SPRINT Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Final
for this game
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Preview
Jul 27, 2008 - 10:17 AMJuly 27, 2008
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis, Indiana
Race 20 of 36 on Sprint Cup circuit
TV: ESPN, 1 p.m. EDT
Laps: 160
Track length: 2.5 miles
Race length: 400 miles
Qualifying record: Casey Mears, 186.293 mph, Dodge, 2004
Race record: Bobby Labonte, 155.912 mph, Pontiac, 2000
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Jeff Burton
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $3,031,590
One of the circuit's most consistent drivers, finished 19th at
Chicago and remained third in the standings, 291 points behind
Kyle Busch; ran in the top-15 through the first 17 races but
finished 37th at Daytona prior to Chicago; won at Bristol for
first win of the season; finished 13th in the Daytona 500 and
eighth at California; was fifth in Las Vegas and 10th at
Atlanta; has 10 top 10s through first 19 races; finished eighth
in last season's standings, one year after placing seventh;
finished in the top 10 in half of the races last season,
including nine top fives; lone win of the 2007 season came in
April at Texas; finished the season strong with five top-10s
over the final six races; ran eighth in this race last season.
Kyle Busch
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 18 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $4,476,763
Is in the midst of a stellar first season with Joe Gibbs Racing,
winning seven races and posting 12 top fives through 19 races;
lead increased to 262 points atop the standings after winning at
Chicago; picked up his first road course win at Sonoma; ran dead
last at Pocono and then finished 13th at Michigan; finished 17th
at Bristol after power steering failed and transmission issues
relegated him to 38th at Martinsville; won at Atlanta,
Talladega, Darlington, Dover and the second Daytona race;
runner-up finish at Richmond was marred by a late-race incident
with Dale Earnhardt Jr.; had the dominant car and led the most
laps at the Daytona 500; was strong at Las Vegas early, but
struggled late and wound up 11th; is looking to build off a
sensational run at Hendrick Motorsports in his move to JGR and
Toyota; finished fifth in the final 2007 standings after
qualifying for the Chase for the second consecutive season; had
20 top-10 finishes in 36 races last season, including 11 top
fives; lone win came during the first Bristol race - the
inaugural Car of Tomorrow event; ran fourth in this race last
season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $2,878,220
The circuit's most popular driver finished 16th at Chicago and
remained second in the standings, 262 points behind Kyle Busch;
snapped a 76-race winless stretch by winning at Michigan on
fumes; nearly snapped skid but was involved in a late-race
incident with Busch at Richmond and wound up 15th; has 12
top-10s through 19 races; ran fifth at Bristol after a third at
Atlanta and second at Las Vegas; was the top finishing Hendrick
car at the Daytona 500 with a ninth-place showing; was involved
in an early race crash at California and finished 40th; made the
move from his father's Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he won 17 Cup
events, to Hendrick Motorsports; got off to a good start with
his new team by winning the Bud Shootout; suffered through a
tough final season at DEI, finishing 16th in the standings; had
12 top 10s last season, but also posted 11 finishes of 25th or
worse; finished 34th in this race last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 99 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $4,143,125
Finished second to Kyle Busch at Daytona - his third runner-up
finish to the series leader this season; sits in fourth in the
standings, 372 points behind Busch after running 32nd at
Chicago; won at Texas for his third win of the season; was
docked 100 points and fell from the top spot in the standings
after being penalized after his win at Las Vegas; victory at
Texas was his 10th career Cup win; had the dominant car again at
Atlanta, but blew an engine and finished 42nd; ran 19th in the
Daytona 500; qualified for the Chase last year and won at Dover
after placing 12th at New Hampshire, but failed post-race
inspection and was docked 25 points and fined; penalty dropped
him from third to sixth in the standings and he never recovered;
won the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series championship; finished with 11
top-fives and 15 top-10s last year; also won at Michigan and
Bristol; was also second to Busch at Darlington and Dover;
finished 18th here last year.
Jeff Gordon
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $3,174,038
Finished 11th at Chicago after a late crash and remains sixth in
the standings; finished 18th at Michigan; ran second at
Martinsville; rebounded to finish fifth at Atlanta after being
involved in a scary late-race crash at Las Vegas where he
finished 35th; bounced back with a third at California after
opening his 2008 season with a disappointing 39th in the Daytona
500; already has three DNFs this season after posting just one
last year; only a dominant finish by teammate Jimmie Johnson
kept him from capturing a fifth championship last season;
finished with 10 top-10 finishes in the final 11 races - the
other finish in that span was an 11th at Dover; totaled a
remarkable 30 top-10 finishes and 21 top fives in 36 races last
year; spun with less than two laps remaining at Watkins Glen
while leading, costing him another potential win - still managed
to finish ninth; had six checkered flags last season and 81
career, just two shy of tying Cale Yarborough for fifth place
all-time; had 10 poles last season - double that of Ryan Newman
who had five; finished third at this race last season.
Jimmie Johnson
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $3,603,629
Ran second at Chicago and remains fifth in the standings;
two-time defending series champion blew a motor at Lowe's and
finished in 39th place; bounced back with three top-10s,
including a sixth at Michigan; picked up his first win of the
season at Phoenix, then ran 13th at Talladega and 30th at
Richmond; finished second at Texas following a fourth at
Martinsville; had a disappointing three-race stretch at Las
Vegas, Atlanta and Bristol when his average finish was 20th; ran
second at California after starting this campaign with a
27th at the Daytona 500; battled teammate Gordon for the top
spot in the Chase early last season, then took off - winning
four straight races over the second half of the Chase; suffered
through an up-and-down season before the Chase, finishing 39th
at the Brickyard after a fiery crash on the heels of a 37th at
Chicago; finished the season with 10 wins, 20 top-fives, 24 top
10s, yet failed to finish four races.
Kasey Kahne
Team: Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Car: No. 9 Dodge
2008 Earnings: $4,134,862
Bounced back from disappointing 33rd at Sonoma and 30th at
Loudon by running seventh at Daytona and 15th at Chicago;
finished second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Michigan; won at Pocono
from the pole; had a stellar two weeks at Lowe's, winning the
Sprint All-Star Challenge then snapping a 52-race winless skid
by taking the checkered flag in the Coca-Cola 600; has eight top
10s this season; after winning six races in 2006, struggled in
2007 when he finished 19th in the standings with just one top
five and eight top 10s; also had six DNFs and dipped as low as
36th in the standings at one point; took on the famed Budweiser
sponsorship after Earnhardt moved to Hendrick Motorsports;
finished 40th in this race last year.
Matt Kenseth
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $3,080,467
Finished seventh at Chicago and has eight top-10s in past nine
races; ran third at Daytona and Michigan during that stretch;
finished 38th at Richmond and 41st at Talladega; ran 38th at
Phoenix following a ninth at Texas and 30th at Martinsville; had
consecutive top 10s at Bristol and Atlanta; was 20th at Las
Vegas due to a late-race incident with Jeff Gordon; ran fifth at
California, fresh off a disappointing 35th place showing at the
Daytona 500; last season had a late-Chase surge with a win at
the season-ending race at Homestead, following a third at
Phoenix and a second at Texas; finished fourth in the final
standings; had 13 top five finishes and 22 top 10s last season;
won the series championship in 2003 despite capturing only one
checkered flag, prompting NASCAR to change to its current Chase
format; enters this season without long-time crew chief Robbie
Reiser who has been replaced atop the box by Chip Bolin; ran
10th in this race last year.
Tony Stewart
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $3,618,745
Finished fifth at Chicago in first race since announcing he will
leave JGR at the end of the season to drive for his own
Stewart-Haas Racing team next season; fell ill at Daytona and
was relieved by J.J. Yeley who finished 20th; is now in 10th
place, just 49 points inside the Chase cut-off; was involved in
an early crash at Dover and finished 41st; came close to winning
at Lowe's, but cut down a tire with three laps remaining while
leading and finished 18th; finished 38th at Talladega then
bounced back to finish fourth at Richmond; ran 14th at Phoenix
following back-to-back top-10 finishes at Martinsville and
Texas; finished second to teammate Kyle Busch at Atlanta, but
was vocal about the poor Goodyear tire quality; suffered a hard
crash at Las Vegas, injured his ankle and finished last; had
another disappointment in the Daytona 500, finishing third
despite having the lead with one lap to go; moved within two
points of the points lead after the first two Chase races last
year, but could not keep pace with Johnson and Gordon and faded
to sixth in the final standings; won this race last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Tony Stewart (20), Chevrolet
2. Juan Pablo Montoya (42), Dodge
3. Jeff Gordon (24), Chevrolet
4. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
5. Reed Sorenson (41), Dodge
6. Mark Martin (01), Chevrolet
7. Kevin Harvick (29), Chevrolet
8. Jeff Burton (31), Chevrolet
9. Dave Blaney (22), Dodge
10. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
Past Champions
--------------
2007 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 117.379 mph
2006 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 137.182 mph
2005 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 118.782 mph
2004 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 115.037 mph
2003 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 134.554 mph
2002 Bill Elliott, Dodge, 125.033 mph
2001 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 130.790 mph
2000 Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 155.912 mph
1999 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 148.228 mph
1998 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 126.770 mph
1997 Ricky Rudd, Ford, 130.828 mph
1996 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 139.508 mph
1995 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 155.206 mph
1994 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 131.977 mph
