Indianapolis Brickyard 400 Preview

Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29, 2012  Photo - Getty Images

Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29, 2012
Photo – Getty Images

Indianapolis has seen its fair share of history. For NASCAR, it all started 20 years ago when the Sprint Cup Series ran at the Brickyard for the very first time. Back then, this race was one of the most anticipated races NASCAR has ever seen. Fans filled the grandstands to witness history and surely they did. This race no longer has that same prestige, but to drivers, a win here means more than anything.

The Brickyard 400 will run on Sunday, July 28, 2013 and the green flag will wave at 1:20 PM ET. The weather looks uncharacteristic for Indy with a high of only 74 F, and with sunny skies the race will run on schedule. 160 laps make up the 400 miles of the race and that distance triggers fuel mileage strategy, as seen in past events. ESPN takes over the Cup Series for the rest of the season starting this weekend, so tune-in to see the action and listen-in on the IMS Racing Network.

When the Sprint Cup Series was last at Indianapolis, Jimmie Johnson scorched the field for his historic fourth win at the Brickyard. It was a Jimmie day and he won in his favorite way or racing, by domination. Five-time will look to become five-time once again on Sunday, but this time, the five will stand for wins at the Brickyard.

An off-week allowed teams to get some much-needed relaxation before their championship run. Two weeks ago at New Hampshire, it was Brian Vickers in victory lane, but he is not competing this weekend. So, some of the other drivers who could be carrying in momentum include Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, and even Aric Almirola. With those drivers looking for a win, it will definitely be a show on Sunday.

Johnson remains in the points lead with a commanding 56-point gap back to Clint Bowyer. Bowyer needs to make up some ground on Johnson this weekend and he also needs a win, so the perfect storm for the No.15 team is a victory. Drivers looking for Wild Card wins this weekend include Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jamie McMurray, since they have all claimed victory at the yard of bricks in the past.

In 2010 and 2011 fans saw that this race can truly be anyone’s game, and then when Johnson won last year, it showed how his dominance shines through his success. So, expect anything between those extremes on Sunday since all 43 hungry drivers are looking for an Indy victory. Fuel mileage plays into the race many times so that could decide who kisses the bricks at the end of the day.

Event Schedule

11:35 AM- 1:00 PM ET (Friday) Sprint Cup Series Practice, televised on SPEED

9:00-11:00 AM ET (Saturday) Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, televised on ESPN2

2:10 PM ET (Saturday) Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, televised on ESPN

1:00 PM ET (Sunday) Sprint Cup Series’ race, the Brickyard 400, televised on ESPN

Next Race- GoBowling.com 400 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA

Entry List (Via Jayski.com)


Car#

Driver

Manu  

Sponsor

Owner

Owner
Points
Rank

Owner
Race
Attempts

1

1

Jamie McMurray

Chevy

Cessna

Felix Sabates

16

19

2

2

Brad Keselowski (PC1)

Ford

Miller Lite

Roger Penske

9

19

3

5

Kasey Kahne

Chevy

Great Clips

Linda Hendrick

10

19

4

7

Dave Blaney

Chevy

TBA

Tommy Baldwin

32

19

5

9

Marcos Ambrose

Ford

DeWalt

Richard Petty

24

19

6

10

Danica Patrick #

Chevy

GoDaddy.com

Gene Haas

29

19

7

11

Denny Hamlin

Toyota

FedEx Express

J D Gibbs

23

19

8

13

Casey Mears

Ford

GEICO

Bob Germain

27

19

9

14

Tony Stewart (PC2)

Chevy

Mobil 1 / Bass Pro

Margaret Haas

14

19

10

15

Clint Bowyer

Toyota

RK Motors Charlotte

Rob Kauffman

2

19

11

16

Greg Biffle

Ford

3M Safety

Jack Roush

8

19

12

17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #

Ford

Ford Ecoboost

John Henry

22

19

13

18

Kyle Busch

Toyota

M&Ms Red-White-Blue

Joe Gibbs

7

19

14

19

Mike Bliss(i)

Toyota

Plinker Tactical / Value Place

Randy Humphrey

44

17

15

20

Matt Kenseth (PC5)

Toyota

Dollar General

Joe Gibbs

6

19

16

21

Trevor Bayne (i)

Ford

Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire &   Auto

Glen Wood

41

7

17

22

Joey Logano

Ford

Shell-Pennzoil

Walter Czarnecki

19

19

18

24

Jeff Gordon (PC6)

Chevy

Pepsi Max

Rick Hendrick

12

19

19

27

Paul Menard

Chevy

Menards / Duracell

Richard Childress

21

19

20

29

Kevin Harvick

Chevy

Jimmy John’s

Richard Childress

4

19

21

30

David Stremme

Toyota

Swan Energy

Brandon Davis

33

19

22

31

Jeff Burton

Chevy

Caterpillar

Richard Childress

18

19

23

32

Timmy Hill

Ford

OXYwater

Frank Stoddard

37

19

24

33

Austin Dillon (i)

Chevy

Mycogen Seeds

Joe Falk

36

19

25

34

David Ragan

Ford

CCX / Play It Safe

Bob Jenkins

30

19

26

35

Josh Wise(i)

Ford

MDS Transport

Jerry Freeze

39

19

27

36

J.J. Yeley

Chevy

TBA

Allan Heinke

34

19

28

38

David Gilliland

Ford

Long John Silver’s

Brad Jenkins

28

19

29

39

Ryan Newman

Chevy

Quicken Loans / The Smurfs

Tony Stewart

20

19

30

40

Landon Cassill (i)

Chevy

LittleJoesAutos.com

Joe Falk

0

0

31

42

Juan Pablo Montoya

Chevy

Target

Chip Ganassi

25

19

32

43

Aric Almirola

Ford

Eckrich

Richard Petty

17

19

33

47

Bobby Labonte (PC7)

Toyota

Scott Products

Tad Geschickter

31

19

34

48

Jimmie Johnson (PC3)

Chevy

Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools

Jeff Gordon

1

19

35

51

A.J. Allmendinger

Chevy

Phoenix Construction

James Finch

26

19

36

55

Mark Martin

Toyota

Aaron’s Dream Machine

Michael Waltrip

13

19

37

56

Martin Truex Jr.

Toyota

NAPA Auto Parts

Michael Waltrip

11

19

38

78

Kurt Busch (PC4)

Chevy

Furniture Row / Beautyrest

Barney Vissar

15

19

39

83

David Reutimann

Toyota

Burger King / Dr. Pepper

Ron Devine

35

19

40

87

Joe Nemechek (i)

Toyota

TBA

Andrea Nemechek

40

19

41

88

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Chevy

National Guard

Rick Hendrick

5

19

42

93

Travis Kvapil

Toyota

Burger King / Dr. Pepper

Ron Devine

38

19

43

95

Scott Speed

Ford

Leavine Family Racing

Bob Leavine

43

10

44

98

Michael McDowell

Ford

K-Love / Curb Records

Mike Curb

42

17

45

99

Carl Edwards

Ford

Fastenal

Jack Roush

3

19

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