Brickyard 400: Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Recap, Quotes - Johnson Wins

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS, collected his second career victory in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in a race that can best be termed as one of the most bizarre in history.

As a result of tire wear issues forcing numerous mandatory caution periods, the race was slowed 11 times by the yellow flag for a total of 52-laps.

Johnson's win was the 10th time Chevrolet has won the Allstate at the Brickyard and the 627th victory for the Bowtie in NSCS competition.

Starting from the pole, Johnson led eight times for a total of 71 of the 160 laps. The victory by the two-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion was the 10th for Chevrolet at... // PaddockTalk

Brickyard 400: Ford NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Recap, Quotes - Edwards Second

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion (Finished 38th)

DID YOU HAVE IDEA ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE? "Well, yeah. I could see it in the mirror that part of the quarterpanel was blown off. It’s a really, really, really disappointing situation . This one of the two biggest races of the year, and to never have this tire here before and not come and do an open test and to work on these things and work on the tires, it’s pretty darn disappointing. We had a great car today. I feel bad for the fans; we’re running three-quarters speed because we’re worried of the tires blowing out, and they got blown out every eight laps. So, pretty disappointed."

DID IT GIVE MUCH NOTICE? "You get... // PaddockTalk

PaddockTalk (Enlarge photo)

Brickyard 400: NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Results - Johnson, Chevrolet Win!

Polesitter Jimmy Johnson cruised to victory at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Credit: PaddockTalk/Paul Hurley

Tires, tires, and more tires. That was the story today before the final checkered flag. NASCAR had to use 10 competition yellows to see this race through, but it was finally completed and resulted in a decent finish by Brickyard 400 standards.

In the end, it was two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson who won the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard in front of an estimated 240,000 fans. The result was his 35th victory in 239 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, and his second victory and 10th top-10 finish in 2008. It was also the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet driver's second victory and third... // PaddockTalk

Brickyard 400: Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Recap, Quotes - Sadler Fourth

ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Stanley Tools Dodge Charger) Finished 4th

“This is a great weekend for us to bring a new car here and qualify sixth, and run in the top seven or eight the whole day. I actually got pushed back to 13th or 14th with 40 laps to go and passed a lot of cars to come back to the front. I’m proud of my guys. It’s pretty cool to come out with the new car, and get a good run in a Stanley Dodge. We’ve had a lot of bad luck this year. I’m proud of my guys to finish a good race here at the Brickyard.â€

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger) Finished 7th

“It was a great day for our Gillett Evernham Budweiser Dodge team. We had a really good racecar that... // PaddockTalk

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The winner and how he did it: Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 for the second time in three years. The last four have been evenly split between Johnson and Tony Stewart.

Debacle: The quality of the race was adversely affected - almost to an absurd level - by excessive tire wear.

Just what the doctor ordered: A year ago Johnson, the eventual Sprint Cup champion, left Indianapolis ninth in the point standings. This year he is fourth. He's finished second and first in his last two races.

Assorted trivialities and historical notables:

*A subpar performance didn't notably affect point leader Kyle Busch, who still leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 253 points.

*The victory was Johnson's 35th, tying him with Mark Martin for 17th... // Gaston Gazette

Brickyard 400: Toyota NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying Recap, Quotes

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 17th

How was your car on your qualifying lap?

"It was ok, but I wanted to be a little better. We gained three-tenths on what we had yesterday. I don’t know -- I just wanted to do a little better."

How is the new car different here at Indianapolis?

"When you’re by yourself it is really not that big of a deal. We’ve been fighting tight a lot, but I’m sure it’s going to be tough to pass and track position is going to mean a lot."

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M€™s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 19th

What did you think of your lap?

"It wasn’t very good. I kind of got tight off... // PaddockTalk

Brickyard 400: Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying Recap, Quotes - Newman Third

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) Qualified 3rd

HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING RUN? “A great lap for our Alltel Dodge. It felt like a top-five run all the way around the track. We had a great day of practice yesterday and it certainly paid off today. This is a tricky place to get around because one mistake can knock off a few tenths of a second in a hurry.â€

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger) Qualified 4th

WAS THAT WHAT YOU EXPECTED ON YOUR QUALIFYING RUN? “It was a good run. I took too much time getting down to the white line in turn two, but other than that, the car felt really balanced. We had a chance to get the pole; we just missed it. The car was handling really well thought.... // PaddockTalk

Brickyard 400: Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying Recap, Quotes - Johnson On Pole

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS, captured his first-ever Coors Light Pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and his second of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season. It is Johnson's 15th career pole in 239 NSCS races.

The defending and two-time NSCS champion blistered the track with a lap of 181.763 m.p.h., 49.515 seconds. In six career Allstate 400 at the Brickyard starts, Johnson's previous best starting position was fifth.

Mark Martin, No. 8 US Army Impala SS, scored the second fastest time of the 43-car field to give Chevrolet the front row. Martin turned a lap of 181.393 m.p.h., 49.616 seconds tying his season-best qualifying effort of the season.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24... // PaddockTalk

Brickyard 400: Ford NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying Recap, Quotes - McMurray Best

JAMIE McMURRAY – No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion (qualified 8th)

"It was really good. It seems like the tires that we have here, at least the way the track is right now, if you drive too hard, the tires chatter and you lose a ton of speed. So I probably didn’t drive my car quite hard enough. It had a lot of grip. When the lap is over you’re like, ‘If I could do it again, I would have driven it a little harder,’ but it was a pretty solid lap for our car."

WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO HAVE HAD FOUR LAPS? "No. Absolutely not. It’s hard to hit all four corners here, and I can’t imagine doing that for four laps, so I’m pretty content with just the one and... // PaddockTalk

Johnny Benson earned his third victory in the past four NCTS races when he took the checkered flag first at ORP Friday.

Toyota drivers Kyle Busch (eighth) and Mike Skinner (10th) earned top-10 finishes.  Other Toyota drivers in the field included Terry Cook (11th), David Starr (16th), Ted Musgrave (20th), Michael Annett (21st), Todd Bodine (22nd), Marc Mitchell (25th) and Justin Marks (30th).

Tundra drivers have seven NCTS wins in 2008.  Benson (Milwaukee, Kentucky... // TruckSeries.com

Brickyard 400: Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Practices Notes, Quotes

RAY EVERNHAM (Co-owner, Gillett Evernham Motorsports) WILL NOT HAVING A TEST SESSION HERE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PRIOR TO THE ALLSTATE 400 BE A MAJOR FACTOR? "I don’t think anybody knows. We haven’t run these cars here on this tire. A test session would have probably let everyone get more prepared like we did at Lowe’s on a tire that we’re going to race. The Lowe’s race was good because we got to test. Here only three (teams) were able to test. I don’t think anybody really knows what to expect from these cars here. It probably would have been a good idea to test since we’re going to run the COT here for the first time. I don’t really understand why... // PaddockTalk

Brickyard 400: Toyota NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway

• Saturday, July 26, Qualifying @ 10:10 AM (ET) – ESPN2, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)

• Sunday, July 27, Race start @ 2:00 PM (ET) – ESPN, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) @ O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis

• Saturday, July 26, Qualifying @ 4:35 PM (ET) – ESPN2, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)

• Saturday, July 26, Race start @ 8:00 PM (ET) – ESPN, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) @ O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis

• Friday, July 25, Qualifying @ 4:30 PM (ET) – SPEED, MRN... // PaddockTalk

MORE HISTORY: Toyota Tundra drivers will compete on the 0.686-mile
O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) at Indianapolis for the fifth
time Friday evening. ORP is one of only three tracks on the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) schedule that has not had a Tundra
drive into victory lane. Current Tundra drivers, Mike Skinner (1995
and 1996) and Terry Cook (2002), have each won at ORP and are tied
for the most poles (two) at the short track. Last... // TruckSeries.com

DODGE DRIVERS AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

* Bill Elliott won the 2002 Brickyard 400, driving the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge. He led 93 laps.

* Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates had an impressive weekend at the Brickyard last year. Reed Sorenson starting from the pole with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya also on the front row. Montoya finished second while Sorenson led 16 laps and finished fifth.

* Ryan Newman has started no farther back than eighth in the seven races he has competed in at the Brickyard. His best finish of 4th came in 2002.

* Kasey Kahne has three straight starts in the top five with two top fives in four previous starts.

* Bobby Labonte won the 2000 Brickyard 400 and the Sprint Cup championship before moving to Petty Enterprises in 2006.

* Elliott... // Motorsport.com

Gillett Evernham Motorsports tells Rotoworld that Elliott Sadler will be driving a chassis #256, a brand new race car, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend.

In nine starts here, Elliott Sadler has has recorded one pole (2005), two top-5 starts (Pole in 2005, third in 2004) and one top-5 finish while racing 1205 of 1441 laps for an 83.6 percent completion rate. He’s led two of those races for a total of 71 laps (32 laps in 2004, 39... // Rotoworld.com

Brickyard 400: Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview

DODGE DRIVERS AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

• Bill Elliott won the 2002 Brickyard 400, driving the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge. He led 93 laps.

• Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates had an impressive weekend at the Brickyard last year. Reed Sorenson starting from the pole with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya also on the front row. Montoya finished second while Sorenson led 16 laps and finished fifth.

• Ryan Newman has started no farther back than eighth in the seven races he has competed in at the Brickyard. His best finish of 4th came in 2002.

• Kasey Kahne has three straight starts in the top five with two top fives in four previous starts.

• Bobby Labonte won the 2000 Brickyard 400 and the Sprint... // PaddockTalk