July 25, 2010
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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Today marks a return trip to a track that many consider the true breeding ground of motorsports: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also known as “The Brickyard.”
While NASCAR has only been racing at the Brickyard for 16 years, races have been held on the track, once paved with bricks (hence the nickname) almost since there were two cars to race each other.
IMS celebrates its 100th birthday this year, having first opened to races in 1909 with a crushed rock and tar surface, which proved disastrous to the first cars to race there in August of 1909. In that first car race, sanctioned by the American Automobile Association (yes, the AAA), five drivers were killed because the cars had such a hard time safely navigating the “pavement” at race speeds. After the race was over, it was decided to re-pave the track with 3.2 million brick pavers, giving the track the nickname “The Brickyard.”
The bricks remained until the mid 1930’s, when they were paved over to provide an even safer surface for race cars. Now, there is only a three foot wide section of brick remaining at the start-finish line.
During the War years of the 1940’s the track was shut down, and was on the verge of being sold and torn down to be replaced with a housing project, when Tony Hulman was convinced to buy the run down facility in 1944. After upgrades and changes, racing returned to Indianapolis, and has never left.
Unlike most NASCAR tracks, which have relatively high banked corners and straightaway’s, Indy’s four distinct straightaway’s – two long straights and two “short chutes” –- and four turns are banked at just 9 degrees. The end result seems to be that only the elite drivers and teams have won this event. The list of winners is a Who’s Who of NASCAR champions, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott and Bobby Labonte.
This year, a NASCAR team owner has the chance to do something no other team owner in history has been able to accomplish: win what would be considered the “Triple Crown” of American oval races. Chip Ganassi has already won the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 -– an accomplishment never achieved by a team owner in the same year.
If one of the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates drivers wins today, he will also have the Brickyard 400. Jamie McMurray won the Daytona 500 for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Dario Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the IZOD Indy Car Series. Now, the question is can either McMurray or teammate (and former Indy 500 champion himself) Juan Pablo Montoya deliver that third win for Ganassi?
Montoya, who is sitting on the pole for Sunday's race, certainly knows how to get around the track. He has raced in the United States Grand Prix, Brickyard 400, and Indy 500, winning the 500 in 2000.
Montoya was within reach of winning the Brickyard 400 last year, having led 116 of the 160 laps -- 92 more than any other driver; but then the No. 42 car was penalized for speeding and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty with just 35 laps remaining, resulting in an 11th place finish. If Montoya wins today, he will be the first driver to win both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400. The new father, who welcomed daughter Manuela on Monday, would love to break fellow new father Jimmie Johnson’s streak at two Brickyard 400’s in a row with a win today.
Ganassi, who was the car owner when Montoya won the 500 a decade ago, says he thinks it is the driver as much as the car that leads to regular success on certain kinds of tracks, and that is why he is optimistic about his chances of winning that “Triple Crown” today. “Our drivers get up for big events. They seem to like those places. Jamie and Juan in NASCAR both like Daytona, Dario and Scott (Dixon) both like Indianapolis (in the IZOD Indy Car Series), Scott Pruett likes Daytona (in the Rolex Grand Am Series). So our guys like the places and they seem to be good at the places where the big races are. So many times you have drivers who are good at a particular type of track. Fortunately, our guys are good at the tracks that have the big races.
“Everybody's got something they like. And for some reason, Juan gets around Indianapolis well. You look at Clint Bowyer; he gets around Kansas well. Guys, they just seem to like certain places. Denny Hamlin, he gets around Pocono for some reason every year. He's right in it at Pocono. There are just little things.
"Drivers are always looking for particular feel in a car, and they get that feel at certain tracks and they take off. So what does that for Juan at Indianapolis? I don't know. But he and Jamie like that place, so I'm excited.”
Montoya agrees. “It’s always exciting being here at Indy. Most of the time since I’ve been here I run well. In the Cup series I run well, when I was in Formula One I ran well. In the Indy’s (IRL) I did pretty good when I came here, so it’s always been cool.”
Johnson doesn’t intend to make it easy for Montoya. “This track means a lot to motorsports in general, it doesn’t matter what form of racing you came from. To win here is very special to me, and I hope to win here again.”
Another thing that plays in the Ganassi gang’s favor: Chevrolet has won all races since 2001 with the exception of 2002, when Bill Elliot won in a Dodge. Going against Ganassi: the last five races have been won by only two drivers -- Jimmie Johnson (’06, ’08, ’09) and Tony Stewart (’05, ’07) -- and both of those drivers have every intention of winning again today.
For Johnson, it would be his third Brickyard victory in a row.
For Stewart, a third win at what he considers his home track could come in two ways: as a driver/owner if he wins or just as an owner should teammate Ryan Newman win.
For Smoke, he likes his odds. “I'm just so passionate about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Whether it's a driver, owner, the good thing is I’ve got two opportunities to have a shot at winning at Indy. But to me, I mean, I obviously first and foremost want to win as a driver. But if we can't do that and if I can go to Victory Lane as a car owner there, that would be just as special to me to be standing there with Ryan. So it's cool to have that opportunity.”
On a side note, it seems the NASCAR baby boom just continues to expand. As Juan Pablo and his wife, Connie, welcomed their daughter Manuela into the world during the off week, another NASCAR couple announced they were joining in the NASCAR daycare efforts.
Ryan Newman told fans at a Chevy appearance this week that he and wife Krissie are expecting their first child by the end of the year. That brings the number of 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup babies to seven (Sadler, Edwards, Johnson, Montoya, Gordon, McMurray, Newman), and the total baby count in the top three NASCAR series to nine (McClure, Gaughan); the media are looking to get in on the act (Wendy Venturini) to make it an even ten.
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