New-Look Strategies Keep Kenseth Guessing; Shock Worry Kept Harvick Up On Race Eve
By Paul Kelly
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Tuesday, August 5, 2003
Race strategies are becoming more and more sophisticated in NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing, as teams are taking more risks and using more unconventional pit-stop patterns to try and win.
The last 40 laps of the Brickyard 400 provided ample evidence of this new world of strategy.
Race contender Ryan Newman started the chess match in the pits by making a stop in the No. 12 Alltel Dodge for two tires and gas under the green flag on Lap 126, with 34 laps remaining. Defending Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart, who dominated the race by leading 60 laps, then pitted for two right-side tires and gas under the green on Lap 131 in his No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet.
Eventual race winner Kevin Harvick followed suit by pitting under green for two tires and gas on Lap 133, as did Jamie McMurray in the No. 42 Havoline Dodge.
Meanwhile, NASCAR Winston Cup points leader Matt Kenseth inherited the lead by 18.5 seconds on Lap 135 and wondered just what the heck was going on. Kenseth and crew chief Robbie Reiser started to talk strategy over the radio, with Kenseth questioning Reiser's pit theories.
"I don't know, I just need to shut up and drive the car probably," Kenseth said. "The last few weeks have been so frustrating, actually about the last month and a half because the racing has just been so different than what it used to be. It used to be you would come in and run until you need gas, you come and get four tires and go race. Now it's people are stopping under green, and you can't figure out why they're doing it, getting gas to go to the end in case there's a caution.
"I didn't understand the strategy at all at the end of the race. I was trying to figure out after Jamie pitted, we were leading and like the 12 (Newman) and all them guys came in and got gas and go to get track position but they're a lap down. So I didn't figure it out, if the caution came out, they were a lap down. But after Jamie pitted, then I was nervous because I knew if the caution came out, he was going to be on the lead lap, I was going to have to pit and he was going to be in front of me. So just trying to figure out all the scenarios, and this track is big enough where you can kind of think about that."
A caution period started on Lap 139 due to debris on the track, and Kenseth drove his No. 17 Smirnoff Ice Triple Black/DeWalt Tools Ford into the pits on Lap 141 for two tires and gas along with fellow contenders Robby Gordon, Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott. Kenseth emerged from the pits in third, behind McMurray and Harvick and went on to finish second, expanding his Winston Cup lead to 286 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"So I've been driving Robbie crazy the last month because I've been second-guessing everything he's been doing and making sure we're doing the right thing," Kenseth said. "It didn't seem like things have been working out the last few weeks, but he had it under control even if it worked out.
"Even if we got the caution, we still had decent track position. If we didn't get the caution, I think we were in really good shape because we were just going to try to get gas at the end, and we actually were running about the same times as what Jamie was running after he pitted and got the two tires just because we were in front of the whole field. So Robbie knew what he was doing, and he did a great job calling the race."
Insomnia for Harvick: When Kevin Harvick won the pole for the 10th Brickyard 400 on Aug. 2, a reporter reminded him that a pole winner never had won the annual NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Now I won't sleep tonight," Harvick said with a laugh.
Harvick did suffer from insomnia the night before the Brickyard 400, but it wasn't from that statistic. In fact, Harvick rendered that stat to the trash bin of history when he won the race Aug. 3 from the pole in his No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, and he playfully reminded the media during a post-race press conference about the statistic that no pole winner had won the race.
"The last time I was in this room, you guys were viciously reminding me of that," Harvick said as the room erupted in laughter. "You know, you also said records were meant to be broken, too. Last night the only thing I didn't sleep - the only reason I didn't sleep was because I thought we had the wrong shocks on the back of the car. That was why I didn't sleep.
"The first thing I did this morning when I woke up was call (crew members) and tell them we need to put the shocks back."
Good call.
McMurray learns about Indy: Jamie McMurray finished third in the No. 42 Havoline Dodge, the best result by a rookie in the Brickyard 400 since the inaugural race in 1994. But he also learned a lesson along the way: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is like no other track in the world.
"This is an intimidating racetrack; it's so much different than anything else we run on," McMurray said. "Testing here for a rookie is crucial.
"There's so much history behind this racetrack and especially for our race team with (team owner) Chip (Ganassi) having such a big background in open wheel. He obviously wants to win here. There are just a lot of factors that lead into this.
"It's not like anywhere else we race. Somewhat like Pocono, I think that's an intimidating racetrack because it's not like anywhere that we go to race at. It's a different shape. Everybody - a lot of guys test here and they really want to do well at this race. So to me to run well at a race like this, I mean, it just shows you've got a really good team and everything went your way because a lot of guys try to run well here."
Tough day for Jarrett: Two-time Brickyard 400 winner Dale Jarrett had a day to forget Sunday in the Brickyard 400.
Jarrett finished 39th in the No. 88 UPS Ford. But his race ended, in his mind, when he entered the pits too fast on Lap 37, spun and hit his jackman, John Bryan.
"I didn't even care about the rest of the race," Jarrett said. "I had to finish it for the guys. They worked hard, but I could have cared less."
Jarrett also hit a tire set in his pit stall during his spin, and the tire struck newspaper photographer Joe Krupa. Bryan and Krupa were released late Sunday afternoon from Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
Post-race notes:
- This was Kevin Harvick's first Brickyard 400 victory in his third start. His previous best finish was fifth in 2002.
- Bill Elliott has completed a record 1,599 out of 1,600 possible laps in 10 Brickyard 400 starts. Bobby Labonte finished one lap down and has now completed 1,598 laps, good for second all time.
- Matt Kenseth, Jeff Green, Robby Gordon and Jamie McMurray each led a Brickyard 400 lap for the first time this year.
- Robby Gordon now has led laps in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. He led the Brickyard 400 for the first time this year and has led laps in the Indianapolis 500 in 1993, 1995, 1999 and 2003. Gordon joins John Andretti and Tony Stewart as the only drivers to lead laps in both races.
- Tony Stewart led 60 laps, the most of any driver. He started 15th, the furthest back any driver has started that has led the most laps. His 12th-place finish was also the lowest for any driver who has led the most laps.
- This is the second Brickyard 400 victory for team owner Richard Childress. The late Dale Earnhardt won in a Richard Childress Racing car in 1995.
- Rusty Wallace finished 10th and has finished in the top 10 in nine of the 10 Brickyard 400s. He best finish was second in 1995, 2000 and 2002. His lowest finish was 38th in 1997.
- Three-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon finished fourth. In 10 Brickyard starts, he has finished in the top six eight times.
- Jeff Gordon led three laps. He has now led in a record eight Brickyard 400s and has led a record 309 laps.
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