Brickyard 400

At long last, we've managed to pin down the TV guys in order to give you an insider's look at the special segments that will be featured in each weekend's race coverage.

	Helio Castroneves will take a ride in a stock car on Sunday at Indy. Credit: AP

For starters, Spider Man is coming back to Indy.

Sort of.

In this Sunday's edition of Wally's World before the Brickyard 400, Wally Dallenbach will take two-time Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves for a stock-car lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This should be entertaining on a couple of different fronts. Anyone that watches Indy racing knows what a gem Castroneves is from a racing standpoint and from a television standpoint.

For those who aren't familiar, he's a lot like Roberto Benigni, the guy from that movie "Life is Beautiful" that won three Academy Awards in 1998.

You just don't know what he's going to say or do.

One thing's for sure about Castroneves: He'll be entertaining. He'd be even more entertaining as a regular on the Winston Cup circuit. Let's hope Dallenbach plants that idea in his head.

	Benny Parsons

Word is Castroneves is going to give Dallenbach some tips on how to climb the fence at Indy, like he and his crew did after both of their victories in the Indy 500. That should be worth the price of admission alone.

It's getting hot in here: In Sunday's installment of "Benny and the Pits," look for a piece on the gasman for the No. 10 team of Johnny Benson, who doubles as a full-time fireman.

Benny Parsons is in his element doing these pieces. He's got just the right combination of "gee whiz" curiousity and racing knowledge to give these crew guys the credit they deserve.

EMAIL Send Mark a note or a question for "Ask The Producer"

Some off day: When Randy Johnson takes a day off, he doesn't go play a minor-league game, but defending Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart spends his off days racing anything with a motor. Matt Yocum is scheduled to give you an inside look at Stewart's "down time" Sunday during the pre-race show.

You asked for it: We've gotten countless e-mails over the past few weeks asking questions about the NBC/TNT broadcasts. Rather than me try to answer them, we're going to the source.

Starting today, you can "Ask The Producer."

Each week, we'll pick one question to ask to the producer of the NBC/TNT telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.

Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.

On to this weekend's schedule...

Winston Cup Series: Brickyard 400

Site: Indianapolis, Ind.

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval, 9-degree banking in turns. Length of frontstretch: 3,305 feet. Length of backstretch: 3,305 feet.)

Race distance: 160 laps, 400 miles

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: TNT, 11:05 a.m. ET Saturday. Happy Hour: SPEED, 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Race: NBC, 2 p.m. ET Sunday.

Last year Wallace tries to hold off Elliott in the closing laps Play video Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch make hard contact Play video Tony Stewart and Elliott battle for the lead early Play video

Last year: Bill Elliott passed Rusty Wallace with 11 laps to go to win the Brickyard 400 -- it is Elliott's biggest triumph since his victory in the 1987 Daytona 500.

Last race: Ryan Newman won a wild Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday at Pocono Raceway for his series-leading fourth victory of the season. Kurt Busch finished second.

Potential storyline: Five of the drivers entered at the Brickyard 400 have direct ties to the open-wheel racing world.

Robby Gordon was the first to convert to stock car racing. Gordon -- a two-time CART winner who was an owner/driver in 1999 -- is also a nine-time Indy 500 starter. Reigning NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Tony Stewart won IRL Rookie of the Year honors in 1996 and won the title in 1997.

Rookie of the Year candidates Larry Foyt and Casey Mears both have strong open-wheel roots. Foyt -- whose father, A.J. Foyt, was a four-time Indy 500 winner -- competed in USAC Formula 2000 events in 1997-98 before turning to stock cars.

Mears -- nephew of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears -- competed in Indy Lights and had five starts in CART (2000-01) before joining the NASCAR Busch Series in 2002.

The latest defection from the open-wheel ranks was Christian Fittipaldi a two-time winner in eight seasons in CART. Fittipaldi -- whose uncle Emerson won championships in both Formula One and CART ? also competed in F-1 from 1992-94.

Point to ponder: Wallace leads the series with eight top-10 finishes, in nine starts. Wallace has three runner-up finishes (1995, `00 and `02), but has yet to win at the famed 2.5-mile speedway. In fact, Wallace has led the most laps (148) of any non-winner at Indy.

Next race: Sirius at The Glen, Watkins Glen International, Aug. 10

Busch Series: Kroger 200

Site: Indianapolis, Ind.

Last year Riggs, Biffle, and Keller battle in the final laps Play video Scott Riggs takes a dominating lead at the halfway point Play video The Sauter boys get tangled up 80 laps in Play video

Track: Indianapolis Raceway Park (.686-mile oval, 7.5-degree banking in turns, 2-degree banking in straights. Length of Frontstretch: 699 feet. Length of backstretch: 699 feet.)

Race distance: 200 laps, 137.2 miles

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday (tape delayed). Race: TNT, 8 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last year: Greg Biffle took the lead from Scott Riggs with less than 10 laps to go. Biffle then held off Keller, who also took on four tires while the rest of the leaders stayed out with 29 laps to go.

Last race: It's been a year of disappointment for Scott Wimmer, but he erased it all in one afternoon during the TrimSpa 250. Wimmer led 70 laps and finally took the lead for good on Lap 227.

Potential storyline: Mike Skinner is scheduled to return to the Busch Series this weekend driving the No. 7 Chevrolet. It will be Skinner's first start in the series since Sept. 22, 2001.

He is also scheduled to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night and the NASCAR Winston Cup race on Sunday.

Point to ponder: Four of the past seven Busch Series races held at Indianapolis Raceway Park have been won from the pole. Randy Lajoie won from the top spot in 1996 and '97, Jason Keller did it in 1999 and Biffle won from the pole last year.

Next race: Cabela's 250, Michigan International Speedway, Aug. 16

Craftsman Truck Series: Power Stroke Diesel 200

Site: Indianapolis, Ind.

Track: Indianapolis Raceway Park (.686-mile oval, 7.5-degree banking in turns, 2-degree banking in straights. Length of Frontstretch: 699 feet. Length of backstretch: 699 feet.)

Race distance: 200 laps, 137.2 miles

TV: Race: SPEED, 9 p.m. ET Friday.

Last year Cook completes a dominating performance at IRP Play video David Starr loses his chance to take the points lead Play video

Last year: After starting on the Bud Pole, Terry Cook kept the No. 29 Power Stroke Diesel Ford out front, leading 178 of 200 laps.

Last week: It wasn't even close. Brendan Gaughan won the Sears 200 by over 11 seconds, averaging 154.044 mph in winning his fourth race of 2003.

Potential storyline: Gaughan will attempt to become the fourth series driver to win three consecutive races at IRP. The last to do it was Biffle at Watkins Glen International in 2000. An IRP victory would break new ground; Gaughan's best on a short track is a third-place finish.

Point to ponder: Skinner, with back-to-back wins at IRP in 1995-'96, can become just the third competitor to win three times at a single track with a victory in the Power Stroke Diesel 200.

Next race: Federated Auto Parts 200, Nashville Superspeedway, Aug. 8.

Mark Spoor is an associate producer for NASCAR.com. The Domino's Viewer's Guide is posted each Thursday.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.