Fantasy Preview: Indy

Every rule has its exception, and Jeff Gordon was just that in the inaugural running of the Brickyard 400 in 1994. As a second-year driver with only one victory under his belt, he led nearly 60 percent of the laps and captured his first victory on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Brett Bodine -- racing in Kenny Bernstein's lightly funded No. 26 car -- crossed the line as the runner-up a half-second back, and on the strength of that one race, dark horses appeared to have the upper hand.

It wasn't to be for long, however.

Dale Earnhardt took the second running of the race as the field dodged raindrops in 1995. He was competing in his 17th season. In 1996, Dale Jarrett won in his 10th season of competition while Ricky Rudd won the following year in his 21st season. In his sixth year of competition, Gordon won again in 1998 and only two drivers with less experience have taken the trophy since. Kevin Harvick was in his third season when he took the checkers in 2003 and Jimmie Johnson was in his fifth season last year when he won.

Status Symbol
There is a reason why Indy holds so few surprises. Drivers and teams put an incredible amount of energy into this one race and the cream always seems to rise to the top. In the last three years, the top 10 has been dominated by Roush Fenway Racing (with seven), Hendrick Motorsports (six), Ray Evernham Motorsports (four), Joe Gibbs Racing (four), Richard Childress Racing (three) and Chip Ganassi Racing (three). Robert Yates Racing has two top-10s in that span, leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. to complete the list with a single strong showing. Fantasy owners will note that there are few surprises in that list and, except for Evernham and Yates, each of those superteams are expected to continue to dominate this week.

On certain tracks like Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago, strategy dictated selecting your roster from the bottom up -- i.e. identify strong sleepers and fill in the marquee drivers above them -- but for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the best advice is to pick one anchor and then fill in with mid-priced drivers that belong to the superpowers.

The Indiana Connection
Every driver in America who ever dreamed of turning a lap of competition, dreamed of racing at Indy.

Until 14 years ago, that could only become reality to a handful of drivers as this track hosted only the Indianapolis 500 open-wheel race. Economics demanded that Indy should expand, and NASCAR quickly became part of the tradition.

For Indiana natives who grew up in the shadow of Indianapolis, they finally had a chance to live their dream, and Gordon made the most of that in the inaugural race. His first victory was earned only a few months earlier in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and it came with a little pit strategy, but that was not the case in the Brickyard 400. He dominated at the Brickyard and had to hold off a furious charge by Ernie Irvan in the closing laps of the race. If not for a cut tire with only four laps remaining, the final lead change might have come as the two drivers crossed under the checkers.

Since then, Gordon has won about every third race with three more trophies added to his mantle in 1998, 2001 and 2004. If the pattern holds, he is due another in 2007 and there is every reason in the world to expect that could happen. When he has stayed out of trouble, the driver of the No. 24 has been perfect at Indy. Damage relegated him to 30-something finishes in 1996 and 2000, while last year he cut a tire early in the race and used up all of his strength to make up two laps and finish 16th, but every other race has ended in a result of eighth or better. Even with those poor showings factored in, Gordon has an average finish of 9.3 at Indy, which makes this his third-best track in that regard.

Tony Stewart may have more experience at Indy than any other driver in the field. He sat on the pole the first time he came to the Brickyard in 1996 but faded to 24th in the Indy 500. The next year, he also sat on the front row when he qualified second, only that day he finished well up in the money in fifth. In addition to five Indy 500s, Stewart has also competed in four International Race of Champions (IROC) events, which gives him 17 combined starts on this track. In all competition, he's finished worse than 15th only three times and two of those poor finishes came at the start of his career in the open-wheel cars. Stewart finally got a chance to kiss the bricks in 2005 in the NASCAR race and after winning two weeks ago at Chicagoland, he has momentum on his side.

In his one and only oval track appearance, Juan Montoya found Victory Lane as a rookie in the 2000 Indy 500 and this is the track with which he is most familiar. After visiting venues for the first time in his career all through the opening part of the season, Montoya is familiar with Indy's paddock courtesy of four trips in Formula One. Of course, this place hasn't been overly kind to him in that series in his last few outings. He was disqualified in 2004 and finished 11th and did not turn a competitive lap in the next two races. He was part of the walk-out in 2005 when Formula One and Bridgestone could not agree on an acceptable tire compound or track configuration, and he crashed last year on the opening lap of the 2006 US Grand Prix. However, his skills should come into play this week since the flat, high-speed corners at Indy behave more like a road course than any of the other ovals.

The Childress Connection
RCR has always had an affinity for Indy.

Earnhardt won the second race here in 1995 and Harvick gave the team another trophy in 2003. The driver of the No. 29 had momentum on his side that week as he finished second one day earlier in an IROC race, and he's never really struggled at Indy. In six previous attempts, Harvick has five top-10s and an average result of 7.8, which makes him a very compelling choice before the weekend activities begin.

Last year started out with an all-Childress front row when Jeff Burton took the pole and had Clint Bowyer line up on his right. At the drop of the flag, Burton scooted out into the lead and held it for all but a couple of laps under caution until he moved over for his teammate Harvick on Lap 73.

Bowyer's day was much more chaotic as he dropped out of the lead pack for a while in the middle of the race and was forced to battle back from 15th on Lap 128 to climb to fourth at the checkers. Bowyer crossed the finish line immediately behind Harvick while Burton had the wrong pit strategy at the end of the race and fell back to 15th on worn rubber, but these three men made certain RCR was a story for the entire event.

Roush Rules
Of course, Roush cannot be ignored in any major race. Three of this organization's five drivers finished in the top 10 last year, with Matt Kenseth leading the charge in second. That certainly came as no surprise, as four of Kenseth's last five Brickyard 400s have ended with him fifth or better, and while he has yet to win, it seems to be only a matter of time.

Carl Edwards recorded a top-15 with a 12th in his first trip to Indy, was in the top 10 at ninth last year in his second attempt, and with momentum on his side, a top-five is certainly in the cards. Since winning at Michigan International Speedway five weeks ago, Edwards has been stellar on the oval tracks with three top-15s and two top-fives.

Mark Martin finished fifth at Indy last year and he's been in the top 10 eight times in 13 attempts, but the current uncertainty with his team suggests that fantasy owners want to watch him closely at the start of the weekend. Last week, Ginn Racing laid off a number of employees and fired veteran drivers Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin. This week it was apparent why, when the operation merged with DEI. Aside from making Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. teammates for a handful of races, the long-term effects of this will have very little impact on the fate of the No. 01 car, and Martin has struggled slightly in the last few events he entered.