Jam Packed Week

Stewart-Haas Racing Squad Races Into Jam Packed Week

Any time Tony Stewart heads to his home track, it’s a major storyline. He has twice conquered Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Columbus, Ind., native relishes each visit to one of the most historic race tracks on earth. But this time, it’s not only him. It’s his entire time.

Fellow Indiana native Ryan Newman will pull double duty this weekend, and share the headlines with his boss. And Danica Patrick will make a bit of history to cap it all off.

But first, Stewart. After six failed attempts, Stewart finally won his Holy Grail race in 2005 and followed up with another Brickyard win in 2007. Since then, he’s finished outside the top 10 only once. The timing couldn’t be better for Stewart, who has finished 20th or worse in three of the last four races and has dropped from 10th to 13th in the points standings.

Newman will race at Eldora Speedway on Wednesday night, the first NASCAR national series dirt race in more than 40 years. From there, the South Bend, Ind., native will head to his home track – a spot where he has enjoyed varying levels of success. His best finish was fourth in 2002, but since then has collected only one top-10 finish (seventh last year).

On Sunday, Patrick will become the first female driver to compete in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She raced at Indy in the NASCAR Nationwide Series last season, finishing 35th.

 

New Blood: Roush, Penske Primed to Break Through At Indy

A quick glance at the owners wins list at Indianapolis Motor Speedway reveals some interesting tid bits.

Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in Indy wins with eight, split evenly between two of its drivers. For a long while, Jeff Gordon led all drivers with four victories. Since 2006, Jimmie Johnson has matched that figure.

Richard Childress Racing has three wins at the Brickyard, and is the only team to win with three different drivers – Dale Earnhardt in 1995, Kevin Harvick in 2003 and Paul Menard in 2011. Joe Gibbs Racing likewise has three Indy wins – two with Tony Stewart (2005, ’07) and one with Bobby Labonte (2000, the year he won his series championship).

Absent from the list are two NASCAR powerhouses – Roush Fenway Racing and Penske Racing. But it would not be wise to count them out.

Roush nearly broke through last year, with a third place finish by Greg Biffle. In fact, Roush has placed a driver in the top five at Indianapolis in each season since 2008. Roush driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Indy on Sunday, but finished ninth there in last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Recently, Brad Keselowski has been the most successful Penske Racing driver at Indy, scoring ninth-place finishes in each of the last two Brickyard races. Joey Logano, whose best Brickyard finish was ninth in 2010, needs a boost – two straight 40th-place finishes have knocked him from 10th to 18th in points. 

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Etc.

Kevin Harvick’s seventh-place finish two weeks ago was No. 199 for the 2003 Brickyard 400 winner. One more, and he’ll be the 29th driver to reach the 200 top 10s plateau in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. … Trevor Bayne will return to the seat of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford for his eighth start of 2013. His best finish this season was a 15th at Michigan. In two races at IMS, Bayne has finished 17th and 30th. … Austin Dillon will make his first Brickyard start in the Sprint Cup Series, running the No. 33 Mycogen Seeds Chevrolet. He finished fifth in last year’s NASCAR Nationwide race at IMS.