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After seven years in a Sprint Cup car, one year away feels like nothing to the Penske driver

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — For Juan Pablo Montoya, slipping back into NASCAR feels as effortless as pulling on a comfortable sweater.

"You know how to do everything. You know how practice works. You know how qualifying works," said the two-time road course race-winner at the sport’s top level. "You know where you need to go to sign in, and where to drive around in the garage. It’s fine."

Understandably so, given that Montoya spent seven full seasons wheeling stock cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and never came closer to winning on an oval track than he did right here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This weekend, he’s back for another run at the Brickyard, driving an entry fielded by Roger Penske, who owns the open-wheel car in which Montoya now regularly competes.

It’s the second leg of a two-race stock-car foray which began last month at Michigan International Speedway, where Montoya finished 18th. That result didn’t diminish Montoya’s hopes at Indianapolis, where he won the 500 in 2000 had a pair of dominant Brickyard runs spoiled by mistakes.

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"I feel like coming here, we’ve got a good shot," Montoya said. "I think Michigan, what we wanted to do is understand the cars a little, understand the team and everything. I think we missed the car a little bit setup-wise, and I think one of the key things is getting the car closer. We felt we were pretty good in practice … so I think if we can get the car close, we’ll be pretty good. It seems like the race pace is pretty good, and I think I’ve been pretty good here and I know what I want out of the car, so that makes it a lot easier so we know what we need to work on to be a little bit better."

Montoya’s Brickyard effort is bolstered by the presence of Brian Campe, his current open-wheel engineer, who also has a wealth of experience in NASCAR. Campe is working with crew chief Greg Erwin, who won five Sprint Cup races with Greg Biffle and nearly the Nationwide Series championship with Sam Hornish Jr. at Penske last season.

"Greg seems to be a really nice guy," Montoya said of Erwin. "He’s so easy to work with. It’s fun. He really gets the message. He’s very clear on how everything is going to go, and makes it so much easier than anything I experienced before. It’s pretty cool."

One thing is certain — Montoya’s No. 12 car is fast. The Colombian said his race pace in practice compared favorably to that of Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, who has won three times this season on NASCAR’s top circuit. Montoya also qualified eighth on a tight 2.5-mile track where starting position is often critical. Even so, jumping back into a stock car after so much time away will undoubtedly present challenges, even for a driver whose return to open-wheel racing has already netted one victory this season.

"I think it is a tough task," said four-time Indy winner Jimmie Johnson. "I think we all know and understand how talented he is in a race car, and recently in IndyCar. You look at the time it took to get back up to speed there, it took half a season or something to get going. It will take him time here. Hopefully he can get the laps that he needs to get up to speed. I think he’ll be toward the front. It’s just so tough … to find that last half a tenth it takes to succeed when you’re out of the seat and not in the seat. That’s the part that he might not have, but with strategy and other opportunities that this race track provides, I’m not saying that he can’t win. Because he absolutely can win here."

Montoya has certainly shown that before. In 2009 with Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR team, he led 116 laps and appeared en route to a first oval-track victory when a late speeding penalty on pit road relegated him to an 11th-place finish. The next year he led 86 laps from the pole, but fell back into traffic after pit strategy backfired, and ended up 32nd after being involved in a crash.

"Yeah, once or twice I probably woulda, coulda, shoulda," Montoya said. "… But coulda, woulda and shoulda doesn’t count."

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SHR driver making gains in sophomore season but remains winless

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — It began with an oil leak, and five laps into the race, her car was smoking and destined for the back. Danica Patrick‘s 30th-place finish a season ago in her first Sprint Cup Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a stark contrast to the strong runs she reeled off with regularity here, driving an open-wheeled vehicle during the month of May.

"Beforehand in the season, if you were to pick tracks you want to do well at, I would pick here," Patrick recalled Saturday, as she prepared for her second Sprint Cup Series start at the famed 2.5-mile track. "But when you’re in the moment, and it’s happening, it just is what it is. I could care less where the really good races come from when they’re happening."

In that regard, Indianapolis last year was just another weekend in a rookie season full of trying moments. Returning to the Brickyard this season, Patrick has reasons to be more optimistic — she’s had more instances when she’s been able to show the speed in her No. 10 car, be it a career-best seventh-place finish at Kansas, eighth earlier this month at Daytona, or three consecutive top-10 qualifying runs in the spring. Saturday, she was asked if she was creeping closer to a potential victory — whether at Indianapolis, or anywhere else.

"I think a win is going to be pretty tough, but I think a win is realistic," she said. "If we look back to the best race of the year, which was Kansas, as far as regular race tracks go — I mean, things go a little bit differently, and I could have won that race. I feel like I’m able to, I just don’t know if we’re there yet. But if it presents itself, and I’m in a position to win, I feel perfectly ready. I’m just not sure as a group in whole, probably including myself, that’s not a scenario that we’re able to put ourselves in every single weekend. And even for the people that are, it’s still hard to win. (But) if the opportunity presents itself, I’m ready."

Patrick owns the best finish ever by a female driver at NASCAR’s national level, a fourth-place result in a Nationwide Series event at Las Vegas in 2011. The best premier-series result belongs to Sara Christian, who finished fifth at Heidelburg Raceway in Pittsburgh in 1949. At Daytona last season, Patrick became the first woman ever to win a pole at NASCAR’s top level when she claimed the first starting spot for the Daytona 500.

During her career-best run at Kansas in May, Patrick certainly showed the ability to run up front and stay in contention all evening long. She also believes she might have had a shot at Daytona in July, had the race gone back to green after the rain delay which ultimately ensured Aric Almirola‘s first career victory at NASCAR’s top level. No question, there have been more instances this season where Patrick has been in the conversation — but admittedly, she still has a long way to go.

"We are getting stronger as a team," the Stewart-Haas Racing driver said. "There’s no doubt about that, and we’re getting better and better, and the team is doing a great job of producing better cars all the time and keeping up and moving forward. All that stuff is going in the right direction, but I’m still only at a year and a half’s experience in Cup."

At Indianapolis, though, she is a seasoned veteran, to the point where her history here is always top of mind. The first question she faced in her Saturday media availability was about her first race here — in an open-wheel car, back in 2005. "I can barely remember, it was so long ago," she said. Patrick finished top-10 in five of her six career Indianapolis 500 starts, including a fourth-place run in her debut and third in 2009, the season before she first began to dabble in stock cars and make the eventual transition into NASCAR.

Like many former open-wheelers, her adoration for this place remains entrenched. In some ways, it’s indeed another week in a long season, and another moment in a continuing education process. In others, it remains a venue with strong personal significance to both the driver and her sport. Patrick is piloting a new car here this weekend, and was 14th in final practice — and indeed, the pull of the Brickyard remains strong with a driver as closely-tied to this place as any other.

"I think it’ll be OK overall, but you’re hoping for great, because it’s a tough place to pass," Patrick said, "and it’s Indy, and you want to do really well."

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Keselowski eager to check off Indy on Penske’s bucket list

Johnson learned not to trust instincts at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS — You’d think a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and a four-time winner at Indianapolis Motor Speedway would have adapted quickly to racing at the Brickyard, but that wasn’t the case for Jimmie Johnson.

Before Johnson found success at the marquee track, he had to start thinking outside the box and drive in a manner that was counter-intuitive. 

"My natural tendencies just didn’t work around this track," Johnson said Friday before opening Sprint Cup practice at the 2.5-mile speedway. "I had to make a conscious effort to drive differently. I’ve been playing that movie in my head, coming here getting ready for this weekend’s race.

"So there are tracks that your natural driving tendencies suit, and this just isn’t one of them for me. So I’ve got to change my game coming here. And I’ve been able to identify with it. I think that’s half the battle, is just to understand that (you) don’t do what you think you need to do. Try to think in an opposite manner to find speed."

It took several years, however, for that realization to register.

"There’s certain tracks that are very difficult to get sorted out and to know how to lead your team," Johnson said. "For me, this was one of the toughest ones I came to. Took me a long time to get it. The light finally turned on in my head, I think maybe it was ’04, ’05. 

"Mid-race I’m like ‘I’ve driven this track wrong since practice opened, set the car up wrong and led my team in the wrong direction.’ In the race it really dawned on me." 

That "dawning" was the functional equivalent of a blazing sunrise. Johnson won races at Indy in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012. Last year, he finished second to race winner Ryan Newman.

Penske eager for Brickyard win

There aren’t many things team owner Roger Penske still has to accomplish.

He has 15 Indianapolis 500 victories. He got his first NASCAR Nationwide Series championship in 2010 and his first Sprint Cup title two years later, both with Brad Keselowski behind the wheel.

But Penske doesn’t have a Brickyard 400 trophy yet, and he has conveyed to all three of his drivers—Keselowski, Joey Logano and Juan Pablo Montoya — just how much he would like to add that to his collection. 

"Oh, yeah … yeah," Keselowski said after earning the third starting spot for Sunday’s race. "It’s the last thing left on the Penske bucket list, and I think that’s why you see a third car here with Juan Pablo Montoya. He (Penske) wants to make it happen, and Juan is certainly known for his talents here at the Indianapolis (Motor) Speedway."

Keselowski, of course, would prefer to be the driver to deliver the victory to Penske. 

"He’s all in, as much as you can be, right, and it would be a huge honor to be the guy that pulls it off for him, and we’re going to give it our best as we do every year. It’s not just this year that it’s important to him. It’s every year that it’s important to him."

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Dillon’s victory marks the 11th straight NNS race with a different winner 

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings

INDIANAPOLIS — Ty Dillon held off a charging Kyle Busch in the closing laps of the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he had to win the first NASCAR Nationwide Series race of his career with a fuel cell approaching empty. 

Dillon grabbed the lead from Busch, the pole winner, moments after a restart on Lap 77 of 100. He soon opened a lead of one second over the most prolific winner in series history, but it wasn’t without some pinpoint calculations on the part of crew chief Danny Stockman. 

In what was a family affair of the first order, Mike Dillon, the driver’s father and spotter, told Ty Dillon to start backing up his corners with six laps left. Dillon promptly lost a third of a lead that had grown to more than 1.2 seconds. 

Team owner Richard Childress, Dillon’s grandfather, broke into the radio channel a lap later.

"You can’t give up that much to him," Childress said. "Go for it."

From that point on, Mike Dillon and Stockman kept repeating the same mantra, "Hammer down!" — and Dillon obliged, getting to the finish line .833 seconds ahead of Busch. Matt Kenseth ran third, and Kevin Harvick fourth.

"Boy, that was all I had," Dillon said. "When you’ve got the best in the business behind you, it’s tough. It’s tough to stay focused and not give up."

As the highest finisher among four eligible drivers for the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash Dillon pocketed an extra $100,000, but the important thing was his first win in the series.

"The car started getting a little tight, but we had speed all weekend," Dillon said. "We got out front, and she unleashed." 

Harvick led a race-high 33 laps but fell victim to the timing of a late debris caution on Lap 71. The five laps run under yellow before the final restart gave Dillon and Busch the margin they needed to get to the end of the race on fuel.

In Busch’s estimation, the outcome hinged on the Lap 77 restart.

"I gave it away on that last restart there in Turn 1," Busch said. "I got down in there, and the car never turned, and the car on my inside, Ty, drove right on by me. He got the lead, and it was over from there. 

"I tried to maintain with him and tried to do a few things to get by him the first few laps before I got tight. And as soon as I got tight, he distanced me, and that was it." 

Joey Logano finished fifth, followed by Paul Menard, Brian Scott, Kyle Larson and Trevor Bayne. Regan Smith ran 10th and trimmed the series lead of JR Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who came home 12th, to four points.

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SHR driver will lead the field to green in Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)

RELATED: Race lineup | Practice results | Indy Race Center

INDIANAPOLIS — Suddenly the ace qualifier at Stewart-Haas Racing this year, Kevin Harvick dominated Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series time trials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, winning the pole for Sunday’s Crown Royal 400 in track-record speed.

Fastest in all three rounds of knockout qualifying, Harvick earned his fourth Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his second at the Brickyard and the 10th of his career.

Harvick established his credentials early in the first 25-minute session, covering the 2.5-mile distance in 47.647 seconds (188.889 mph), shattering the previous record speed of 187.531 mph set by Ryan Newman last year.

The record speed of his first lap surprised the driver of the No. 4 SHR Chevrolet.

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"After the first lap, I was probably more nervous than I have been in a while for qualifying," Harvick said. "I wasn’t really expecting to have the car run that fast. From there they are all looking at you, ‘All right, if you screw this up, it’s on you, buddy.’" 

In the second round, Harvick remained the only driver to top 188 mph, posting a lap at 188.281 mph to pace the 10-minute session. No other driver could reach even 187 mph in Round 2. 

In the final five-minute round, Harvick ran 188.470 mph to win the pole convincingly over Jeff Gordon, who will share the front row after a lap at 187.770 mph. Brad Keselowski (186.893 mph) qualified third, followed by 2013 Brickyard winner Ryan Newman (186.765 mph) and Brian Vickers (186.455 mph). 

The last time Harvick won the pole at Indy, in 2003, he won the race, and he acknowledged the advantages of starting up front.

"You can overcome a lot of things with your track position here," Harvick said. "To have the first pit stall, to have clean air to start the race—usually your problems will be a lot less than they are in traffic when you’re out front. Hopefully, we can put together a whole day. 

Nor is the history of the Brickyard lost on Harvick.

"There’s Daytona, and then there’s nothing quite like this place that we come to," he said. "It’s a unique race track with a lot of things that have to come together, a lot of history, and I’m excited to be here."

Keselowski certainly took notice of Harvick’s lap times and gave them their due.

"It’s always scary when Kevin’s fast in qualifying," Keselowski said. 

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See where each Nationwide Series driver will start

Pos

Car

Driver

Team

Time Speed

1

54

Kyle Busch(i)

Monster Energy Toyota

50.031 179.888

2

20

Matt Kenseth(i)

Resers Toyota

50.304 178.912

3

3

Ty Dillon #

Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet

50.448 178.402

4

5

Kevin Harvick(i)

Morton Buildings Chevrolet

50.460 178.359

5

9

Chase Elliott #

Napa Auto Parts Chevrolet

50.617 177.806

6

22

Joey Logano(i)

Discount Tire Ford

50.630 177.760

7

7

Regan Smith

TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet

50.795 177.183

8

60

Chris Buescher #

Roush Performance Parts Ford

50.845 177.009

9

33

Paul Menard(i)

Nibco/Menards Chevrolet

50.891 176.849

10

2

Brian Scott

Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet

50.957 176.620

11

6

Trevor Bayne

AdvoCare Ford

51.024 176.388

12

11

Elliott Sadler

OneMain Financial Toyota

51.030 176.367

13

16

Ryan Reed #

ADA Drve to Stp Dbts prsntd by Llly Dbts Ford

50.912 176.776

14

42

Kyle Larson(i)

Nashville Outlaws Chevrolet

50.980 176.540

15

31

Dylan Kwasniewski #

FOE Chevrolet

50.980 176.540

16

98

David Ragan(i)

DnbsteHvyEqupmntRntl/CrrllShlbyEngne Ford

51.027 176.377

17

62

Brendan Gaughan

South Point Chevrolet

51.278 175.514

18

99

James Buescher

Rheem Toyota

51.478 174.832

19

93

Kevin Swindell

JGL Racing Dodge

51.691 174.112

20

39

Ryan Sieg #

Pll-A-Prt LLC Do-It-Yrslf UsdAtoPrts Chevrolet

51.870 173.511

21

43

Dakoda Armstrong #

WinField Ford

52.002 173.070

22

84

Chad Boat #

Front Row Tlgtng/CrvttePrts.nt Chevrolet

52.065 172.861

23

28

JJ Yeley

Texas 28 Spirits Stage Dodge

52.131 172.642

24

44

David Starr

Hard Hat Heroes/BYF.org Toyota

52.219 172.351

25

51

Jeremy Clements

Allsouthelectric.com/BRT Extrusions Chevrolet

52.123 172.668

26

46

Matt Dibenedetto

Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet

52.268 172.189

27

40

Josh Wise(i)

Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet

52.298 172.091

28

14

Eric McClure

Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota

52.391 171.785

29

19

Mike Bliss

Tweaker Energy Shot/Circle K Toyota

52.397 171.766

30

01

Landon Cassill

teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet

52.482 171.487

31

4

Jeffrey Earnhardt

teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet

52.544 171.285

32

55

Jamie Dick

Viva Auto Group Chevrolet

52.630 171.005

33

17

Tanner Berryhill #

NationalCashLenders.com Dodge

52.661 170.904

34

72

Carl Long

Crash Claims R Us Chevrolet

52.861 170.258

35

25

John Wes Townley(i)

Zaxby’s/The Identical Movie Toyota

52.917 170.078

36

70

Derrike Cope

Youtheory Chevrolet

52.925 170.052

37

87

Josh Reaume

Colonial Countertops Chevrolet

53.264 168.970

38

52

Joey Gase

Chevrolet

Owner Points

39

23

Robert Richardson Jr.

Cornboard Chevrolet

Owner Points

40

10

Blake Koch

M&W Logistics Toyota

52.973 169.898

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Posted on by Staff Report

JGR driver will lead field to green in Lilly Diabetes 250 (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

RELATED: Full lineup

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

Kyle Busch picked up his 40th career Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole and second consecutive at the Brickyard, topping the field during qualifying for the Lilly Diabetes 250 (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.

The JGR driver led the third and final round of group qualifying with a best speed of 179.888 mph, beating out teammate Matt Kenseth (178.912) at the last second, to capture the pole and the right to lead the field to green in today’s 250-mile event on the 2.5-mile speedway.

Busch will be joined on the front row by Kenseth, with first round winner Ty Dillon and Kevin Harvick lining up behind them. Spots five through 10 are filled by Chase Elliott, second round winner Joey Logano, Regan Smith, Chris Buescher, Paul Menard and Brian Scott, respectively.

Ryan Reed and Kyle Larson failed to race into the final session and will start 13th and 14th respectively.

 

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Air Titans dry track to allow for extended practice

Practice for the Sprint Cup Series will begin shortly after 10:15 a.m. ET and continue until 11 a.m. ET.

Thunderstorms over Indianapolis Motor Speedway delayed the start of the final Sprint Cup Series practice at the track. Teams and fans were asked to take shelter due to lightning shortly before the 9 a.m. ET practice was scheduled to begin, with my teams using the time to take pictures of the wet garage.

There are 20 Air Titans on the scene at Indy.

The practice was originally scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET and run until 10:50 a.m. ET. The next on-track event is Nationwide Series qualifying, which is set to begin at 12:10 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1).

Stay tuned to NASCAR.com for the latest. When practice resumes, you can follow it live with NASCAR.com’s leaderboard.

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Hendrick Motorsports places three drivers in top five

RELATED: Practice results | Indy Race Center

Looking for his record fifth Brickyard 400 victory, Jimmie Johnson appears to have the right car under him to win Sunday’s Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard after topping a rain-shortened final Sprint Cup Series practice Saturday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The session, which was originally set to run from 9-10:50 a.m. ET, got underway after the track was dried by a team of 20 Air Titans shortly before 10:30 a.m. and ran until 11 a.m.

Johnson paced the field with a best speed of 189.298 mph, achieved on his first of five total laps. A trio of Hendrick Motorsports drivers landed in the top five, with fellow four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon (187.856) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (187.758) placing fourth and fifth, respectively. The series’ most recent winner Brad Keselowski (188.494), in second, and Kevin Harvick (188.363), in third, completed the top five.

Spots six through 10 were occupied by Juan Pablo Montoya (187.688), Friday’s practice leader Matt Kenseth (187.512), Kyle Larson (187.013), Kyle Busch (186.796) and Greg Biffle (186.691).

Last year’s Brickyard winner Ryan Newman placed 19th with a best speed of 186.154 mph. Richard Childress Racing teammate and former Indy winner Paul Menard (185.701) ran 22 laps, while Brian Vickers (184.873) ran a session-high 23.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying gets underway at 2:10 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPN. Watch the Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

 

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Driver compares Indianapolis track to a road course

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — With two wins under his belt, 13 top-10 finishes and a second-place position in the points standings, it might seem as if Dale Earnhardt Jr. is primed for his best shot at a victory here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 
But the Hendrick Motorsports driver, speaking to the media following Saturday’s final practice session at the 2.5-mile track, said that isn’t the case.
 
"I think I’ve had some pretty good cars here in the past," said Earnhardt Jr., who will be making his 15th career start at the legendary track. "I’ve had chances to win in the past and didn’t even know it.
 
"I think the first time we came here, we ran in the top three for the first half of the race. We just didn’t anticipate — didn’t realize — the potential we had."
 
Instead, he finished 13th. That was back in 2000. Since then, he’s finished better (he was fourth in ’12 and sixth last year), and he’s finished worse (in ’05, he was credited with a 43rd-place finish after getting punted on a restart).

While often compared to Pocono — where Earnhardt Jr. won last month — because of its size and relatively flat layout, Earnhardt says it requires a road-course mentality when formulating a game plan at Indy.
 
"You’ve got to kind of pit the car like a road course," he said. "The left-side tries are very, very hard, so we probably won’t change (them) that much. We need to sort of plan our strategy to where we are on pit road the least amount of time on that last stop … your strategy may be more geared toward what you do at a road course where you go ahead and get inside the (fuel) window and get on pit road … get your pit work done and then be done for the rest of the race … try to be the guy that’s out front at the end when everybody else comes on down pit road to get their stuff done.”
 
His point, he said, "is we’ve had good cars in the past and just didn’t do the strategy just right. Somebody did it better than us or somebody made it on fuel and won the race or what have you. But we’ve had some good cars here."
 
Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick) were fastest in the two practice sessions here this weekend as teams made preparations for Sunday’s Crown Royal Presents, the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard (Sunday, 1 pm. ET, ESPN). Earnhardt Jr. was 24th in the opening session and fifth fastest during an abbreviated final practice.
 
"I think the car is pretty good, it’s just real easy to overdrive the car here," he said. "We made a run and it was great, and then the next couple of runs I over-drove the car and we weren’t great, so (I’ve) just got to try to be patient with the throttle and try not to push the car into the corner and get the … front tires sliding too much.
 
"If you’re just a little bit tight, you add all that up all the way around the lap and that’s a lot of time. You make one little mistake on the straightaways — they’re so long here — and you can’t recover until you get to the next corner. It’s costly here if you over-drive the corners."
 
Patience will be the key, he said, and his patience will be put to the test after qualifying 23rd.

"This morning, we went out and the track was perfect," Earnhardt Jr. said after failing to advance out of the second knockout qualifying session. "That’s why we ran such a good lap. When we run on a track like we got right now, we’re just not as fast as we need to be. Cars real, real tight and slow.

"Haven’t been real happy all weekend. Qualifying’s been a problem lately, especially the last couple months for us so just real frustrated, man. We’ve got to run better than this. We’ve got to figure out what’s going on, and we’ve got to run better than this. It’s getting really frustrating with not turning."
 
• Earnhardt Jr. said talk about who will replace departing crew chief Steve Letarte continues, but to date there’s been no "real serious discussion about it.
 
"But I think the people involved in the decision-making have some great ideas, and the conversations are starting to happen, so we’ll see how that sort of works itself out," he said.
 
Letarte announced in January that he would be departing at year’s end to take a race analyst role with NBC Sports when the network begins its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race coverage in 2015.
 
The two have won three races together, including this year’s Daytona 500.
 
A Brickyard victory would be special, Earnhardt Jr. said, but so would any victory.
 
"Any race I win with Steve this year is very special because of (it being) his last year," he said. "So yeah, we’ll take … a win anywhere.
 
"He’s one of … the best on the box when it comes to strategy and this style of race and the way the tires are going to come into play into that, this is right in his wheelhouse.
 
"I think he’s going to give us a great opportunity."

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