Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Brickyard 400

Rewinding from a successful tire test Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway could only mean one thing: it's time again for Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes.

If this were any other track, I'd have a huge problem with how the racing turned out Sunday. It's obvious that track position and clean air were the trump cards in a deck otherwise full of jokers -- but don't forget that Indianapolis has nearly always been like that.

Some may term it boring, and it definitely lacked excitement for much of the day thanks to the good work of so many drivers to not make mistakes and hit each other or the wall, but come on, that's what your going to get at this flat track.

And before you say this track only puts on a good show for IndyCars, think back to the Indianapolis 500 in May. Not a single pass for the lead came during green flag conditions and dominant cars like Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti couldn't make up a lick of ground after pit troubles during the last stop.

As much as fans don't get to see it, Indianapolis is a track that truly takes a complete team effort throughout the weekend to win because otherwise you just simply won't be in position at the end to make a run at the checkers.

The pit road luck that Chip Ganassi has had at Indianapolis in 2009 has literally cost the owner two wins at the 2.5-mile track.

As I mentioned, in May, Dixon and Franchitti were dominating the 500 until the last pit stop saw a myriad of problems for both cars and dropped them in the field. Together, they led 123 laps of the 200-lap event before falling to sixth and seventh, respectively, in the final finishing order.

Sunday, of course, Montoya paced the field for some 116 laps before a speeding penalty knocked him out of contention.

Mark Martin may have not caught and passed Jimmie Johnson for the win in Sunday's race, but the No. 5 in the mirror of the No. 48 left the defending champion a little uneasy about not screwing up and giving the race away to the 50-year-old Martin.

"An old guy has never made me so [expletive deleted] nervous in my life," said Johnson shortly after crossing the finish line over the team radio.

Speaking of Johnson, his fan support is perplexing -- even to Chris, a friend of mine who saw his first NASCAR race Sunday after being a closet television fan for years.

"How does Jimmie not have more fans?" he asked me of the three-time Brickyard champ. "All he does is be nice to everyone, bleed class and beat the [daylights] out of everyone."

I literally had no answer. How does the most dominating driver NASCAR might ever see in such a prolonged span not have a bigger fan base?

IMS announced Monday that Allstate Insurance Co. would no longer be the flagship brand of the NASCAR event at the track after it opted not to continue sponsorship of the 400-mile race.

According to the press release, it's obviously got something to do with the faltering economy, but the most interesting note about the split after five years is that the track isn't going to actively search for another race sponsor.

In what appears to be an early indicator of the dropped sponsorship, Allstate didn't purchase broadcast rights to the race from ABC/ESPN meaning the presenting network termed the race the "Brickyard 400 presented by Golden Corral".

I, for one, am plenty happy to hear that news because I felt that adding a sponsorship title did two things to NASCAR's visit to Indianapolis: 1) It cheapened the value of the race to competitors and fans because the corporate name aligned it with nearly every other race on the Sprint Cup schedule not named the Daytona 500 and 2) It added money to the coffers of IMS that has likely paid for some nice track and facility improvements.

So was Allstate's run all bad? Certainly not.

But it's nice knowing that we can simply call it the Brickyard 400 once again -- as it should have stayed all along -- because let's be real, Indy needs to be on par with the Daytona 500 and not with an insert-corporate-name-here 500.

It's not a big difference, but it sure feels like it.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-28-2009 @ 12:44AM

Mike said...

I was just amazed at how many open seats there were. If that was any other track, Nascar would pull out of that track and hand it to another that could sell out.

7-28-2009 @ 6:42PM

Ed said...

I have attended all of the Brickyard races since its inception. Being at the Indy track is pure joy. The empty seats are easily explained. The lower seats that are always visible to the tv cameras are really not very good. The cars disappear near the wall on the turns and they go by so fast on the straights that these seats are not much fun. I must say that tv does not do justice to how hard everyone was driving. Passing is practically impossible because of the aerodynamics of the cars and the flatness of the turns. Being at a race is the only way a person can feel and see the intensity and skill of the drivers. We had a wonderful time and I have ordered tickets for next year. Lastly, derogatory comments originate from people who do not appreciate auto racing.

7-28-2009 @ 10:37PM

folkrrt said...

Any lack of excitement in NASCAR can be attributed to Junior, who is a hillbilly dud. He might be the darling of the fans but I am sick of watching this loser making laps in the back of the pack every Sunday. He should give up his ride to Logano or Montoya. Junior is living off his dad's career.

7-29-2009 @ 1:40AM

Brad said...

Just when you think that there seems to be maybe, just maybe a little light at the end of the tunnel as to the end of such stupid nonsense and dribble as far as stupidity in a blogger can go, well someone like a 'folkrrt' shows up to tell us all how 2 + 2 equals 3.

7-29-2009 @ 6:19PM

illsell4u said...

Well actually Brad, with rounding 2+2 can equal 3. If you were rounding to whole numbers that is. 1.7 + 1.7 would equal 3.4. That would actually be 2+2=3 see?
But I am sure the idiot above did not know that. And yes, even I would like to see Jr win a race but my reasons are selfish. The "Nation" is laying low and I have nobody to raz. So if he wins a race I am sure they will awaken and give me some fun. No fun to kick the guy when he is a far down as he is now.
Lastly, Geoffrey, it cannot be just me that sees that ANY race nascar now runs on ANY track longer than 1.5 miles is awful. Talk about a typical snooze fest. The new crap of today is an aerodynamic train wreck of a car. if you are in the lead you will tend to keep it if for no other reason than you get the "clean air". They either need to fix the car or shorten the tracks. Next week we have Pocono, OH NO. I said it after Daytona and I will say it again. Dump the 2.5 mile tracks instead of manufacturing excitement by doing things like phantom cautions, two wide retarts all race long, and the CHASE.
mbl

7-29-2009 @ 10:15AM

Kim said...

Geoffrey,

Tell your friend that as a long-time Jimmie Johnson fan (ever since he started racing in NASCAR), I too am perplexed by his lack of fanbase. Like your friend stated, he is a class act. He is nice to everyone. He admits when he is wrong and apologizes. He's a winner and that my friend, is the only reason I can come up with. People just hate a winner!

As for Mark Martin, another true class act! He has amazed me and many others this season. How can anyone not like Mark Martin? He is the epitomy of class and dignity!

As for the Jr. bashing....ENOUGH! We've all heard it over and over again and you know what, most of us with intelligence, like him or not, don't care anymore! He's a great guy and a true class act all the way! I never used to be a fan of his, but with all the bashing the guy receives, I am starting to root for him. I wish he would do something amazing and shut you idiots who constantly bash him, up.

And as for all of us NASCAR "enbreed" fans, at least we can spell. It's inbreeding you idiot, not "enbreeding"! The only idiot on here is you, now go away!

Kim

7-29-2009 @ 12:21PM

robotperson said...

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Just putting into print comments such as these, makes you more a racist than any NASCAR fan. Let a fan make a comment like this about your group of people and you would be up in arms, screaming and Yelling "can you believe what they said about us". But it's OK for you to say anything you want about any other group and people should listen.
Its people like you who keep racism alive, you live off of demoralizing other people. At some point you will realize that you are nobody, you have given nothing to society and nobody really cares what you think of NASCAR or its fans.

7-29-2009 @ 3:03PM

ZO6Vettever said...

Thank you Kim, the voice of reason! Jimmie Johnson is class, Mark Martin said "if one of my teamates couldn't win I was rooting for Montoya". Even if he's lieing it's a class gesture. And Jr flat out said he was responsible for killing the engine over revving leaving his pit. On the other end we have JPM "I swear on my wife and kids I wasn't speeding". Piss moan, piss moan!

7-29-2009 @ 3:50PM

nzcr14 said...

HERE WAY UP ABOVE COMES AGAIN THAT ELECTRONIC POLICE MACHINE AGAIN.
ONLY this time although his post contains a little spew destined for the gutter,i have to agree with most of his remarks.OH WELL......... works for me.