrecks, engine issues, and finishes in the high teens/twenties in the finishing order. Basically, he is either going to win this race or crash trying. Including those three wins, Jimmie has FOUR finish inside the top 10. Which one will it be? You decide...

Dale Earnhardt Jr is a hot hand this year, rising up in the points and just keeps clicking off those top 10s. He is going to need that momentum at Indianapolis. He has TWO top 10 finishes at Indy, coming in 2001 and 2006.

Matt Kenseth etiher runs top 5 or runs like crap here, yet never seems to be a contender to win here either. He is the points leader and running well this year, but last week we saw the Ford teams just don't seem to have a good flat track program going right now.



The Underdogs

Everyone loves a good underdog to cheer for, right?

Carl Edwards runs well at Indianapolis every other year. As in a finish in the teens one year, top 5-top 10 the next. This week, he has a new crew chief. He has only won one race without Bob Osbourne on the box. This week, we'll see how he does with this new guy. And last year his finish was 14th, so this should be "The other year" where he runs well at Indy!

Brad Keselowski has been getting hotter and hotter as the weeks go on. This is the tiem last year when he struck a cord and took off, winning races and making the chase! His finishes improved at Indy in the two years he ran, going from 19th in 2010 to 9th in 2011. So what will he do this year? He was good at Pocono when we ran there, and had one of the better cars that wasn't a Hendrick car last week at Loudon.

Ryan Newmans finishes here consistently hover just outside the top 10. If he posts some really good practice numbers, he might be someone to consider since he is pretty good on flat tracks.


The ones to avoid

Paul Menard might be one to watch, but if you will remember, he won this race last year on fuel mileage, he didn't have hte best car. 3 more laps and Jeff Gordon would have won this race!!

Everytime we come to Indy, Juan Pablo Montoya is talked about. this is his best chance at an oval race win. However, since his good run there in 2007 where he ran 2nd (a year he won at Sonoma as well), he has just posted crappy finishes. He had the best car that should ahve won a copule of years, yet he just doesn't post the finishes. With the way he is running this year, which is crappier than most year,s believe it or not, you just have to think he is either A) going to run like crap or B) going to run good and crash and ruin it.

While I did mention the Roush cars as ones to watch, I also have to throw in this little word of caution. Fords are cars to avoid at teh same time. They may run well, but they just don't win. Yeah, a Ford hasn't won Indy since 1999, and a Roush Ford has never won here... it was either a Yates Ford with Dale Jarrett, or Ricky Rudd in his self owned Ford that won here. Plus, the Petty Ford's run even crappier... even when they had Kahne. Ambrose and Almirola both run like junk here and will probably finish in the 20s.

I have also not mentioned Toyotas. They did well at Pocono, but in general, on these tracks that require long straightaways, a lot of power, and a lot of durability to survive the day, the Toyotas just don't have the program this year. Plus, Hamlin, Logano, and even Kyle Busch all have crappy stats here. These guys have some commnication lapse going on, plus Kyle Busch just isn't focused. I don't think anyone on this forum really needs a good excuse to stay away from Toyotas, but this is one right here.

Hamlin is such a good flat tracker, and one should think his finishes at Indy would reflect that, but they don't.


My Picks

1) Tony Stewart
2) Kasey Kahne
3) Jeff Gordon


All Chevrolets!!!

 

Jeff Gordon
Jimmie Johnson
Tony Stewart

 

Harvick.
Johnson.
Stewart.

I would love to see Harvick blow another Quarter panel of a car. Nice rundown as always Duane.

 

1) Jeff Gordon
2) Brad Keselowski
3) Juan Pablo Montoya

 

Since this weeks race is presented by Crown Royal, will Brent swap his Budweiser for a tall shot of Crown Royal???? LoL! Maybe his wife could out drink him if he used one of those!



And for all you Harvick fans, this should bring back some happy memories...

You Tube

 

Here's my picks

1) Tony Stewart
2) Jeff Gordon
3) Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr
Jimmie Johnson
Martin Truex Jr.

 

14-24-48

 

88(Dale jr.) 24(Jeff Gordon) 14(Tony Stewart)

(Nice rundown Duane)

 

1. #48 Jimmie Johnson 2. #5 Kasey Kahne 3. #29 Kevin Harvick <center>