Qualifying/Race data:

Television/Radio

Weekend Event Schedule

Friday, July 27 - Chevy Day at the Brickyard

8 a.m.-6 p.m.    Public Gates Open
9 a.m.-noon      RC Driver Challenge (Flag Lot) - Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, 
                 Ward Burton, Kyle Busch, J.J. Yeley, Kenny Wallace, Richard Childress, 
                 Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Regan Smith
9-11:40 a.m.     Chevy Driver Q&A Sessions (Chevy Stage, East Lot IMS Museum) - 
                 Ward Burton, Jimmie Johnson, J.J. Yeley, Kyle Busch, Kenny Wallace, 
                 Richard Childress, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Regan Smith, Tony Stewart
9-10 a.m.        Autograph Session (Plaza Pavilion) - Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, J.J. Yeley
10-11 a.m.       Autograph Session (Plaza Pavilion) - Clint Bowyer, 
                 Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears
11 a.m.-noon     Autograph Session (Plaza Pavilion) - Kevin Harvick, 
                 Richard Childress, Regan Smith
Noon             Autograph Session (Gasoline Alley Garage 36) - Ken Schrader, 
                 Dave Blaney, Kurt Busch, Scott Wimmer
Noon             Tracy Lawrence Concert (Coca-Cola Stage, Pagoda Plaza)
1:30-2:30 p.m.   NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Practice
2:30-3:30 p.m.   DJ Orion Performance (Coca-Cola Stage, Pagoda Plaza)
3:30-4:30 p.m.   NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Practice

Saturday, July 28

7 a.m.-6 p.m.    Public Gates Open
8:30-11 a.m.     NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Practice
2:30 p.m.        Gretchen Wilson Concert (Miller Lite Stage, behind Hall of Fame Museum)
4:05 p.m.        NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Qualifying (two laps, all positions)

Sunday, July 29

7 a.m.-6 p.m.    Public Gates Open
10:30-11:30 a.m. Jeff Taylor Concert (choosechevy.com Stage, behind Hall of Fame Museum)
Noon             Jo Dee Messina Concert (choosechevy.com Stage, behind Hall of Fame Museum)
1:30 p.m.        NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Driver Introductions
2 p.m.           14th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (160 laps/400 miles).
                 Grand marshal James Denton waving green flag.

Note: All times are local time and are subject to change
 

Notes: This is the first time Goodyear has brought this combination of left-and right-side tires to the track -- Indianapolis is the only track at which teams will run this combination this season -- this tire setup was tested at Indianapolis by Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte and Ricky Rudd in April -- as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one-mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Indianapolis -- air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

Stewart Wins Allstate 400

Stewart Heads For Home * CIA Stock Photo

36 year-old Tony Stewart made it look easy on Sunday, at times fiddling with his water bottle while holding the steering wheel with his knees and another time calling out to Kevin Harvick, who he was trailing at the time, "here kitty, kitty, kitty". On a final restart with 20 laps to go Harvick was the leader with Stewart in second. The two drivers are close friends off the track but on this day Harvick and Stewart battled for position, trading sheet metal several times. With 10 laps remaining Stewart fought his way past Harvick and pulled away for the win.

The victory in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the 31st of Stewart's 304 race career. It was the second win for Stewart at Indianapolis, he also won the Brickyard 400 in 2005. It also was the second consecutive victory in the series, he won the last race at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago. Stewart led the most laps, 65 of 160 and after he calmed himself with a reverse lap and a cool drink, he and his entire crew climbed the frontstretch fence.

It was a great day also for rookie Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya started in the second spot and finished second, driving with lessons learned from his open wheel victory in 2000. Jeff Gordon battled to the third position and Kyle Busch finished fourth. Pole sitter Reed Sorenson managed a fifth place run followed by Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Dave Blaney and Matt Kenseth. The Nextel Cup Series moves to Pocono Raceway next Sunday for the Pennsylvania 500. The race is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
To read the full article...     (Insider Racing News)
For full final race results...     (Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Nextel Cup drivers points...     (Insider Racing News)

Sorenson Youngest To Earn Pole
Sorenson earned the pole - the first of his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series career - at age 21 years, 173 days, eclipsing Rex Mays' 72-year-old record as the youngest pole winner at IMS. Mays won the 1935 Indianapolis 500 pole at age 22. Sorenson's fast lap was 184.207 mph in the No. 41 Target Dodge, while Montoya, a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rookie with ample IMS experience, secured the second starting position with a lap of 183.494 in the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge. It marks the second consecutive year that teammates captured the front row at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, as Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer started 1-2, respectively, in 2006.

"It's obviously an awesome place to get our first pole," said Sorenson, of Peachtree City, Ga. "I'm pretty excited. I know it means a lot for Chip and everybody involved. Hopefully we can stay up there all day tomorrow. I think we've got a pretty good race car. It was really good in race trim and then we put it in qualifying trim, and it was really good as well. It should be pretty good."

Reed Sorenson * CIA Stock Photo

All-Ganassi Racing Front Row At Indy
21 year-old Reed Sorenson and teammate rookie Juan Pablo Montoya, both driving Dodge Chargers, will share the front row for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Sorenson turned a lap of 48.858 seconds around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a speed of 184.207 mph. This is the first NASCAR Nextel Cup pole for Sorenson and the best starting spot for Montoya since he announced a year ago that he was coming to race in the series. Sorenson was the second driver to qualify and waited through nearly the entire field before learnig that he was the pole winner. A strong run for Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. put them in the third and fourth starting position respectively.

Kasey Kahne starts fifth and Kurt Busch sixth followed by Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Casey Mears and Denny Hamlin to round out the top-ten. Six drivers failed to qualify, Joe Nemechek, A.J. Allmendinger, Kevin Lepage, Dale Jarrett, Jeremy Mayfield and Kenny Wallace Nemechek and Jarrett had both been in all previous 13 Cup races at the Brickyard, as had Sterling Marlin, who was not entered. The top ten cars consisted of five Dodges, four Chevrolets and one Ford. Terry Labonte, driving in place of Michael Waltrip, failed to qualify on time, took a past Champions provisional and will start last when the green flag drops at approximately 2:15 p.m. Eastern time.
For Full Starting Lineup...     (Insider Racing News)

Rain Forces Second Schedule Revision
Once again rain in the Indianapolis area forced NASCAR to issue a revision of the Saturday NASCAR Nextl Cup schedule. There will be one practice session from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. eastern time. Qualifying for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will be at 5:30 p.m. eastern time. Also NASCAR has changed the status of pre-race conditions. Qualifying procedure was changed from an impound race to a non-impound race. The cars have just taken to the track for the first time this weekend.

Rain Cancels First Brickyard Practice ~ Schedule Altered
Persistent afternoon showers washed out the first day of Allstate 400 at the Brickyard activity July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, forcing IMS and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series officials to adjust the schedule for Saturday's qualifying day. NEXTEL Cup Series drivers will practice from 8:30-11 a.m. (ET) Saturday, and qualifications for the 14th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will start at 4:05 p.m. The Gretchen Wilson Miller Lite Rock N Racing concert is tentatively scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. on the Miller Lite Stage in the IMS infield behind the Hall of Fame Museum. Tickets from Friday will be honored on Saturday.

The lack of practice Friday afternoon will leave teams scrambling to find the right qualifying and race setup. Unlike previous years, NASCAR did not conduct an open test at the 2.5-mile IMS oval this year. "It's the same for everybody, and I think the biggest thing is the way we ran at Chicago, the package is pretty good," 2005 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Tony Stewart said, who won July 15 at Chicagoland. "It's not the same setup, obviously, but the approach is the same, so I feel confident that the shorter amount of practice time that we have, the better opportunity that we have to be of being competitive out of the gate." Despite the lack of on-track activity, fans were treated to a morning full of Chevy Day at the Brickyard activities, including Chevrolet driver autograph sessions, question-and-answer sessions and a concert by country music artist Tracy Lawrence.

Last Year's Race
Jimmie Johnson handed Hendrick Motorsports its record fifth win in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series competition at the famous 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. He led 33 laps of the 160-lap race in a No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth equaled his 2003 best-career finish of second at this event, 2003 race winner Kevin Harvick was third, and Harvick's Richard Childress Racing rookie teammate, Clint Bowyer, finished fourth. Mark Martin was fifth.

The race, which saw eight cautions for 24 laps, had an average speed of 137.182 mph. Johnson earned $452,861. Johnson's win marked only the second time in race history that the same driver has won NASCAR's Daytona 500 and Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in the same year. Dale Jarrett accomplished the feat in 1996.

Odds Are Brickyard Winner Will Take Championship
How fitting, that one of NASCAR’s premier events has developed into a preview of sorts, for the season-ending championship celebration at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard has been held 13 times; six times, the race winner went on to win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship.

And there’s more to indicate that if you don’t win at Indy, you want to at least be close – if you’re serious about winning the series crown. Only once has the eventual series champion finished outside the top 10 at Indy. That was Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet), who finished a still-respectable 12th in 2002 when he won the title for the first time. In 2005, he became the fifth Indy winner to win the series title.

Keys to Brickyard Victory
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – both historic and unique, with a 2.5-mile relatively flat oval. It’s a tough puzzle to solve for any machine, perhaps more so for stock cars. Here are some pieces of that puzzle to consider:

Brickyard 400 Notes

800 Starts For petty
This weekend, Kyle Petty and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team head to the historic 2.5-mile Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway (IMS) for Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The annual event at IMS has quickly risen to the ranks of one of the most prestigious events on the NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule. Petty will join the 800 start club when he takes the green flag for the Allstate 400. Only six drivers have reached this milestone number of starts. Petty’s father, “The King” Richard Petty, sits atop the list with 1,185 starts.

This weekend also marks Petty’s return to the #45 Dodge after his brief stint in the TNT Sports booth. Chad McCumbee and John Andretti filled in for Petty in his absence. Petty is one of 12 drivers entered in the 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard that participated in the very first event in 1994. Petty finished 26th in this event in 2006.

Brickyard Notebook Items

Free Race Day Concert - Jo Dee Messina
CURB Records country music recording artist Jo Dee Messina will play a free concert for Allstate 400 at the Brickyard ticket holders on Race Day, Sunday, July 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Race Day show, which starts at noon on the infield adjacent to Turn 10 of the IMS road course, will include selections from her four studio albums, drawing from popular standards such as No. 1 hit singles "Bring on the Rain" and "That's the Way."

The concert will take place directly north of the IMS Hall of Fame Museum, near Turn 10 of the Speedway's road course. Concert goers must have a Race Day admission ticket for the 14th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Messina has been a popular figure on the country music scene since gaining acclaim for her self-titled debut album in 1996. Her 1998 breakthrough album, "I'm Alright," put Messina in the record books by becoming the first female country artist to score three multiple-week number-one hits from the same album, thanks to the hit singles "Bye Bye," "I'm Alright" and "Stand Beside Me."

The success of "I'm Alright" provided incredible momentum for the follow-up album, "Burn," released in August 2000, which went multi-platinum and was Messina's first album to reach No. 1 on the country music charts. Messina also released an album of her favorite Christmas songs, "A Joyful Noise," in 2002. Her most recent studio album on the CURB Records label, "Delicious Surprise," was released in 2005.

James Denton Will Be grand Marshal
"Desperate Housewives" actor James Denton has been named the grand marshal for the Allstate® 400 at the Brickyard ® on July 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This year represents the 14th running of the historic race, which will be the season's first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event televised on ESPN, and marks Allstate's third consecutive season as title sponsor of the race.

Denton will be on hand to participate in pre-race activities, including the ceremonial waving of the green flag, signaling the start of the race. As a continued Indianapolis Motor Speedway family tradition, IMS Chairman of the Board Mari Hulman George will deliver the legendary command, "Gentlemen, start your engines." This year's race winner will be vying to become the third consecutive winner to go on and win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship, a feat accomplished by Tony Stewart in 2005 and Jimmie Johnson in 2006.

Denton is best known from his role as Mike Delfino on ABC's television hit show "Desperate Housewives," where he, along with the entire cast, was honored with the 2006 and 2005 SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy. He previously starred on the television series "The Pretender," "Philly" and "Threat Matrix." His feature film credits include "Primary Colors" and "Face/Off." Denton recently wrapped production on the feature film "Tortured" with Laurence Fishburne and the made-for-television movie "Custody" for Lifetime.

"This is an incredible honor to be named the grand marshal for this year's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard," Denton said. "I'm a huge sports fan, so to be able to wave the green flag at one of NASCAR's premier races is going to be an amazing experience."

Save A Life, Give Blood
For the third year in a row, fans can help save a life by participating in the Blood and Bone Marrow Drive at the Brickyard on Saturday, July 28 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Drive will take place from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Museum East parking lot.

Sponsored by the NASCAR Foundation, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and the Hendrick Marrow Program, the Drive takes place during the NEXTEL Cup Series Allstate 400 at the Brickyard event weekend. Fans can donate blood for the American Red Cross or sign up for the National Marrow Donor Program's donor list. Everyone who donates blood or joins the marrow donor list will receive a free T-shirt, die-cast car or hat.

Since the Blood and Bone Marrow Drive at the Brickyard is taking place on Speedway grounds, there is a $15 admission fee into the track for the day's activities. Participation in the Drive is free. Track activities for Saturday include qualifying and two practice sessions. Donor recipients and their families will be on hand to share their stories and to speak with participants. Blood Drop, the official mascot of the American Red Cross, also will attend.

Corvette Z06 To Pace Field
A Chevrolet Corvette Z06 will pace the field for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 29, marking the 14th consecutive year that a Chevrolet will perform pace car duties for this historic and highly-anticipated NASCAR event. To celebrate Chevrolet's pace car tradition, each of the past 13 Chevy pace vehicles will be featured at the Chevy Racing display at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"The fact that a Chevrolet has paced every NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the inception of this event says a lot for our vehicles," said Ed Peper, general manager of Chevrolet. "Pace cars must be safe, reliable and capable of leading a field of race cars. We're proud to have our Corvette Z06 pacing this race and look forward to sharing that heritage with a special Chevy pace car display."

Discuss this and other racing matters in the Prodigys@Speed Forum