NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top Story News Schedule Race Update/Results Statistics Point Standings Starting Grid Race Preview Driver Info Team Info Track Info Season Chart All-Time Wins Odds Weather NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard Preview From The Sports Network   DATE: Sunday, July 29th SITE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (1909) -- Indianapolis, Indiana TRACK: 2.5-mile oval - 3,330 feet (Frontstretch); 3,300 feet (Backstretch) ANNUAL: 19th CAPACITY: 350,000 (257,325 Grandstand Seating) TELEVISION: ESPN ANNOUNCERS: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree RADIO: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio START TIME: 1 p.m. (ET)/Green Flag: 1:19 p.m. (ET) DEFENDING CHAMPION: Paul Menard RUNNER-UP: Jeff Gordon POLE WINNER: David Ragan (Finished 23rd) LAPS: 160 MILES: 400 QUALIFYING RECORD: Casey Mears, 2004 (186.293 m.p.h.) RACE RECORD: Bobby Labonte, 2000 (155.912 m.p.h.) TOTAL PURSE: $9,017,034 (2011 figures) PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $373,575; 2nd Place - $358,536; 3rd Place - $297,345 2011 Finish Finish Driver Start Finish Driver Start 1 Paul Menard 15 6 Tony Stewart 24 2 Jeff Gordon 8 7 Greg Biffle 18 3 Regan Smith 27 8 Mark Martin 12 4 Jamie McMurray 16 9 Brad Keselowski 5 5 Matt Kenseth 9 10 Kyle Busch 29 2011 Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard Facts and Figures AVERAGE SPEED: 140.762 m.p.h. TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 50 minutes, 30 seconds MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.725 second CAUTION FLAGS: 5 for 21 laps LEAD CHANGES: 22 among 13 drivers POLE WINNER: David Ragan (182.994 m.p.h.) Past Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed 2011 -- Paul Menard (15th) -- Chevrolet -- 140.762 m.p.h. 2010 -- Jamie McMurray (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 136.054 m.p.h. 2009 -- Jimmie Johnson (16th) -- Chevrolet -- 145.882 m.p.h. 2008 -- Jimmie Johnson (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 115.117 m.p.h. 2007 -- Tony Stewart (14th) -- Chevrolet -- 117.379 m.p.h. 2006 -- Jimmie Johnson (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 137.182 m.p.h. 2005 -- Tony Stewart (22nd) -- Chevrolet -- 118.782 m.p.h. 2004 -- Jeff Gordon (11th) -- Chevrolet -- 115.037 m.p.h. 2003 -- Kevin Harvick (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 134.554 m.p.h. 2002 -- Bill Elliott (2nd) -- Dodge -- 125.033 m.p.h. 2001 -- Jeff Gordon (27th) -- Chevrolet -- 130.79 m.p.h. 2000 -- Bobby Labonte (3rd) -- Pontiac -- 155.912 m.p.h. (race record) 1999 -- Dale Jarrett (4th) -- Ford -- 148.194 m.p.h. 1998 -- Jeff Gordon (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 126.772 m.p.h. 1997 -- Ricky Rudd (7th) -- Ford -- 130.814 m.p.h. 1996 -- Dale Jarrett (24th) -- Ford -- (139.508 m.p.h. 1995 -- Dale Earnhardt (13th) -- Chevrolet -- 155.206 m.p.h. 1994 -- Jeff Gordon (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 131.977 m.p.h. NOTE: Formerly called Brickyard 400 (1994-2004, 2010-11), Allstate 400 at the Brickyard 400 (2005-09). Past Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard Pole Winners (Finish) 2011 -- David Ragan -- 23rd 2010 -- Juan Pablo Montoya -- 32nd 2009 -- Mark Martin -- 2nd 2008 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 1st 2007 -- Reed Sorenson -- 5th 2006 -- Jeff Burton -- 15th 2005 -- Elliott Sadler -- 32nd 2004 -- Casey Mears -- 26th 2003 -- Kevin Harvick -- 1st 2002 -- Tony Stewart -- 12th 2001 -- Jimmy Spencer -- 13th 2000 -- Ricky Rudd -- 21st 1999 -- Jeff Gordon -- 3rd 1998 -- Ernie Irvan -- 6th 1997 -- Ernie Irvan -- 10th 1996 -- Jeff Gordon -- 37th 1995 -- Jeff Gordon -- 6th 1994 -- Rick Mast -- 22nd Last Race Results RACE: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (July 15th) SITE: New Hampshire Motor Speedway -- Loudon, New Hampshire LAPS: 301 MILES: 318.458 WINNER: Kasey Kahne RUNNER-UP: Denny Hamlin THIRD: Clint Bowyer FOURTH: Dale Earnhardt Jr FIFTH: Brad Keselowski POLE WINNER: Kyle Busch (Finished 16th) TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 44 minutes, 24 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 116.226 m.p.h. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.738 seconds CAUTION FLAGS: 3 for 15 laps LAP LEADERS: Kyle Busch 1-66; D. Hamlin 67; J. Gordon 68; J. Johnson 69; Kurt Busch 70-71; D. Hamlin 72-89; J. Gordon 90-93; D. Hamlin 94-153; J. Johnson 154; B. Keselowski 155-156; Kyle Busch 157; D. Hamlin 158-190; B. Keselowski 191; Kyle Busch 192-196; D. Hamlin 197-234; C. Bowyer 235; K. Kahne 236-301. Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard Entry List Car Driver, Hometown Car/Name 1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops 2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Dodge/Miller Lite 5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Farmer's Insurance 9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/DeWalt 10 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing 11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Express 13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/Geico 14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Mobil 1/Office Depot 15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy 16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M 17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/Fifth Third 18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's 19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/Humphrey Smith Racing 20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Dollar General 21 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire 22 Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) Dodge/Shell/Pennzoil 23 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Chevrolet/North Texas Pipe 24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger 26 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/Taco Bell 27 * Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Nibco 29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Jimmy Johns 30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Inception Motorsports 31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Rain-X 32 Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO) Ford/TBA 33 Stephen Leicht (Asheville, NC) Chevrolet/littlejoesautos.com 34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/Scorpion Truck Bed Liners 36 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Seal Wrap 38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Big Machine Records 39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Quicken Loans 42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target 43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Eckrich 47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Scott Products 48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's/Kobalt Tools 49 To Be Announced Toyota/American Israel Racing 51 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction 55 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine 56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 78 Regan Smith (Cato, NY) Chevrolet/Furniture Row 79 Mike Skinner (Susanville, CA) Ford/Team Kyle/BBI 83 Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) Toyota/Burger King 87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/AM FM Energy Wood&Pellet 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Amp Energy/Nat'l Guard 91 Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) Ford/TBA 93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King 95 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Ford/Leavine Family Racing 98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/K-Love/Curb Records 99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Fastenal * - defending champion. Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) Driver 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Paul Menard --- --- --- --- 20th 41st 29th 14th Won Jeff Gordon 4th Won 8th 16th 3rd 5th 9th 23rd 2nd Regan Smith --- --- --- --- --- 31st 39th 33rd 3rd Jamie McMurray 3rd 7th 17th 26th 33rd 6th 21st Won 4th Matt Kenseth 2nd 16th 5th 2nd 10th 38th 10th 12th 5th Tony Stewart 12th 5th Won 8th Won 23rd 3rd 5th 6th Greg Biffle 21st 6th 21st 33rd 15th 8th 4th 3rd 7th Mark Martin 9th 25th 7th 5th 6th 11th 2nd 11th 8th Brad Keselowski --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 19th 9th Kyle Busch --- --- 10th 7th 4th 15th 38th 8th 10th Kevin Harvick Won 8th 19th 3rd 7th 37th 6th 2nd 11th Ryan Newman 11th 31st 34th 13th 42nd 13th 14th 17th 12th Clint Bowyer --- --- --- 4th 13th 19th 18th 4th 13th Carl Edwards --- --- 12th 9th 18th 2nd 15th 7th 14th Dale Earnhardt Jr 14th 27th 43rd 6th 34th 12th 36th 27th 16th Kasey Kahne --- 4th 2nd 36th 40th 7th 7th 13th 18th Jimmie Johnson 18th 36th 38th Won 39th Won Won 22nd 19th Kurt Busch 7th 10th 18th 12th 11th 40th 27th 10th 21st Martin Truex Jr --- --- 42nd 19th 12th 24th 17th 26th 24th Joey Logano --- --- --- --- --- --- 12th 9th 25th Denny Hamlin --- --- --- 10th 22nd 3rd 34th 15th 27th Juan Pablo Montoya --- --- --- --- 2nd 39th 11th 32nd 28th Jeff Burton 27th 12th 20th 15th 8th 9th 25th 6th 35th Mover of the Week Brad Keselowski - Started in the 22nd position and finished 5th Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Tony Stewart Darkhorse - Jamie McMurray Last Week's Pick to Win (Jimmie Johnson) - Finished 7th Last Week's Darkhorse (Aric Almirola) - Finished 28th NOTES: Having never finished inside the top-10 at this race in four previous attempts, Paul Menard's expectations certainly were not that high heading into the 2011 running of the Brickyard 400. That all changed, as Menard recorded his first ever Sprint Cup Series win last season, as he conserved enough fuel and held off a hard-charging Jeff Gordon in the closing laps to win one of the most prestigious events of the season. With the win, Menard became the first driver to win his maiden Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis. While stretching his fuel during the late-stages of the race, Menard passed Jamie McMurray, the defending race winner, with four laps remaining. He finished 0.725 seconds ahead of Gordon for his first victory in his 167th NASCAR big league start. McMurray made racing history for team owner Chip Ganassi in 2010 by winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McMurray gave Ganassi the "triple crown" of American oval racing, as Ganassi became the only owner to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season. Dario Franchitti took Chip Ganassi Racing into victory lane for the May 30, 2010 Indy 500, while McMurray won the Daytona 500 that year in his first start with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. After the final restart with 11 laps remaining, McMurray passed Kevin Harvick and took the lead for good. He finished 1.4 seconds ahead of Harvick to become the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same season. Dale Jarrett first accomplished the feat in 1996, followed by Jimmie Johnson in 2006. Johnson led the final 24 laps to defeat pole sitter Mark Martin by less than a second in 2009. Juan Pablo Montoya had the car to beat at Indy, as he led 116 of 160 laps. But Montoya was caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a pass-through penalty. That allowed Martin, the pole sitter, to reclaim the lead. A caution for Dale Earnhardt Jr's blown engine set up a double-file restart with 24 laps to go. Just after the restart, Johnson moved around Martin to take the lead for the first time. Johnson beat Martin to the finish line by four-tenths of a second for his third victory in the last four races at Indy. Johnson became just the second pole sitter to capture this race in 2008, as he defeated Carl Edwards by less than a second for his 35th career Sprint Cup title. Johnson, who now totals 57 wins, led eight times for a race-high 71 laps. Mark Martin seeks his first win at IMS. Martin, who sat on the pole in 2009, will race for the 19th time at "The Brickyard." Martin has recorded 11 top-10s, but has led just 67 laps in his 18 appearances there. His best finish was second in 1998 and 2009. This is one of five current tracks that Martin has never won on. Pocono, Homestead, Indianapolis, Kentucky and Daytona. Tony Stewart returned to Victory Lane at IMS in 2007, as he posted a 2.982- second victory over Juan Pablo Montoya for his 31st career Sprint Cup title. Stewart, who now totals 47 career wins, led seven times for a race- high 65 laps. Pole sitter Reed Sorenson led the first 16 laps and placed fifth. The race was a see-saw battle among six drivers, but it was Stewart who reclaimed the lead on the 151st lap from Kevin Harvick to secure the win. Harvick finished seventh. In 2006, Johnson completed a rare double with his win in both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. The No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet took the checkered flag ahead of Matt Kenseth as a caution flag flew. Johnson also won the prestigious Daytona 500 in February of 2006, a feat which had only been done once before - by Dale Jarrett in 1996. Pole sitter Jeff Burton led six times for a race-high 87 laps, but finished 15th. Stewart crossed the finish line 0.794 of a second ahead of Kasey Kahne in 2005 for his 23rd Sprint Cup win. Stewart, who won five times in 2005, started from the 22nd position and took the lead for the first time on lap 100. Stewart traded Scott Wimmer and Kahne for the lead until lap 150, where he took over for good. Stewart led for a total of 44 laps, while pole sitter Elliott Sadler led for 39 laps, but finished 32nd. Eight of the 18 winners of this race have come from a top-four starting position. Three of the last nine have been won from the front row: Bill Elliott (second in 2002), Kevin Harvick (pole in 2003) and Johnson (pole in 2008). Overall, the race has been won from a top-10 starting position 10 of the 18 races. The furthest back a race winner has started was 27th by Jeff Gordon in 2001. Chevrolet has won this race 13 times, including nine straight, Ford three, Pontiac once and Dodge once. Gordon is a four-time winner of this race. In fact, in his 18 appearances, Gordon has 14 top-10 finishes, has led 476 laps and has an average finish of 9.056. Gordon is a three-time pole sitter, but has not started first since 1999. Since it began in 1994, only four drivers have run in all 18 Brickyard 400s, Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Martin and Jeff Burton. The winner of the Indianapolis race has won the championship in the same year eight times in the 18 years the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has raced there: 2009: Jimmie Johnson; 2008: Jimmie Johnson; 2006: Jimmie Johnson; 2005: Tony Stewart; 2001: Jeff Gordon; 2000: Bobby Labonte; 1999: Dale Jarrett; 1998: Jeff Gordon. 14 of the 18 races have been won by a past, reigning or future NASCAR Sprint Cup champion. The only four that were not: Ricky Rudd in 1997, Kevin Harvick in 2003, McMurray in 2010 and 2011 winner Paul Menard. Multiple champions of this race are the norm as, Jeff Gordon (four wins), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Jarrett (two) and Tony Stewart (two) have combined for 11 of the 18 victories. The next Sprint Cup Series race is the August 5 Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway. Brad Keselowski won last year's race there. 07/24 16:39:53 ET As of July 24, 2012, at 04:40 PM ET