Paint Scheme Preview: Indianapolis, Eldora

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Staff Report

Check out the new looks hitting the track this weekend

One of the most anticipated weeks of the NASCAR season has arrived.

First, a national series makes its return to dirt as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series invades Eldora Speedway for the 1-800 CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime’s The Profit for a Wednesday night race.

Then it’s off to one of the most iconic venues in the sport — Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series will both be on track there.

See this week’s schemes below, and check back as we continue to update this page.

Clint Bowyer will drive the No. 15 RK Motors Charlotte Toyota.

SHOP: Clint Bowyer die-casts

Greg Biffle will drive the No. 16 3M Safety Ford.

SHOP: Greg Biffle die-casts

Jeff Gordon will drive the No. 24 Pepsi MAX Chevrolet.

SHOP: Jeff Gordon die-casts

Austin Dillon will drive the No. 33 Mycogen Seeds Chevrolet.

SHOP: Austin Dillon die-casts

David Ragan will drive the No. 34 CSX Play It Safe Ford.

SHOP: David Ragan die-casts

Ryan Newman will drive the No. 39 Quicken Loans/The Smurfs Chevrolet.

SHOP: Ryan Newman die-casts

Landon Cassill will drive the No. 40 LittleJoesAutos.com Chevrolet.

SHOP: Landon Cassill die-casts

NATIONWIDE SERIES PAINT SCHEMES

Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Great Clips Shark Week Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kasey Kahne die-casts

Trevor Bayne will drive the No. 6 Pillow Pets Ford.

SHOP: Trevor Bayne die-casts

Matt Kenseth will drive the No. 18 GameStop Toyota.

SHOP: Matt Kenseth die-casts

Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 21 Hunt Brothers Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kevin Harvick die-casts

Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 31 AccuDoc/Brandt Chevrolet.

Related: NASCAR Foundation auction to benefit Leffler’s son

Michael Annett will drive the No. 43 Pilot Travel Centers Old Wisconsin Ford.

Travis Pastrana will drive the No. 60 X Games Los Angeles Ford.

SHOP: Travis Pastrana die-casts

Alex Bowman will drive the No. 99 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Toyota.

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES PAINT SCHEMES

Jason Bowles will drive the No. 5 Valvoline Oil Ford.

Jared Landers will drive the No. 6 Mark Martin Automotive & Peak Oil Chevrolet.

Ron Hornaday Jr. will drive the No. 9 Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet.

Tracy Hines will drive the No. 13 SealMaster Toyota.

Dave Blaney will drive the No. 19 Reese Towpower Ford.

Brennan Newberry will drive the No. 24 Qore-24 Chevrolet.

Kyle Larson will drive the No. 30 Clorox Chevrolet.

Ryan Newman will drive the No. 34 Oral-B/Aggressive Hydraulics/WIX Filters Chevrolet.

SHOP: Ryan Newman die-casts

Austin Dillon will drive the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet.

SHOP: Austin Dillon die-casts

READ MORE:

READ: First-half
season awards

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Eldora qualifying
procedures explained

READ: Complete coverage
from Chicagoland

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Staff Report

Rookie driver looks right at home on dirt, distances self from field

ROSSBURG, Ohio — Austin Dillon and rookie Kyle Larson split leaderboard honors on the opening day of practice at Eldora Speedway as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series made a historic return for the sanctioning body to dirt-track racing.

Larson, driving the No. 30 Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet, turned a fast lap of 91.626 mph on the half-mile dirt track to lead the first two-hour session. Dillon, in the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevy, paced the two-hour nightcap with a best lap of 83.164 mph as a slicker track limited speeds.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

A total of 35 trucks made practice laps in preparation for Wednesday night’s inaugural Mudsummer Classic, which begins with qualifying races at 7 p.m. ET (SPEED). The main event is scheduled for a 9:35 p.m. ET start.

In the first session, Larson was a solid two-tenths of a second faster than second-fastest Dave Blaney, who clocked in at 90.653 mph. The dirt-track veteran’s son and teammate, Ryan Blaney, was third-best in another Brad Keselowski Racing entry. The family theme continued at the tail of the top five with brothers Austin and Ty Dillon fourth and fifth, respectively.

“In the beginning of the practice, there was still some moisture in the track so we were able to lay down a pretty quick lap,” said Larson, who won in his only Truck Series start this season, in April at Rockingham. “Seemed like each time we went out (afterward), we slowed down a lot.”

In the second session, Ty Dillon made it a 1-2 family leaderboard behind his brother as Larson took third on the speed charts. Veteran Ken Schrader posted an impressive fourth-fastest lap in a Chevrolet he owns, followed by dirt-track specialist Tracy Hines completing the top five.

A handful of spins and minor contact marked both practices, with many drivers flirting with or initiating slight contact with the outside wall as they found comfort with the outside groove. Running the high line, though, resulted in plenty of right-rear fender damage, most of it cosmetic.

John Wes Townley had the most trouble with at least six spins or incidents over the two practice sessions. Joey Coulter also smacked the outside wall on the exit of Turn 4, scraping the side of his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

Among other drivers involved in minor incidents Tuesday: Darrell Wallace Jr., Max Gresham, James Buescher, Jeff Babcock, Ryan Newman, Bryan Silas, Jeb Burton, Dave Blaney and Dakoda Armstrong.

READ MORE:

READ: First-half
season awards

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Eldora qualifying
procedures explained

READ: Complete coverage
from Chicagoland

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Nascar

20-year-old teaching teammates, impressing dirt veterans

ROSSBURG, Ohio — Kyle Larson said there was something familiar about racing around Eldora Speedway in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series entry.

It reminded him, the 20-year-old said, of racing at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

A couple of historic venues with one major difference — Darlington’s harsh surface is asphalt while Eldora’s half-mile is dirt.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

“I kind of feel like it’s similar to running the top in (turns) 3 and 4 at Darlington,” Larson said after leading Tuesday’s opening practice session for Wednesday’s CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime’s “The Profit.”

“You have to be really easy in the corner, (really) careful and get as close as you can to the wall.”

One of five drivers competing this week for Turner Scott Motorsports, Larson set fast time in the first of two lengthy practice sessions (91.626 mph) and also had the best 10-lap average (86.615 mph).

A graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity initiative, Larson is an Earnhardt Ganassi Racing development driver, competing fulltime with Turner Scott in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He has an extensive background competing on dirt, however, making him an early favorite for tomorrow’s Truck event.

The versatile driver won at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway earlier this year in his only previous start this season in a truck.

“The track changed quite a bit (during practice),” Larson said.” “I took a long break — a 40-minute break — and went back out right before it ended, and the track was getting good there. The top was really, really slick and slow, the middle (had) more grip; you could almost run down there and keep up.

“If it’s like this for the race (Wednesday), I think it’s going to be pretty exciting. I was actually able to throw a slide job … into (Turn) 1 and complete the pass. I think you can get some passes done if you have to start a few rows back — you still have a shot to win.”

Former World of Outlaw champion Dave Blaney was second fastest, while Blaney’s son Ryan, was third quick.

Jeb Burton and defending series champion, James Buescher, two full-time competitors in the Truck Series for Turner, weren’t as fast as they had hoped, and Larson said he was happy to offer advice.

“I don’t know if they thought, since it’s dirt, you have to be sideways, but they were way too sideways,” Larson said. “…After I talked to Jeb, he went back out there and looked a little bit better. I think that helped.

“It’s pretty difficult because you’ve got to be so smooth on everything. You see a lot of the pavement guys out there that are really aggressive on the throttle, and it kind of gets their truck unbalanced. …

“It’s just a different feeling for all those guys. I’ve run quite a bit here … I feel like (the Trucks) are pretty similar to a Silver Crown car. A lot heavier and even slower, but the way you drive them is similar so I think that’s what helped me out.”

Even Scott Bloomquist, one of the track’s most frequent winners, was surprised by Larson’s ability to get around the track and run an extremely high line.

“I was watching Kyle a little bit, and I’m not ready to run this comfort zone that it appeared he was running out there,” Bloomquist, competing for Kyle Busch Motorsports, said. “He definitely was charging hard. We’ve got a little bit more work to do before I feel quite that comfortable. This place will reach out and bite you pretty easy. I was actually watching and waiting for him to hit and he never did. I was impressed.”

READ MORE:

READ: First-half
season awards

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Eldora qualifying
procedures explained

READ: Complete coverage
from Chicagoland

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Nascar

Trucks will hit the track at Eldora Speedway on Wednesday in NASCAR’s first national series dirt race in over 40 years

It was “the end of an era,” says Richard Petty, a man who has seen an era or two slide by during his day.

“It was just a rough old dirt track where all they had done was run horses around it,” Petty said of the Home State 200 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. on Sept. 30, 1970.

Horse power meets horsepower.

“I remember some guy going into the first corner there, they had horse barns on the outside of the race track, something happened to one of the cars and he went tearing off and landed in one of the horse barns,” said Petty. “Luckily, there weren’t any horses in them. You remember stuff like that.”

It was the last time one of NASCAR’s top touring series competed on dirt, and while the dust has long since settled, it’s about to get stirred up once again.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

The Camping World Truck Series’ inaugural 1-800 CarCash MudSummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime’s ‘The Profit,’ scheduled for Wednesday, will be contested at Eldora Speedway, a 24-degree banked half-mile dirt track in Rossburg, Ohio. It will mark the first time a series has run on something other than asphalt or concrete since the Raleigh event, a span of 42 years.

As many as 40 races each season were held at dirt tracks during the early years of NASCAR. But by 1970, only three were run on dirt — two on the half-mile at Columbia (S.C.) Speedway and the final stop in Raleigh.

Petty won two of the final three, at Columbia and Raleigh, while Bobby Isaac, who would win that year’s championship, was also a winner at Columbia.

The Raleigh race featured an all-Ellerbe (N.C.) front row, with John Sears on the pole and Benny Parsons on the outside. Twenty-three cars started the race; 12 were running at the finish.

Sears led early, but Parsons soon charged to the front and led 78 laps. Petty took over on Lap 89 when the engine in Parsons’ entry blew, and remained out front for the remaining 112 laps.

“A lot of times on dirt, the driver makes up more … than he can on asphalt, because the cars run sideways, run into holes and all that stuff,” said Petty, who scored 30 of his 200 career wins on dirt.

“I always felt the driver could make up so much more then. It was so much fun. On asphalt, they always got one groove, maybe around the middle, maybe outside. But on dirt, you could go anywhere you needed to run fast. You could run outside, in the middle, up against the banking. It was more of a challenge. The fun deal was (racing on) dirt.”

Lee Petty, Richard’s father, holds the record for most NASCAR dirt-track wins with 42. Herb Thomas (41), Buck Baker (40), Tim Flock (36) and Ned Jarrett (33) also were extremely successful. There have been 76 different winners in 490 previous NASCAR races contested on dirt tracks. That figure doesn’t include wins on the beach course used in Daytona Beach, whose layout included both asphalt and sand.

Don Robertson owned Richard Petty’s winning car for the Raleigh event, but Petty said it had originally come out of the Petty Enterprises shop in Level Cross, N.C.

With bigger, better-equipped paved tracks becoming more prominent and dirt tracks on the way out, teams had begun selling off cars that had been run on dirt. When the occasional need for such a car resurfaced, Petty said the teams stuck a bargain with those who had purchased the cars. Such was the case with his winning entry at Raleigh.

“We would borrow the car back from whoever we had sold it to,” Petty said. “… We would take the car back in, completely disassemble it, put all new suspension under it, all new brakes, motor, rear-ends, everything. Then we’d go run it on dirt.

“And when the race was over, we’d give them the car back. We didn’t rent it from them; we just upgraded their cars so they’d have all the new stuff. So they came out on top.”

READ MORE:

READ: First-half
season awards

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Eldora qualifying
procedures explained

READ: Complete coverage
from Chicagoland

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Nascar

ESPN to televise final 17 Sprint Cup races, including Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

ESPN kicks off the final 17-week stretch of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action with coverage of the July 28 Crown Royal presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Jimmy Gaiero and his team are ready.

Chances are, you haven’t heard of Gaiero, or Richie Basile, Rene Hatlelid or Chris Gray. Or countless others involved in this weekend’s production. But you no doubt have seen examples of their work.

You’ve seen it every time this season when the NASCAR Nationwide Series has rolled out onto the track. Many of the same ESPN employees who bring race fans Nationwide coverage each week will do their own version of “double duty,” working both Nationwide and Sprint Cup races for the remainder of the 2013 racing schedule.

Gaiero is the producer for ESPN’s NASCAR telecasts, and it’s his job to ride herd over a group of associates — each of whom is trained on various aspects of the action on the track — for the duration of each race.

It’s not easy, even if Gaiero, Basile and others make it seem that way.

Producer Jim Gaiero (foreground) and director Richie Basile during an ESPN telecast (ESPN Images)

Hidden away inside one of several trailers in the TV compound, the ESPN production trailer is a man cave without the snacks. Or recliners. Not even a painting of dogs playing poker.

It is, however, filled with video monitors displaying anywhere from one to a dozen separate shots at any given time.

Gaiero and Basile, the director, sit front and center, focused on any number of screens but most mindful of the one that’s straight ahead — it’s the same shot that’s being seen in every home that’s tuned in to the race, in this instance, the Subway Firecracker 250 from Daytona International Speedway.

Among those seated behind the two on any given week are Hatlelid, the pit producer who coordinates content with pit reporters and camera crews; and Gray, in charge of logging commercial breaks during a telecast and making sure the producer is aware of time remaining before live coverage continues.

Rene Hatelid produces pit-road reports like these post-race interviews.

What goes on inside the production trailer during a race? Everything. Often simultaneously. Personnel are spread out all over the 2.5-mile track with announcers in the booth, reporters on pit road and camera operators practically everywhere. Each one is in communication throughout the evening with one or more folks inside the trailer.

The official time of July race at DIS was one hour, 43 minutes and 56 seconds. Had you been seated inside the unit, this is a condensed version of what you might have heard:

“Countdown.”

“Last-minute questions?”

“Reveal.”

“Let’s have fun.”

“Allen, Dave knows why the 33 is getting hot.”

“Morph the ticker.”

“Ten, nine, eight …”

“We’ve got 6 radio.”

“Let’s go to 6 radio — now.”

“Mention the blue spoiler.”

Mention the blue spoiler? Elliott Sadler’s blue spoiler finished first and earned him the $100,000 Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash prize at Daytona.

“Seven, six …”

“Time in this segment?”

“Eight.”

“Argh!”

“Telemetry and reveal.”

“Five, four … “

“Red flag.”

“Gimme the points. Gimme the points, Larry.”

“Let’s get Shannon with Allgaier. We’ll do it live.”

“Three, two, one.”

“Good job everyone.”

While Basile is busy calling into his headset for the various shots to be shown on screen, Gaiero keeps tabs on everything else that’s going on out on the race track. He’s also keeping an eye on how long the coverage has gone between commercial breaks, marking off each break as it takes place.

“My job is to look at the other cameras to help Richie decide where we’re going to go next, or if something is about to happen,” Gaiero, who has been producing racing for two-and-a-half years, said. “Because we are usually following a story that we’ve already set up, so we’re already focusing on that. My job is to see what we’re missing because I want to make sure that the fans are seeing pretty much everything.”

A late-race wreck brings out the red flag and brings out the best in the prepared ESPN crew.

The red-flag period near the end of the race — the result of a multi-car crash — stopped the event for nearly 10 minutes. No one on the TV crew flinched as the minutes passed.

The downtime wasn’t an issue, Gaiero said “because we were ready. We were ready for everything.

“When everything happened at the end with the red flag, we got all this great content and we set up this great finish. Everything we started at the beginning of the day about how this would be a great finish and how the big one was going to happen — it all played out. Because we had done our research, we had done our homework.”

Fourteen of the final 17 Cup races will be carried on ESPN. Three — from Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway — will be televised by ABC.

Rich Feinberg, ESPN vice president, motorsports, production, (front row, foreground) leads the NASCAR on ESPN team, including the Patrick Perrin and Rene Hatelid (back row, foreground). (ESPN Images)

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Talk about this story or start a topic of your own in our fan forum.

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Staff Report

Images from Eldora Speedway, Tuesday’s practice sessions

For the first time in 42 years, one of NASCAR’s national series returns to a dirt track.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was on center stage Tuesday at Eldora Speedway, a half-mile banked track in Ohio owned by Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart.

During two practice sessions, there were spinouts, there was passing, there were new tires … and there was mud. Lots of it.

See below for some of the best images from the first day at the track, and continue to check back as we upload more photos.

See the difference? Racing on dirt requires a completely different type of grooved tire, as seen on the left.

Teams had a fresh fleet of new tires for practice at Eldora Speedway. Here, Scott Bloomquist’s team gets the rubber ready.

Expect things to get dirty at Eldora, much like the grille of Dave Blaney’s No. 19 Ford. Blaney is one of two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars racing for a spot in the field (Ryan Newman is the other). Blaney has a history on dirt and posted the second-fastest time of the opening practice, just ahead of son Ryan Blaney, who was third.

Jeb Burton kicks up dirt during one of his first laps around the half-mile, 24-degree banked dirt track in Ohio.

In addition to spraying dirt, John Wes Townley took a spin during the opening two-hour practice session. He wasn’t alone, either, as multiple drivers spun out while trying to get their bearings.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series vehicles are equipped a bit differently for Wednesday night’s The CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime’s The Profit.

Ty Dillon, pictured, and brother Austin Dillon both have raced on dirt before. They were among the first drivers out onto the track for the first practice, and then they went up in the stands to get a high-level view of what other trucks were trying while adjustments were being made on their respective machines.

Austin Dillon posted the fastest time during the second practice session Tuesday, sending up long plumes of dirt in his No. 39 Chevrolet.

Like a proud father, Tony Stewart took in the action Tuesday. Stewart owns Eldora Speedway and was instrumental in helping to bring the sport’s sanctioning body back to dirt.

Much like you might see ringers at a road course, there are some dirt ringers at Eldora. One of them is Tracy Hines, who posted the fifth-fastest time of the second practice session in his No. 13 Toyota.

Fans came early and stayed late for Tuesday’s practice sessions, so you know Wednesday’s qualifying heats and actual race will be well-attended.

This is what the fans came to see: dirt. Or, mud in some cases. The track was slicker for the second practice session, causing the speeds to go down.

READ MORE:

READ: First-half
season awards

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Eldora qualifying
procedures explained

READ: Complete coverage
from Chicagoland

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Staff Report

Follow Truck practice live form Eldora, 4:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday, July 23

READ MORE:

READ: First-half
season awards

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Eldora qualifying
procedures explained

READ: Complete coverage
from Chicagoland

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Staff Report

Watch GarageCam live from Eldora before Tuesday’s trucks practices, 4 p.m. ET, July 23

READ MORE:

READ: First-half
season awards

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Eldora qualifying
procedures explained

READ: Complete coverage
from Chicagoland

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Staff Report

Follow the latest news, and key moments of the rich history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Sprint Cup Series

Crown Royal presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com, 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, ESPN | Results

Featured Story

Newman wins at Indy

One day after earning the Coors Light Pole Award, Ryan Newman broke through at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway to win the Crown Royal presented the Samuel Deeds 400. It was Newman’s first victory this year and 17th of his career. | Read the full story

More news:

— Earnhardt Jr. sees struggles off, on track at Indy
— No. 48 team won’t dwell on missed chances
— Kenseth massages top-five finish out of Indy
— Standings Shuffle: Gordon enters top 10
— Kurt Busch mulling eventual Indy 500 run
— Danica not expecting IndyCar-like success … yet
— Newman wins 50th career Coors Light Pole
— Pit stall assignments
— Kurt Busch blazes trail in final practice
— Montoya tops early practice
— Would a night race make sense at Indy?
— It’s crunch time for Jeff Gordon
— Is this the era of the underdog at Indy?
— Danica feels at home in Indy spotlight
— Paint Scheme Preview: Indianapolis
— Race still historic for Childress
— Bowyer shows winning consistency
— Midseason MVP: Johnson or Kenseth?
— Most memorable moments of the first half
— Driver Reports entering the Brickyard
— Power Rankings: Kahne, Keselowski climb

Nationwide Series

Indiana 250, 4:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, ESPN | ENTRY LIST

Featured Story

Great eight for Busch

Kyle Busch led 92 of 100 laps Saturday at Indianapolis and earned his eighth NASCAR Nationwide Series victory of the season. He survived a frenetic final restart in which he lost the lead to Brian Scott, only to regain it for the final three laps. | Read the full story

More news:

— Engine hang-up derails Hornish’s day
— Kyle Busch wins pole in record speed
— Larson, Vickers fast in practice
— Nationwide qualifying order
— Hornish relishes points lead
— With lead in hand, Hornish returns to Indy

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

A look back at the highlights from each year

1994

In the track’s inaugural NASCAR event, a 23-year-old Jeff Gordon etched his name into the racing history books by winning the first-ever Brickyard 400. | Watch the video

1995

In the rain-delayed 1995 race, the historical significance of NASCAR racing at Indy wasn’t lost on race-winner Dale Earnhardt. "A great race track, tradition up here…I guarantee you NASCAR is happy to be here," said the seven-time champion from Victory Lane. | Watch the video

1996

Defending race-winner Dale Earnhardt was relieved by Mike Skinner on Lap 7 due to injuries he sustained at Talladega, but nobody was stopping Dale Jarrett that day. After his victory, Jarrett and his crew sparked the tradition of the winning driver kissing the row of bricks at the start-finish line. | Watch the video

1997

After several leading drivers were forced to pit under green, Ricky Rudd took advantage to lead the final 46 laps without stopping to take the checkered flag for his first win at Indianapolis in NASCAR’s premier series. | Watch the video

1998

Dale Jarrett led the second 100 miles and was bound to become the first repeat-winner in the history of the race, but ran out of fuel near the midway point and instead Jeff Gordon earned his second Brickyard victory. | Watch the video

1999

Dale Jarrett earned his redemption following his heartbreaking loss from the year before, beating out a determined Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton to become the second two-time winner. | Watch the video

2000

Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace dominated the race, leading 114 laps, but it was Bobby Labonte who stole the win in a race slowed by just two cautions for seven laps. This was Wallace’s second runner-up showing at a track where he excelled, finishing in the top 10 in eight of his first nine races there. | Watch the video

2001

Jeff Gordon became a three-time winner at the Brickyard 400 after taking the lead from Sterling Martin. Just as the three others before him, Gordon went on to become the series champion following his win at the Brickyard. | Watch the video

2002

Rusty Wallace came up just short yet again, finishing second for the third time at Indy and giving way to winner Bill Elliott. The Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer feud came to a head, resulting in a wreck between the two that but Busch into the wall. | Watch the video

2003

Kevin Harvick became the first driver to win the Brickyard 400 from the Coors Light Pole position, holding off Matt Kenseth for the final 16 laps of the race. It was Harvick’s third attempt to win the Cup race at Indianapolis. | Watch the video

2004

Jeff Gordon overcame a series of late-race catastrophes that saw Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Casey Mears taken down with tire issues to become the first four-time winner at Indy in the first green-white-checker finish in Sprint Cup Series history that caused a race to be extended. | Watch the video

2005

Tony Stewart finally broke through at Indianpolis, as the hometown favorite won the Brickyard 400 in his seventh start, climbing the catch-fence to celebrate as fans chanted his name. ‘Smoke’ would win the championship later in the season. | Watch the video

2006

Jimmie Johnson recovered from a blown left front tire early in the race to win his first Brickyard 400, becoming just the second to win that race and the Daytona 500 in the same year. | Watch the video

2007

Rookie Juan Pablo Montoya finished second to Tony Stewart, becoming the first driver to race in all three of the major Indy events (Indy 500, Brickyard 400, and the U.S.G.P.). | Watch the video

2008

How about two? Jimmie Johnson held off Carl Edwards to win his second career race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There would be more to come later, too for the driver who wasn’t quite yet nicknamed Five-Time. | Watch the video

2009

Former Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya looked primed to take his first Brickyard 400, leading 116 laps, but a late pit penalty proved costly and allowed Jimmie Johnson to earn his third victory and second in a row. | Watch the video

2010

Juan Pablo Montoya again was in great position at a track he excels at, leading 86 laps, but a decision to take four tires in a late pit stop and a crash with 16 laps to go knocked him out. Jamie McMurray took advantage for the victory, becoming the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season. | Watch the video

2011

It must be a great feeling to get the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win under one’s belt. But it must be even more special for that first win to come at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Watch as Paul Menard does just that for Richard Childress Racing. | Watch the video

2012

After a restart 20 laps to go, Jimmie Johnson held off Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle tie his buddy Jeff Gordon for four Brickyard 400 victories. | Watch the video

READ MORE:

READ: Complete coverage
from Eldora

READ: Complete coverage
from Indianapolis

READ: Memorable moments
of the first half

READ: Paint Scheme Preview:
Indianapolis, Eldora

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Staff Report

Mudsummer Classic will feature a different take on traditional qualifying

1-800-CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime’s ‘The Profit’
July 24, 9 p.m. ET (SPEED, MRN)
Entry list | Tuesday, Wednesday Eldora schedule

The race will feature a traditional two-lap qualifying session, five qualifying heat races, one last-chance race and a champion’s provisional to determine the 30-truck starting field. The top-20 in owners’ points entering the race event will have a guaranteed starting position.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

Here are additional details for each round of qualifying:

Qualifying

Two-lap qualifying determines starting position for the qualifying heat races.

Qualifying Races
• Five qualifying races, eight laps each; only green flag laps count; five trucks transfer from each qualifying race
• Lineup for the qualifying races will be based on qualifying speeds with four locked-in trucks (trucks in the top 20)
• The top-five trucks in qualifying will start on the pole for their respective qualifying race
• Highest finishing non-locked-in truck will transfer to race from each qualifying race
• At the completion of the qualifying races, 25 trucks will have earned spots into the feature

Last Chance Race
• 15 laps; only green flag laps count
• The top-four finishers will transfer to the feature race and start in positions 26-29
• The lineup will be based on the finish from the qualifying races

Starting position No. 30 will go to the most recent past series champion who has not already qualified. If the 30th starting position is not filled by an eligible champion, it will be assigned to the next highest finishing truck in the Last Chance Race.

The “Mudsummer Classic” will be the first NASCAR national touring series event held on dirt since NASCAR’s premiere series competed Sept. 30, 1970, in Raleigh, N.C. Richard Petty won the Home State 200 at the half-mile State Fairgrounds Speedway.

READ MORE: