Indianapolis Motor Speedway – The Brickyard
Thursday, August 4th, 2011|
July 31, 2011 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway
On April 14, 1993, NASCAR formally announced that it would race at the most hallowed track in America: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The “Brickyard” would host an annual 400-mile race for NASCAR’s top series beginning in 1994. Few race tracks are known worldwide by a single word and “Indy” is arguably the greatest track this country has or will ever have. In August of 1994, a new chapter in the rich and colorful history of Indy began. NASCAR would begin adding the names of its greats alongside those who found glory racing the Indianapolis 500: Earnhardt, Elliott, Jarrett, Rudd, Stewart, Johnson and, of course, NASCAR’s own four-time Indy winner, Jeff Gordon. NASCAR’s annual race at Indy also affords yet another chance for Juan Pablo Montoya to stake his claim as the only driver to win both the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400. Going back to the previous race at New Hampshire, this is another flat track – but on a much grander scale. Everything at Indy is bigger and I’m not just talking about the physical size of the track: The challenges, the rewards and the prestige. Ask any driver and you’ll find that a win at Indy is very high on their wish list. They will also tell you that it is one of the most difficult tracks to drive; not at all the usual oval or “tri-oval” shapes that they are used to running, Indy can best be described as a rounded rectangle. The corners are sharp, flat and too far apart on the ends to be driven as a single, large arc. At a track where Chevrolet has won two-thirds of the races, it was a little surprising to see pretty good parity in the top ten qualifiers with four Fords, three Chevys, two Dodges and one Toyota. The start of the race began with some fairly aggressive maneuvering as drivers jockeyed for position, frequently going three-wide with the occasional (and ill-advised) four-wide on the vast Indy straights. For those taking to the inside lane, the early laps of the race resembled a lawn mower demonstration as splitters began trimming the grass at the edge of the corners. Just six laps into the race, engine overheating forced Trevor Bayne to make an unscheduled pit stop to get the grass cleared from his grille. Several other drivers would have their pit strategies likewise disrupted as the grass was flying. Clipping the grass was taken to a whole new level on lap 121 when Kurt Busch and others took to it in their efforts to avoid a spinning Landon Cassill (one of those ill-advised four-wide situations that developed when Matt Kenseth made a sweeping move to the inside of an already three-wide group). OK, was I the only one who thought NASCAR was a bit slow to throw the yellow flag as multiple cars took to the grass and Cassill was sideways across the track with his driver’s side facing the oncoming traffic? Just checking. Which leads to something that continues to bug me: On lap 113, Kyle Busch scrapes the wall and the caution immediately comes out. No flat tires, no debris (that I saw); he just nailed the gas and continued on his way. Why does this warrant a multi-lap caution period? While I’m completely in favor of anything that can make the sport safer for all involved, NASCAR seems far too inconsistent in their criteria regarding cautions. Just look at other forms of motorsports: At Montreal, the IndyCar series had a significant green flag run while the endplate from someone’s wing (or something of similar size) was right in the middle of the track – BUT it was out of the racing groove and not deemed a significant enough threat to disrupt the race. The same can generally be said for various forms of road racing. NASCAR throws cautions for water bottles and balls of tape… All right, one last poke at NASCAR’s officiating at Indy: You know that little orange cone, the one who bravely stands guard all race, indicating the pit/no pit commitment line? Well, Tony Stuart punted the little guy on lap 25 while trying to avoid contact with Kevin Harvick. Under caution, track safety workers went out to check on him and place him back at his post. As the worker was finishing placing the cone in its proper position, NASCAR opened the pits. Thank goodness everyone was paying attention because right in the middle of where drivers like to cut hard to the right to fake coming into the pits, there’s a safety truck. Did anyone at NASCAR consider keeping the pits closed just one more lap so that it would be clear of the area?! The Junior Nation had reason to cheer as pit strategy helped Dale Jr. move up to the front to lead a few laps. In all, thirteen different drivers led with 22 lead changes during the race. Unfortunately, pit strategy and fuel mileage played havoc toward the end of the race, placing many who had run toward the front most of the day in the middle of the pack and making for a finishing order highly unrepresentative of the majority of the race. However, it is hard to dislike Paul Menard getting his first Cup series win at a track that has such personal meaning to his family. Jeff Gordon misses his fifth Brickyard 400 victory but comes in second. The remainder of the top ten were: Regan Smith, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Now it’s off to the “Tricky Triangle”, also known as Pocono Raceway! See y’all next week! |