NASCAR Week of July 15, 2013

NASCAR   Week of July 15, 2013

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will scatter to the four winds this week and enjoy their last break until the 2013 season concludes Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

There will be no vacation, however, for their teams as they prepare for one of the summer’s signature races, the Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Bigmachinerecords.com. The 400-mile event marks the 20^th season the NASCAR Sprint Cup has competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

 

It likewise signals the beginning of ESPN/ABC television coverage of the season’s remaining 17 races including the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™. IMS Radio and SiriusXM Radio also will air the Indianapolis event with live broadcasts beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.

 

Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and current points leader Jimmie Johnson is the defending Brickyard 400 winner. Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon are the co-record holders at Indianapolis with four victories apiece.

 

With the battle for Chase eligibility at a boil, the Indianapolis race can be seen as pivotal. Five champions – Johnson, Gordon, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett – have won at the Brickyard in at least one of their championship seasons. NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, including NASCAR Hall of Fame member Dale Earnhardt and 2014 inductee Jarrett, have won 15 of 19 races at Indy.

 

Eight among the current top 10 vying for a post-season berth have yet to win at Indianapolis – Johnson and Kevin Harvick being the exceptions. New Hampshire continued the parade of top 10 “comers and goers” as reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne replaced Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart.

 

The current difference between making the Chase on points or as a Wild Card – or missing the postseason altogether – remains minimal. Tenth-place Kasey Kahne, holder of a provisional Wild Card and 20^th-place Paul Menard – the final Wild Card eligible driver – is a slim, 36 points.

 

A year ago, the gap between 10^th and 11^th was 46 points after 19 races.

 

The NASCAR Nationwide Series receives no off week as teams travel to Chicagoland Speedway for the first of two 2013 visits to the 1.5-mile track in Joliet, Ill. Elliott Sadler, currently fifth to points leader Regan Smith, is the defending race winner.

 

Chicagoland’s STP 300 (3 p.m. EDT, ESPN, MRN Radio, SIRIUSXM Radio) is the third leg of the Nationwide Dash 4 Cash which rewards the highest of four series points-eligible qualifiers with a $100,000 bonus. This week’s eligible drivers are New Hampshire bonus winner Austin Dillon, Brian Vickers, Brian Scott and Michael Annett.

 

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is just a week a week away from its debut at Eldora Speedway, a .5-mile clay oval in New Weston, Ohio. The 1-800CARCASH presented by CNBC Prime the Profit Mudsummer Classic marks NASCAR’s first national series race on a dirt surface since 1970.

 

Some of the nation’s top dirt track specialists – i.e., “ringers” – are expected to challenge series points-eligible drivers for victory in the 150-lap event.