Saturday, August 6, 2005

TODAY'S SCHEDULE:

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The change in the event schedule due to Friday's cancellation of practice has resulted in this event becoming an impound race, in which cars will be impounded immediately after qualifying this afternoon until the race starts Sunday afternoon.

Only a limited amount of work, including shutting off electrical switches and power, removing the radio, checking the tires' air pressure and covering the car, may be performed after qualifying this afternoon by a maximum of two crew members under supervision by a NASCAR official.

On Sunday before the race, only a very limited amount of work can be done on the car, including priming the oil system, plugging in the oil heater, turning on the master switch, starting the engine, opening the hood, setting tire pressure, torquing wheels, installing the radio and water bottle, and removing or repairing tape on the front grille. All of this work must be done by a maximum of two crew members under the supervision of a NASCAR official.

A maximum of 4 gallons of fuel may be added by a maximum of three crew members at the fuel pumps, and a maximum of three crew members can bring the car to the height platform to make minor adjustments to the front and rear wedge bolts, frame end adjuster and external shock bleeds.

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Dennis Setzer won the Power Stroke Diesel 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night at Indianapolis Raceway Park .

Four drivers who are entered in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard competed in this race, with Jimmy Spencer finishing fifth, Bobby Hamilton 13^th, Mike Wallace 26^th and Ken Schrader 35^th.

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TRACK MILESTONES:

·Qualifying record: 186.293 mph, Casey Mears, 2004

·Fastest lap, July 2005 testing: 183.905 mph, Bobby Hamilton, July 19

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Massage therapy students from the Indiana Business College will provide free massages to members of the media from 1-4:30 p.m. today on the fourth floor of the Media Center .

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NASCAR NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE:

At 8 a.m., the beginning of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup practice, the ambient temperature was 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 81 percent and calm winds. Skies were cloudy.

8 a.m. – GREEN. #97 Kurt Busch is first on track.

8:06 a.m. -- #77 Kvapil brushes outside retaining wall in Turn 1, continues.

8:11 a.m. – RED. Rain.

8:53 a.m. – GREEN. Practice resumes after 42-minute rain delay. #20 Stewart is first on track.

8:55 a.m. – NASCAR officials indicated that this session would be extended until 10:30 a.m., merging the two scheduled practices into one due to the rain delay.

8:55 a.m. weather update: The ambient temperature was 73 degrees with a relative humidity of 79 percent and calm winds. Skies were cloudy.

9:10 a.m. -- #41 Mears fastest at 138.737 mph.

9:20 a.m. – RED. #99 Edwards hit SAFER Barrier in Turn 3 with right front side of car. Moderate damage to right front of car, including flat tire. Edwards drove car to garage.

CARL EDWARDS: "It's a shame that I hit the wall because that's a great race car. Right now we've got minor chassis damage but mostly sheet metal, and it was just crazy. I mean, I was driving down the back straightaway, we were working on getting the car to turn a little bit better and it was like, all the sudden, this big bang and the hood blew up and the tire just exploded. It was an audible explosion. The Goodyear guys said that's not normal and that we probably ran over something, but maybe the backup car is faster. This car isn't that fast right now, so it could be good."(About losing practice time): "The track time is a concern, but the track is pretty straightforward. We came here and tested. Kurt Busch helped me a lot, and we have a pretty good handle on how to run around the racetrack. It's just, right now, getting the car to work. And we need to get this other AAA Ford to balance well. We came here and tested and we were really fast, but ever since we unloaded this car, we've just been so tight and we can't really get up to speed. So I don't think track time is so important to me. I think we need to get the car set up."

9:32 a.m. – GREEN. #20 Stewart first on track.

9:52 a.m. – RED. Debris.

9:55 a.m. – GREEN.

10:19 a.m. – Smoke trails from #48 Johnson, who returns to pits.

10:30 a.m. – CHECKERED. End of session. #41 Casey Mears was fastest at 184.873 in the No. 41 Target Dodge.

All 52 cars entered turned at least one lap during practice.

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Kevin Harvick is sporting a brick-themed paint scheme on the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet this weekend for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Mark Martin's No. 6 Viagra Ford is sporting the red-and-gold colors of the No. 6 Folgers Ford Thunderbird that Martin drove earlier in his NASCAR career with Roush Racing.

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Army National Guard Sgt. Peter Damon, from Brockton, Mass. , and his family are guests at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard this weekend. Damon lost part of both of his arms when a tire exploded on a Black Hawk helicopter that he was servicing in .

Damon's family is receiving a new home through Homes for Our Troops, a non-profit organization committed to helping members of the United States Armed Forces who have selflessly given to their country and have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries.

The organization assists injured service men and women and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor, and coordinating the process of building a new home or adapting an existing home for handicapped accessibility.

For more information on Homes for Our Troops, log onto www.homesforourtroops.org.

Proceeds from sales of the Department of Defense's America Supports You commemorative dog tags this weekend at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will benefit the Homes for Our Troops organization.

America Supports You is a nationwide initiative to showcase and communicate 's support for our men and women in the United States Armed Forces and their families. The dog tags, which are $5 each, and Homes for Our Troops information will be available at a booth located in the Pagoda Plaza from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on Aug. 5-6, and 8 a.m.-11 a.m. on Race Day, Aug. 7.

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Top 10 Drivers of Practice

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NASCAR NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

SCOTT RIGGS: "Not too bad. This is the first time we made a qualifying run. We came here about a month ago and tested. (We were) pretty happy. We thought we learned a lot. (We) went back and were able to put a lot of things we learned into the brand-new car that we built and brought here. It hasn't been through the wind tunnel or anything. It was just a brand-new piece that just got together at the last minute. It really looks good. I think it's the best piece we have ever built. It is doing what we want to do. We've got everything figured out front end-wise. It seems to be driving pretty good." (About the wait between practice and qualifying): "Yesterday we drew the qualifying draw and I drew one, which was then the best you could possibly get. Unfortunately, with the rain changing the schedule around, now one is going to be the worst, so I am sure it's going to cost us a little bit, unfortunately. Maybe it will stay overcast and be pretty equal for everyone."

JIMMIE JOHNSON: (About smoke trailing from car): "When we went out on qualifying and we had all that tape on the nose, the front travels a lot further. It was just simply a left front tire rubbing on the fender, and we didn't have that issue when the tape was off in race trim. When we went to qualifying trim, it had the car cycled down, and that's where the smoke came from. Luckily it didn't damage our tire, so we are able to go out and make a run and see what we had in qualifying trim. We're in good shape. I made a lap with the tire smoking, came in, cooled those tires down, and put up a time good enough for 11^th right now. If we had had fresh tires, I know it would have been a little better."

CASEY MEARS: "We made a qualifying run. I think everyone else did, too, and we were quickest. I mean, the car seems pretty good. We made a couple of changes because it's an impound race, so we made a couple of qualifying runs earlier and then made a couple changes on our race car later in the run, so the changes are definitely going to affect the qualifying run. Now it's an impound race, so we'll focus more on race trim and make sure we've got a good race car. We didn't make any real big changes, so for the most part the car should be good. We've just got to focus. Fortunately we put in a real quick lap and we've got a little bit of a cushion so we've just got to focus in on not making any mistakes in qualifying and we've got a good shot at it." (About possible change in track conditions): "Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Since it's overcast like it is, I don't think it'll affect it as much as it would, you know, if it was a sunny day and getting hotter and hotter throughout the day."  

KEN SCHRADER: "The car was just good when we unloaded it. It's a new car. We had a good test. We were seventh quickest, I think, in overall testing. We just came back, took it home, fluffed and buffed on it a little bit. We made a few changes and came back here. We haven't made a lot of changes (here). We are fine-tuning some stuff, so we'll go out, get us a lap and see what we got." (About what he learned from practice): "We learned a little bit, but the track changes. And depending on what the weather does here, it is going to change a bunch again, so we are just going to have to see."

KASEY KAHNE: "I feel really good. We were really loose in qualifying trim there and still had a fast lap of third so we look forward to qualifying this afternoon. The race car for tomorrow's race is probably the best car we've had all year long. I'm excited for tomorrow. Who knows what will happen, but definitely excited. I think we have a shot to finish up front in the Allstate 400. The track's great. It seems fine. It's a little bit smoother than what it was last year. Right now, it seems it's pretty much on the bottom, but I think as the race goes on, it will open up a little bit and hopefully it will be just as racey as what it was last year."

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Oliver North, a 22-year member of the United State Marine Corps, is scheduled to attend the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard as a guest of Joe Gibbs Racing. North serves on the board of Youth for Tomorrow, a residential group village for at-risk teenage boys and girls (age 11-17), which was founded by JGR owner and Washington Redskins Head Coach Joe Gibbs.

North has attended many NASCAR races as a guest of JGR, most recently in May 2004 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va.

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Lyn St. James, one of four women to start the Indianapolis 500, visited the track today. St. James talked about the Lyn St. James Foundation, her program that has helped develop the racing careers of some prominent female competitors.

LYN ST. JAMES: "The Lyn St. James Foundation is going well. I started it in 1994. We've had 10 driver development programs since then. We do it once a year. We've had about 200 young, talented drivers come through the program, about 80 percent of them females, not solely females, but certainly we're focused on that. We've had great graduates with Danica Patrick and Erin Crocker and Sara Senske and Allison Duncan. Some have done really well and gone on, as well as the some of the guys. Boston Reid is one of our graduates. It's a program that is designed to give drivers the tools that they need to be a professional race car driver and be prepared to be a professional. But they've got to do the deal on the racetrack, but it's all the other things they need to know – not just the media and all that, but it's all the things they need to know about themselves and to be prepared properly, and handle themselves well. If people want more information they can go to my Web site, which is www.lynstjames.com."

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IRL IndyCar Series standout Tomas Scheckter visited Gasoline Alley today.

TOMAS SCHECKTER: (About being at a track on his one weekend off): "Yes, my one weekend off. Not only that, I was in testing a car yesterday, and the day before, I was in Kentucky testing a car. So I seem to be at a track where ever I go. I'm just meeting some people. This is my first Cup race. The

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