Indianapolis, Sprint Cup Titles Often Go Together

SPRINT CUP SERIES

Indianapolis, Sprint Cup Titles Often Go Together

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway truly is a special place as judged by previous winners of the Crown Royal Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard. Seven winners of 14 of the 18 races run have been NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions or champions to be. Eight times the winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to win that season’s title. The most recent Brickyard/NASCAR Sprint Cup champion was Jimmie Johnson in 2009. Johnson also won both race and championship in 2006 and 2008. Other race/championship winners in the same season are Jeff Gordon (1998, 2001), Dale Jarrett (1999), Bobby Labonte (2000) and Tony Stewart (2005).

Brickyard 400 Seems Likely To Revert To Veteran Form

Until a year ago, the Brickyard 400 had yet to produce a first-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winner. Paul Menard changed all that by taking his Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet to Victory Lane. Menard was the third driver last year to break through in one of NASCAR’s classic events joining Trevor Bayne (Daytona 500) and Regan Smith (Bojangles Southern 500). Menard’s Brickyard victory, however, was his last top-five finish. There have been no first-time winners through the 2012 season’s first 19 races. The highest-ranked driver without a career victory is Aric Almirola (22^nd).The list of series veterans who have not won at the Speedway, however, is lengthy and includes all but Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick among the current top 10 in the points standings.

Gordon Desperately Needs Another Indy Victory

Jeff Gordon knows how to win at Indianapolis beginning with his victory in the inaugural race in 1994. Gordon’s four wins are the most of any driver at the Speedway, one more than Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. With seven races remaining before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ lineup is determined on Sept. 8, this Indianapolis race may be the most crucial for Gordon. The four-time champion desperately needs a win to place his helmet in the Chase "wild card" ring. Gordon ranks 17^th in points and trails Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano among "wild card"-

eligible drivers with race victories.

Montoya, McMurray Doing IMS Oval, Road Course Double

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray will also compete in Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix, the inaugural visit to the Speedway by the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. The pair finished fourth in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona at the wheel of their BMW Riley Daytona Prototype and join Ganassi’s fulltime GRAND-AM team of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in pursuit of the North American Endurance Championship. The three-hour race can be seen at 4 p.m. ET on SPEED. McMurray won the Brickyard 400 in 2010. Montoya finished second in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup trip to the Speedway in 2007. He will become the first driver to compete in each of the track’s three major four-wheeled events: Indianapolis 500, U.S. Grand Prix and Rolex Sports Car Grand Prix.

Chevrolet Goes For 10^th Consecutive Speedway Victory

Chevrolet has been rock-steady at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway riding a nine-race win streak that began in 2003. That’s the longest current streak at any track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The brand has won 13 of Indy’s 18 races beginning with Jeff Gordon’s inaugural victory in 1994. Hendrick Motorsports counts the most Chevrolet wins (six) followed by Richard Childress Racing (three) and Joe Gibbs Racing (two). Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has a single win. Kasey Kahne’s New Hampshire victory was the brand’s series-leading 696^th triumph.

Hoosiers Stewart, Newman, Stremme Covet Indy Laurels

For Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and David Stremme, this week amounts to "back home again in Indiana." The three are natives of the Hoosier state. While Stewart has won twice at the speedway, where he also competed in the Indianapolis 500, Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Newman and Stremme – both natives of South Bend, Ind. – have yet to savor a home state victory. Stremme finished 16^th in his most recent trip to the Brickyard in 2009 while Newman has a best finish of fourth – his only top five – in 2002. Newman continues to chase his elusive 50^th Coors Light Pole at a track where he’s qualified among the top five on six occasions.

ESPN/ABC Televise Remaining 17 Sprint Cup Events

Sunday’s Indianapolis race marks the beginning of ESPN/ABC’s 17-race run as television partners for the remainder of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The networks again broadcast the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ beginning Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway and continuing through the Nov. 18 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.