Johnson tops Brickyard test leaderboard

INDIANAPOLIS -- In the midst of a grueling 20-week stretch of consecutive races for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, drivers and teams have a jewel on which their sights are set: the Brickyard 400 at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is fast approaching on Sunday, Aug. 3.

When Ryan Newman and Jeff Burton parked their cars in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage area at the end of the day July 23, it ended a total of seven days of NASCAR testing over a three-week period at the Speedway.

In that time, 42 NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers completed 5,382 laps, or 13,455 miles, of testing at the Speedway. That's the equivalent of driving across the United States more than 4 1/2 times.

The significance of the Brickyard 400 is apparent by this year's testing. Unlike previous years, the 2003 tests at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway were not mandatory, yet only eight fewer driver/team combinations tested this year than 2002, when 50 drivers took part in two-day tests required by NASCAR.

Jimmie Johnson turned the fastest lap of 2003 testing, 182.028 mph, on July 15 under cloudy, cool conditions. Tony Stewart set the track record of 182.960 in 2002 qualifying under sunny, humid skies and temperatures in the mid-80s.

Stewart did not test at Indianapolis, although his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and 2000 Brickyard winner, Bobby Labonte, completed 174 laps of testing with a top speed of 176.038.