Nascar At Indianapolis

Indianapolis

July 23, 2012

Sunday marks the 19^th time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has appeared at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but this year’s race has a unique twist. The Crown Royal Curtiss Shaver 400 (ESPN, 1 p.m. ET) headlines the track’s inaugural Kroger Super Weekend melding NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series competition on its 2.5-mile oval and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge action on the 2.534-mile road course.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series formerly raced across town at Lucas Oil Raceway beginning in 1982 and steps up to IMS for Saturday’s event (ESPN, 4:30 p. ET). GRAND-AM also will make its first appearance with the three-hour Brickyard Grand Prix for Daytona Prototype and GT cars taking place Friday (SPEED, 4 p.m.) following Continental Tire Grand Sport and Street Tuner competition. One of the track’s major challenges is track changeover – from oval to road course then back again – on Thursday and Friday nights.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the home of race and championship winning drivers. Seven previous IMS winners with 14 victories at the track among them were either NASCAR Sprint Cup champions or champions to be. The Brickyard 400 winner has gone on to win the title in eight different seasons.

Last year Paul Menard became the first driver to earn his first win in the series at Indy and the fourth different driver to record his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in 2011. There have been none this year.

Jeff Gordon has won the Brickyard 400 four times – most by any driver. He needs a fifth win in the worst way if he’s going to wrestle his way into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™.

The heat is on Dodge, Ford and Toyota to reach Indy’s Victory Lane. A Chevrolet driver has won nine consecutive Brickyard 400s and 13 times overall.

Danica Patrick is no stranger to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway having competed seven times in the Indianapolis 500. Saturday’s race will be her first on-track as a NASCAR Nationwide Series competitor. She’s ninth in series standings.

Indianapolis is race No. 3 in the Nationwide "Dash 4 Cash" with series points leader Elliott Sadler the $100,000 winner along with Sunday’s Chicagoland victory. Sadler heads the standings by 11 points over Austin Dillon and 19 ahead of reigning series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitors won’t race again until Aug. 4 at Pocono Raceway, but James Buescher, who became the series’ first three-time winner of 2012 at Chicagoland Speedway, will suit up for Indy’s NASCAR Nationwide event. Timothy Peters remains the NCWTS standings leader by 23 points over Ty Dillon.