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.
Bill Elliott was probably the happiest guy in Indianapolis Saturday afternoon when the skies cleared and, most importantly, NASCAR chose to avoid canceling qualifying.
INDIANAPOLIS -- It took just three hours, 28 minutes and 29 seconds to undo the 15-year love affair between the Brickyard and NASCAR.
Four-hundred miles of shredding tires and competition cautions left a lump in the throat of stock car racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008, and a year later, the Sprint Cup Series has returned to the disaster zone facing a myriad of questions. Can stock cars produce a good show here? Should NASCAR be at the Brickyard? And, most importantly, do drivers still feel the awe and prestige of this legendary speedway?
Jump in as FanHouse's Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller go Wheel2Wheel about Darlington, Kyle Busch's audacious goals and the oh-so-lovable Goodyear.
Does NASCAR need more tracks with unusual character like Darlington and what do you think about re-naming the spring event the "Southern 500"?
Geoffrey Miller: Frankly, I'm a little confused. It's not Labor Day weekend, tropical storms aren't brewing off the South Carolina coast and the heat index in Darlington this weekend won't be anywhere near triple digits. Why then, in the name of Richard Petty, is it time for the Southern 500?
After all, the car owner has won the Indianapolis 500 a record 14 times in his illustrious career, including most recently with Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006.
After Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Rick Hendrick can lay claim to also being one of the top owners to ever bring race cars to the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis. Jimmie Johnson's 400 victory -- the second at IMS for the California driver -- brings Hendrick's total to six in NASCAR's second-biggest race.
The closest other owner? Joe Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing has three total victories at IMS with Bobby Labonte's win in 2000 and Tony Stewart's pair of victories in 2005 and 2007.
Richard Childress and Robert Yates both have two wins at the Speedway, while Ray Evernham and Ricky Rudd each have one car owner win.
Granted, this isn't a comparison between the Indianapolis 500 and the Allstate 400 in terms of wins -- Penske's eight more victories at the track isn't a record that Hendrick could catch any time soon -- but it is interesting that Hendrick has found his way to the front at Indianapolis in 40% of the stock car races run at Indy.
FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on location & blogging away at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
After an all-too-quick three days in Indianapolis, here's some final thoughts after an all-too-interesting Allstate 400: Blame One, Blame 'em All - You simply can't solely blame anyone for what happened at Indianapolis on Sunday. NASCAR and Goodyear tire tested here, thinking they had found a good compound, but the tire just never made it to their expectations. It wasn't for a lack of effort and didn't come to a boycott -- the fans still got to see a race, despite the challenges presented.
Both sides truly tried their hardest to get something to work, and ultimately the race fans still got to see a race -- though a much different one than anybody anticipated.
Next year, you can bet things will be different. We'll talk more about that Monday.
Cream of the Crop, No Matter What - It wouldn't have been hard for Jimmie Johnson & Co. to try to out run their competitors on Sunday and take more chances with their No. 48 race car. It was the fastest one on track, and if he wanted, he likely could have put a straightaway on the field within five laps if he pushed out front.
FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on location & blogging away at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
After all, the 2006 winner of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard seems to have a pretty decent No. 48 Chevrolet for the 15th running of stock cars at IMS. Johnson's weekend at Indy has consisted of winning the pole, pacing the final practice, and having the second-fastest speed in the weekend's third practice.
And oh yeah, he finished second two weeks ago at the Sprint Cup Series' last race in Chicago.
Nothing like striking the iron while its hot at Indianapolis, right?
Pending he gets through the race without pounding the Turn 3 wall and catching on fire (2007) or pounding the Turn 4 wall and catching on fire (2005), Johnson looks to be an odds-on favorite (even over the red hot Kyle Busch) at Indianapolis on a warm July Sunday afternoon. Tire Gremlins Worsen at Indianapolis With New Car
Tire issues are nothing new at Indianapolis with the big, bulky stock cars early in the weekend. Stated simply, it's an engineering marvel that a rubber compound can be built to carry the 3,400-pound cars through a flat corner at speeds above 150mph four times a lap for 30 circuits around the oval.
FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
NASCAR might be seeing the same old song and dance Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that can be best described in two of the most worrisome words to any driver: tire issues.
During the one-hour practice session, teams were burning their right-side tires down to the cords in a matter of three to five laps, leaving the cars with unpredictable handling and an increased chance of blowing a tire and sending a race car careening into the wall.
Mark Martin was one of a number of drivers who walked to the NASCAR hauler following practice to discuss the need for teams to have access to more tires in the final practice session:
"I just wanted to make sure that NASCAR knows that even an ol' gray hair thinks that we need more tires," said Martin.
Teams are limited over the course of a weekend to a certain number of $1,600 sets of tires for practice and qualifying. In Martin's case, his No. 8 car used four sets of tires to run a grand total of 15 laps in the session.
There is no limit during the race.
The tire problems come as a result of a changed rubber compound stemming from the new car being used at the track. The left side compound is one that has plenty of grip and but the right side is wearing away quickly in a powder-like form.
FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
It's a good day to be a driver from Australia or Canada in Indianapolis.
Both drivers representing their respective countries managed to qualify for their first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Saturday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the session's go-or-go-home finale.
Australian Marcus Ambrose, who announced just last week that he would be jumping from the Nationwide Series to the Sprint Cup Series full-time in 2009 with the creation of JTG Daughtery Racing, qualified for his first oval race. Needless to say, he was excited:
"I've never been so anxious and nervous and apprenhensive all my life. Two laps on the race track here at the Brickyard, which is so famous and so intimidating as well, I just had to suck all that up and let her rip," said Ambrose.
"We're racing against the big boys and we qualified ourselves in on merit. It means an awful lot to me. I feel like today I've made it. I feel like we're in the Brickyard."
Now isn't refreshing to hear a guy who is that excited to make the race? Ambrose's run is all that more impressive because his team had just two laps in practice on Friday thanks to NASCAR rules that allow Top-35 cars to go through technical inspection first.
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon put their Chevrolets away Friday afternoon at the Brickyard with the Top-2 speeds overall of both Friday practices in preparation for Saturday's run for the pole.
In the heat of the afternoon, Johnson and Gordon were the only two drivers to overtake the 180 mph mark, with Johnson setting the pace with a lap of 180.047mph and Gordon following closely behind at 180.007 mph.
Elliott Sadler in his No. 19 Dodge paced the first practice session with a lap of 179.190mph.
There was just one incident in the two afternoon practice sessions as Sam Hornish Jr. -- more known at Indy for his 2006 Indianapolis 500 victory -- looped his No. 77 in the short chute between turns 1 & 2 without any damage.
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.
Race: 
INDIANAPOLIS -- It took just three hours, 28 minutes and 29 seconds to undo the 15-year love affair between the Brickyard and NASCAR.
Jump in as FanHouse's 
Roger Penske
After an all-too-quick three days in Indianapolis, here's some final thoughts after an all-too-interesting Allstate 400:
NASCAR might be seeing the same old song and dance Sunday afternoon at 
It's a good day to be a driver from Australia or Canada in Indianapolis.
Hendrick Motorsports
