Allstate 400 At The Brickyard Daily Trackside Report - Saturday, July 26 :: Official site of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

Saturday, July 26, 2008

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE:

7 a.m.	Public gates open
10:10 a.m.	NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series qualifying (two laps, all positions)
2-3 p.m.	NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice
3:30-4:30 p.m.	NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice
4:45-6 p.m.	Free Miller Lite Rock 'N Racing live music with The Goo Goo Dolls, Miller Lite Stage behind Hall of Fame Museum

***

Johnny Benson won the Power Stroke Diesel 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Kyle Busch finished eighth.

***

Small-business owner David Glessner participated in the 2008 edition of Business at the Brickyard on July 23 at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course to learn more about using golf as business tool. Little did he know, he would walk away from the event with bragging rights and a check for $50,000.

Glessner, owner of the Massage Envy franchise in the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville, Ind., hit a hole-in-one on Brickyard Crossing's Hole No. 7, a par-3 and the first of the four holes located inside the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Using a 6-iron for a 169-yard shot, Glessner won the $50,000 Business at the Brickyard prize for the hole-in-one. Of note was one of the participants in Glessner's foursome: former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, now a distinguished visiting professor at Ball State University, just up Interstate 69 from Noblesville.

The Business at the Brickyard tournament was one of the kickoff events of Allstate 400 at the Brickyard week at IMS.

***

There are seven drivers attempting to make their first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard start. Of that group, three have guaranteed starting spots since their cars are in the top 35 in owner's points: #00 Michael McDowell, #77 Sam Hornish Jr. and #01 Regan Smith. These four first-timers must qualify on time: #84 AJ Allmendinger, #10 Patrick Carpentier, #50 Stanton Barrett, #47 Marcos Ambrose.

***

TRACK MILESTONES:

•Qualifying record: 186.293 mph, Casey Mears, 2004

•2007 pole speed: 184.207 mph, Reed Sorenson

•Fastest lap, Friday's practice: 180.047, #48 Jimmie Johnson

***

At 10:10 a.m., the beginning of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying, the ambient temperature was 77 degrees with a relative humidity of 89 percent and west-northwest winds at 1 mph. Skies were partly cloudy.

***

POLE QUALIFYING CHRONOLOGY:

(Best of two laps)

Time
Of Day	Car	Driver	Time	Speed	Rank
10:10 a.m.	16	Greg Biffle	50.067	179.759	1
10:12 a.m.	12	Ryan Newman	49.732	180.970	1
10:14 a.m.	9	Kasey Kahne	49.776	180.810	2

#12 Newman takes pole from #16 Biffle.

10:17 a.m.	22	Dave Blaney	51.728	173.987	4
10:19 a.m.	6	David Ragan	50.261	179.065	4
10:21 a.m.	07	Clint Bowyer	51.471	174.856	5
10:23 a.m.	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	50.084	179.698	4
10:25 a.m.	41	Reed Sorenson	50.511	178.179	6
10:27 a.m.	20	Tony Stewart	50.145	179.480	5
10:29 a.m.	1	Martin Truex Jr.	50.568	177.978	8
10:32 a.m.	44	David Reutimann	50.749	177.343	9
10:34 a.m.	2	Kurt Busch	49.905	180.343	3
10:36 a.m.	00	Michael McDowell	50.678	177.592	10
10:38 a.m.	7	Robby Gordon	50.676	177.599	10
10:40 a.m.	99	Carl Edwards	49.942	180.209	4
10:42 a.m.	26	Jamie McMurray	49.911	180.321	4
10:44 a.m.	43	Bobby Labonte	50.594	177.887	12
10:46 a.m.	48	Jimmie Johnson	49.515	181.763	1

#48 Johnson takes pole from #12 Newman.

10:48 a.m.	77	Sam Hornish Jr.	50.911	176.779	17
10:50 a.m.	18	Kyle Busch	50.345	178.767	11
10:52 a.m.	24	Jeff Gordon	49.849	180.545	4
10:54 a.m.	31	Jeff Burton	50.724	177.431	18
10:56 a.m.	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	50.038	179.863	8
10:58 a.m.	83	Brian Vickers	50.303	178.916	13
11 a.m.	5	Casey Mears	50.698	177.522	20
11:02 a.m.	11	Denny Hamlin	50.514	178.168	16
11:05 a.m.	19	Elliott Sadler	49.890	180.397	5
11:07 a.m.	55	Michael Waltrip	50.770	177.270	25
11:09 a.m.	15	Paul Menard	50.848	176.998	26
11:11 a.m.	8	Mark Martin	49.616	181.393	2
11:13 a.m.	28	Travis Kvapil	50.622	177.788	21

#28 Kvapil hits outside retaining wall with right side of car at exit of Turn 1, continues.

11:15 a.m.	29	Kevin Harvick	50.319	178.859	16
11:17 a.m.	01	Regan Smith

#01 Smith hits SAFER Barrier with right side of car in Turn 1, slows and does not complete qualifying lap.

11:22 a.m.	17	Matt Kenseth	50.023	179.917	10
11:25 a.m.	38	David Gilliland	50.447	178.405	19
11:26 a.m.	08	Johnny Sauter	51.803	173.735	35
11:28 a.m.	78	Joe Nemechek	50.823	177.085	31
11:31 a.m.	84	AJ Allmendinger	50.581	177.932	23
11:33 a.m.	10	Patrick Carpentier	50.146	179.476	15
11:35 a.m.	45	Terry Labonte	51.000	176.471	36
11:37 a.m.	70	Jason Leffler	50.467	178.334	21
11:39 a.m.	66	Scott Riggs	50.796	177.179	34
11:41 a.m.	50	Stanton Barrett	52.258	172.222	42

11:45 a.m. - YELLOW. Track inspection.

11:48 a.m.	47	Marcos Ambrose	50.524	178.133	24
11:50 a.m.	34	Tony Raines	51.996	173.090	43

11:53 a.m. - YELLOW. Track inspection.

11:55 a.m.	21	Bill Elliott	51.267	175.552	40
11:57 a.m.	96	J.J. Yeley	50.923	176.737	39

#48 Jimmie Johnson wins the pole for the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

***

ALLSTATE 400 AT THE BRICKYARD POST-QUALIFYING NOTES:

•Michael McDowell, Sam Hornish Jr., Patrick Carpentier, A.J. Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose and Regan Smith made their first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard fields. The field has now had six newcomers in each of the last four years.

•Hornish and Carpentier become the 12^th and 13^th drivers to compete in both an Indianapolis 500 and an Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The others are John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Juan Montoya, J.J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, Scott Pruett, Geoff Brabham, Danny Sullivan, A.J. Foyt and Larry Foyt.

•Jimmie Johnson's pole is his best career start at the Speedway. His previous best in six races was fifth in 2006.

•Mark Martin's front-row start is his third in 14 races at the Speedway. He also started second in 1996 and 1999.

•With Bill Elliott missing the show, the number of drivers who have made all 15 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard fields has dropped to four -- Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.

•Ryan Newman's third-place starting position is his eighth in a row in the top-eight - every event he's started. His best was second in 2003. He ties Bill Elliott for the record of most top-10 starts with eight.

•Kasey Kahne's fourth starting position is his third from that spot in four years. He previously started fourth -- his best -- in 2005 and 2006.

•Jeff Gordon's fifth-place starting position is his best here since winning the pole in 1999. He extends his leading total to six top-five starts in that category.

•Elliott Sadler's sixth-place starting position is his third top-six starting position in five years. He was on the pole in 2005.

•Kurt Busch's seventh-place starting position is his third top-seven starting position in a row here.

•Carl Edwards' ninth-place start is his career-best here in four races. His previous best was 22nd in 2006.

•Matt Kenseth's 10th-place starting position is his career-best in nine races here. His previous best was 17th in 2003.

•The only pole winner to win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was Kevin Harvick in 2003.

•Jimmie Johnson's pole speed is the slowest for a pole winner since Jimmy Spencer was on the pole at 179.666 in 2001. Johnson is the 12th different pole winner in 15 races here and the 11th consecutive different pole winner. It is his second pole of the season, the other coming in the Daytona 500.

•It is Mark Martin's second front-row start of 2008, the other coming this month at Daytona.

•Tony Stewart is starting 14th, the same starting position from which he won last year.

•The field separation from pole to slowest qualifier of 1.956 seconds is the widest separation in the history of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The previous widest was 1.675 seconds in 2005.

***

Two decorated soldiers from the Indianapolis Recruiting Battalion -- Sgt. 1st Class John Adams and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Groff - will be guests of Mark Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army team for Sunday's running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Adams earned the Bronze Star with Valor for his actions in Iraq on Oct. 13, 2004, when he captured an Iraqi insurgent as he was completing an improvised explosive device along the roadside of a major supply route. Adams' actions prevented the device from being detonated, saving countless lives and avoiding a disruption along a road that supplied American troops with fuel and provisions.

Groff earned the Bronze Star with Valor for his actions in Iraq on April 9, 2004, when his fuel convoy was attacked by insurgents. Groff repeatedly braved the crossfire and exploding IEDs to lead wounded civilian drivers and other soldiers to the safety of his Humvee until 11 people filled the vehicle. He stayed with the vehicle and its occupants and defended it for more than 20 minutes until help arrived to transfer them to safety.

As part of the program, each soldier will have an action figure and a page on the America's Army Web site (www.americasarmy.com), which will feature his biography, photos and a video that recounts his story of heroism. The action figure, which is roughly 4 inches long, also comes with a trading card with an abbreviated version of their story.

***

Jimmy Dunham, the riding mechanic on board for Kelly Petillo's storybook victory in the 1935 Indianapolis 500, died Friday, July 25 in Santa Maria, Calif. He was 96.

***

NASCAR SPRINT CUP PRACTICE #1:

At 2 p.m., the beginning of NASCAR Sprint Cup practice, the ambient temperature was 86 degrees with a relative humidity of 65 percent and west winds at 6 mph. Skies were partly cloudy.

•Event speed record: 186.293 mph, Casey Mears, Aug. 7, 2004, qualifying

•2008 pole speed: 181.763 mph, #48 Jimmie Johnson

•Fastest speed, Friday practice: 180.047 mph, #48 Jimmie Johnson

2 p.m. - GREEN. #48 Johnson first car on track.

2:23 p.m. -- #2 Ku. Busch brushes outside retaining wall in Turn 4, continues.

2:25 p.m. -- #24 J. Gordon fastest at 174.496.

3 p.m. - RED and BLACK. End of session. #24 J. Gordon fastest at 174.496.

Top Five Drivers, First Practice:

1.	#24 Jeff Gordon	174.496 mph
2.	#16 Greg Biffle	174.243
3.	#12 Ryan Newman	174.236
4.	#48 Jimmie Johnson	173.910
5.	#11 Denny Hamlin	173.789

***

NASCAR SPRINT CUP PRACTICE #2:

At 3:30 p.m., the beginning of NASCAR Sprint Cup practice, the ambient temperature was 87 degrees with a relative humidity of 57 percent and west winds at 5 mph. Skies were sunny.

•Event speed record: 186.293 mph, Casey Mears, Aug. 7, 2004, qualifying

•2008 pole speed: 181.763 mph, #48 Jimmie Johnson

•Fastest speed, Friday practice: 180.047 mph, #48 Jimmie Johnson

•Fastest speed, first practice today: 174.496 mph, #24 Jeff Gordon

3:30 p.m. - GREEN.

3:45 p.m. -- #48 Johnson fastest at 176.298.

4:06 p.m. - RED. Flames trail from rear of car of #7 R. Gordon.

4:16 p.m. - GREEN.

4:30 p.m. - RED and BLACK. End of session. #48 Johnson fastest at 176.298.

***

Top Five Drivers, Second Practice:

1.	#48 Jimmie Johnson	176.298 mph
2.	#24 Jeff Gordon	174.958
3.	#11 Denny Hamlin	174.408
4.	#99 Carl Edwards	174.118
5.	#12 Ryan Newman	174.068

***

SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE:

7 a.m.	Public gates open
8 a.m.-2:30 p.m.	Allstate Fan Zone, Hall of Fame Museum Lot and Lot 2 on Georgetown Road outside Gate 6
9 a.m.-2 p.m.	Free CardioChek Cholesterol and Glucose Screenings presented by Vision Racing, Hall of Fame Museum Lot
10-11:30 a.m.	Chevy Driver Q&A Sessions, Chevy Stage, Hall of Fame Museum Lot: 10 a.m. - Jeff Burton 10:20 a.m. - Kevin Harvick 11 a.m. - Jimmie Johnson
10 a.m.-1 p.m.	Free HANK's Hog Roast with The Charlie Daniels Band, Craig Morgan and Casey Jamerson, Coke Zero Stage (behind Hall of Fame Museum)
1:30 p.m.	NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Introductions/Ceremonial Lap
1:58 p.m.	"America the Beautiful" performed by Casey Jamerson, country music artist from Indiana
2:01:15 p.m.	Invocation given by Rev. Howard Brammer
2:01:45 p.m.	National anthem performed by "America's Beloved Tenor," Daniel Rodriguez
2:03:24 p.m.	Flyover by the F-15E Fighting Eagles from the 334^th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, N.C.
2:08 p.m.	Command to Start Engines, Mari Hulman George, Chairman of the Board, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
2:20 p.m.	John Middlebrook, retired Vice President Global Sales, Service and Marketing for General Motors, leads the field in the Corvette Z06 Pace Car
2:20 p.m.	Actor John C. McGinley of "Scrubs" waves green flag for the start of 15^th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard,160 laps, 400 miles
6 p.m.	Public gates close

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Saturday, July 26, 2008

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