Thursday, July 29, 2010

Juan Pablo Montoya @ FIX University Campus

Lap-by-Lap: Indianapolis

By NASCAR.COM
July 26, 2010
11:27 AM EDT
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CHECKERED FLAG: Jamie McMurray follows up his Daytona 500 victory with the Brickyard 400 win, giving Chip Ganassi the unprecedented triple. Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart round out the top five.

Lap 160 -- WHITE FLAG: No caution, so this race will be official regardless of any cautions that come out.

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Lap 159 -- Two to go, and Jamie McMurray's up nearly a second and a half on Kevin Harvick.

Lap 158 -- Barring a big mistake, Jamie McMurray seems to have a lock on the victory.

Lap 156 -- Jamie McMurray is up by nearly one second on Kevin Harvick, but Harvick's more concerned with Greg Biffle in third.

Lap 155 -- It's a three-car race for the top three spots, but Jamie McMurray is solidly in the lead.

Lap 154 -- Jamie McMurray is still in control, now up by nearly seven-tenths of a second.

Lap 153 -- Jamie McMurray is starting to pull away a little, giving himself some breathing room between him and second-place Kevin Harvick.

Lap 152 -- Greg Biffle continues to reel in Kevin Harvick for second place.

Lap 151 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jamie McMurray gets around Kevin Harvick for the lead. Clint Bowyer got around teammate Jeff Burton. Greg Biffle got around Tony Stewart, and Biffle's four tires are behind the two leaders.

Lap 150 -- GREEN FLAG: Kevin Harvick will lead them to the restart.
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Jamie McMurray
3. Tony Stewart
4. Jeff Burton
5. Greg Biffle

Lap 147 -- Juan Montoya starts the slow walk through the garage after another disappointing end to his day at the Brickyard.

Lap 146 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6 AND LEAD CHANGE: Just as Kevin Harvick got around Jamie McMurray for the lead, Chip Ganassi saw problems for his other car as well. Juan Montoya got loose and into the wall, and he collected Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he dropped down the track.

Lap 145 -- Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick are checking out, pulling away from the pack behind them. Greg Biffle is working his way through the field with his four fresh tires.

Lap 144 -- Jamie McMurray used a great restart to pull away early, and Kevin Harvick gets around Tony Stewart to take second. Juan Montoya gets passed on the restart, however, and will have a big pack to pass if he plans to win.

Lap 143 -- GREEN FLAG: Jamie McMurray leads the field to green with fewer than 20 laps to go.
1. Jamie McMurray
2. Tony Stewart
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Mark Martin
5. Kurt Busch

Lap 141 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jamie McMurray gets the lead with two tires. With divergent pit stop plans, those who chose track position with two tires grab the lead. Juan Montoya, who was leading, came out of the pits in seventh after taking four tires.

Lap 140 -- Pit road stops.
• Tony Stewart takes two tires and fuel with a slight trackbar adjustment
• Clint Bowyer took four tires and fuel
• Jamie McMurray took two tires and fuel
• Juan Montoya took four tires and fuel

Lap 138 -- CAUTION FLAG NO. 5: Debris brings out another caution and will bunch the field back up.

Lap 137 -- The race between Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick for seventh is heating up.

Lap 135 -- Jamie McMurray has opened up a little bit of space between himself and Greg Biffle, with Clint Bowyer closing up the space from the fourth-place position.

Lap 133 -- Tony Stewart is running solidly fifth, and hopes he has enough time to make a move on the leaders.

Lap 132 -- Greg Biffle is all up behind Jamie McMurray, staying in his rear-view mirror and trying to get back into second.

Lap 131 -- Joey Logano is up to 14th.

Lap 129 -- Juan Montoya now leads Jamie McMurray by nearly two seconds. Jeff Gordon just suffered what appears to be a cut right rear tire. Gordon also reported his oil and water temperatures are very high.

Lap 127 -- David Ragan, who was running well all day, just went a lap down after an unscheduled pit stop.

Lap 126 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is around Matt Kenseth for 13th.

Lap 124 -- Juan Montoya is starting to stretch out his lead, up nearly a second and a half on his teammate, Jamie McMurray. Martin Truex Jr., who has run in the top 15 all day, has dropped off the pace.

Lap 123 -- Greg Biffle's attempt to pass Juan Montoya for the lead resulted in Jamie McMurray actually getting past him, putting Earnhardt-Ganassi cars running 1-2. Tony Stewart is up into the top five.

Lap 122 -- GREEN FLAG: Juan Montoya leads them back to green.
1. Juan Montoya
2. Greg Biffle
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 121 -- Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards made big climbs, with Stewart up to eighth and Edwards now ninth.

Lap 120 -- Jimmie Johnson's stop took too long, and he was passed while on pit road, so he goes a lap down. The disappointment is obvious in Chad Knaus' voice.

Lap 119 -- The leaders are on pit road.
• Mark Martin got another adjustment, four tires and fuel
• Clint Bowyer got four tires
• Greg Biffle got both track bar and wedge adjustments
• Juan Montoya took no adjustments, just tires and fuel
• Jimmie Johnson is changing out shocks on his car

Lap 117 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Debris coming out of Turn 2 brings out the yellow, as what appears to be some sheet metal flew up and hit Ryan Newman's car.

Lap 115 -- Juan Montoya was caught up behind the lapped car of Ryan Newman, but is also have some handling problems.

Lap 114 -- Greg Biffle has cut Juan Montoya's lead by more than half, now less than a half-second back.

Lap 113 -- Carl Edwards has gotten around Jeff Gordon for 13th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is right outside the top 15 in 16th.

Lap 112 -- The average last green-flag run at Indianapolis is 27 laps. There are 48 laps left now and they've been green since Lap 68.

Lap 111 -- Jamie McMurray is running third -- 9.4 seconds off the lead. Wow.

Lap 108 -- Juan Montoya's lead is more than a second and a half on Greg Biffle.

Lap 106 -- Greg Biffle telling his crew chief he hopes that pit stop doesn't cost him the victory, with Greg Erwin saying they weren't trying to avoid Juan Montoya but trying to pit with Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick and those guys. They weren't expecting Brad Keselowski to pit with them.

Lap 104 -- Kyle Busch is up to seventh, continuing his move toward the front.

Lap 103 -- Now that he's back up front, Juan Montoya is back in fresh air and having no problems. His lead over Greg Biffle is hovering in the eight-tenths to one second range.

Lap 102 -- The top five after green-flag stops:
1. Juan Montoya
2. Greg Biffle
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 100 -- LEAD CHANGE: Juan Montoya takes lead when Carl Edwards pits.

Lap 99 -- LEAD CHANGE: Carl Edwards takes the lead when Greg Biffle gets on pit road.
• Biffle nearly hits Brad Keselowski on pit road, gets a wedge adjustment and four tires
• Kurt Busch takes four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment

Lap 98 -- Green flag stops start up.
• Tony Stewart pits for tires, fuel
• Juan Montoya four tires and fuel
• Mark Martin four tires, fuel and two rounds out of the left rear
• Kevin Harvick went back to his original air pressure

Lap 97 -- David Ragan is up to 14th. He's been working his way through the field all day and now finds himself in the top 15, at the back end of a Roush train: Carl Edwards 12th, Matt Kenseth 13th, David Ragan 14th.

Lap 95 -- It's a two-man race, and even that might be kind. Greg Biffle leads Juan Montoya by about six-tenths of a second, with third-place Jamie McMurray another five seconds back.

Lap 94 -- Marcos Ambrose is actually having a pretty solid run. He qualified poorly, but is up to 22nd now. He's picked up 19 spots from where he qualified.

Lap 93 -- The top 10 has remained largely static for some time. Biggest moves are coming in the 11-20 range, with some pretty solid racing.

Lap 91 -- Jimmie Johnson just got passed by Bill Elliott and Marcos Ambrose. Please re-read that. Let it sink in.

Lap 89 -- Carl Edwards is up to 14th, having climbed past Matt Kenseth, his teammate.

Lap 88 -- Tony Stewart gets around Jeff Gordon for 11th.

Lap 86 -- Joey Logano is up to 18th after qualifying 34th and starting at the rear of the field. He's recovered well from hitting debris in that first-lap crash.

Lap 84 -- Good news, bad news time for Jimmie Johnson. Good news: He's still on the lead lap despite his problems. Bad news: He's 20 seconds off the lead.

Lap 83 -- We're past halfway. Bad omen for Greg Biffle: the leader at halfway has won only four times this season. Roush Fenway has never won at Indianapolis.

Lap 82 -- Martin Truex Jr. has quietly been running in the top 10 for large portions of today, currently sitting seventh.

Lap 81 -- Tony Stewart is up to 12th. Kyle Busch is ninth, but complaining about how loose his car is after his pit stop adjustments.

Lap 80 -- Greg Biffle's lead just topped one second on Juan Montoya.

Lap 79 -- Juan Montoya and Jamie McMurray remain in the top three, continuing the strong runs they were expected to have.

Lap 78 -- Scott Speed had to pit after replays showed contact with Jimmie Johnson, bringing Speed in for a flat tire.

Lap 77 -- There are 26 cars on the lead lap, and Denny Hamlin is the first car one lap down.

Lap 75 -- Greg Biffle continues to turn laps in the lead, up by more than half a second on Juan Montoya in second. Biffle is the only Ford in the top six, with Chevrolets taking up the next five spots.

Lap 74 -- Jimmie Johnson is still struggling, and got a little loose when he got passed by Denny Hamlin when Hamlin took air off his left side.

Lap 73 -- Regan Smith is getting plenty of TV love, up to 19th now.

Lap 72 -- Tony Stewart is up to 14th, but said he's still not pleased with how his car drives off the corners. Mark Martin has dropped to sixth now.

Lap 71 -- Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton are all bunched up in a battle for ninth.

Lap 70 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle takes the inside line.
1. Greg Biffle
2. Juan Montoya
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 69 -- Jimmie Johnson just spent extended time on pit road, and will restart 22nd when the race goes green.

Lap 68 -- Greg Biffle won the race off pit road and retains the lead. Clint Bowyer is up to fourth. Big gainers were Carl Edwards (13th) and Tony Stewart (14th).

Lap 67 -- A plethora of cars hit pit road under caution.
• Mark Martin takes four tires and fuel
• Clint Bowyer gets an air pressure adjustment
• Greg Biffle adds air in his right side tires
• Juan Montoya gets a track bar adjustment

Lap 66 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Debris in Turn 2 brings out another caution, helping Juan Montoya's case as he was nearly going to have to pit under green.

Lap 65 -- Greg Biffle is pulling away quickly, opening up nearly a one-second lead on Juan Montoya.

Lap 62 -- LEAD CHANGE: Greg Biffle gets around Juan Montoya for first.

Lap 61 -- Kyle Busch is up to eighth now after passing Jimmie Johnson. Jeff Burton just got around Johnson as well, dropping the four-time champion to 10th.

Lap 60 -- Greg Biffle is starting to reel Juan Montoya in as Montoya's laps wind down before he'll have to hit the pits.

Lap 59 -- Big-name drivers near the middle of the pack, with Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. running 16th-18th.

Lap 57 -- Jeff Gordon is down to 13th, and has yet to see if the adjustments his team made on his pit stop will pay off.

Lap 56 -- Greg Biffle is the fastest car in the top 10, making up ground on Juan Montoya. Montoya will have to pit sooner, since his stop for the vibration came about 11 laps before the others started their green-flag stops.

Lap 55 -- Kyle Busch is up to ninth after the early incident, and is making his move.

Lap 53 -- The top five after green flag stops cycled through:
1. Juan Montoya
2. Greg Biffle
3. Mark Martin
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Jamie McMurray

Lap 52 -- LEAD CHANGE: Juan Montoya back to the lead after Tony Stewart gets onto pit road.
• Stewart gets a wedge adjustment, four tires and fuel

Lap 50 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart takes the lead when Greg Biffle hits pit road.
• Greg Biffle gets four tires and fuel
• Carl Edwards takes four tires and fuel

Lap 49 -- LEAD CHANGE: Greg Biffle takes the lead when Mark Martin hits pit road under green.
• Mark Martin takes four tires and fuel
• Jimmie Johnson gets four tires and fuel
• Jamie McMurray has a track bar adjustment
• Kevin Harvick gets four tires and fuel
• Jeff Burton takes four tires and fuel
• Jeff Gordon takes a major air pressure adjustment along with tires and fuel

Lap 48 -- Kevin Harvick gets past Jimmie Johnson now, taking over fifth.

Lap 47 -- Jimmie Johnson is fading, falling down to fifth after Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer got around him.

Lap 46 -- Ryan Newman, who started fifth, is running 34th -- two laps down -- after those two early flat tires.

Lap 45 -- Kurt Busch has climbed into the top 10 after getting around his brother as well as Jeff Gordon.

Lap 44 -- Mark Martin has a lead of more than two seconds on Greg Biffle, with Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray running third and fourth.

Lap 43 -- Richard Childress Racing continues to have a strong day, with all cars in the top 10. Kevin Harvick is fifth, Clint Bowyer sixth and Jeff Burton eighth.

Lap 42 -- Jeff Gordon is running 10th, but said his car is "plowing." Steve Letarte promises they will make the necessary adjustments.

Lap 41 -- Juan Montoya is back out on the track, showing up in 30th position after that unscheduled pit stop. The Busch brothers are back-to-back, with Kyle in 12th and Kurt in 13th.

Lap 40 -- Kevin Harvick is up into the top five, and his teammate Clint Bowyer is right behind him.

Lap 39 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin takes the lead when Juan Montoya hits pit road to have his crew take a look at the vibration he's feeling. He takes four tires.

Lap 38 -- Greg Biffle gets around Jimmie Johnson on the inside, taking over third.

Lap 37 -- Juan Montoya is working his way around lapped traffic with no difficulty, now up by more than two seconds on Mark Martin. But he says the vibration of the possibly loose wheel is getting worse.

Lap 35 -- The Jeffs -- Gordon and Burton -- are still hanging around the bottom end of the top 10, with Gordon 10th and Burton behind him in 11th.

Lap 34 -- Matt Kenseth continues to drop, now down to eighth from a high of fourth.

Lap 33 -- Juan Montoya's lead is still nearly two seconds on Mark Martin.

Lap 32 -- Paul Menard is up to 14th after starting 26th.

Lap 31 -- Greg Biffle moves to the outside and gets around Matt Kenseth for fourth, dropping Kenseth to fifth. Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick are running sixth and seventh.

Lap 30 -- Greg Biffle is on the tail of his teammate, Matt Kenseth, for fourth.

Lap 29 -- Juan Montoya now reports he's feeling a looseness in one of his tires.

Lap 27 -- Juan Montoya is just pulling away with all that clean air up front, allowing him to miss the troubles behind him. Mark Martin has worked his way around his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, for second.

Lap 26 -- Kyle Busch has had a pretty good weekend already, and he's hovering outside the top 10 in 13th after picking up 10 spots since the start.

Lap 25 -- Martin Truex Jr. has also snuck up through the field, sitting seventh after starting 12th. Biggest mover, however, is David Ragan. He started 28th and is sitting 13th now.

Lap 24 -- Matt Kenseth is running fourth after starting 13th. A good day for a guy who hasn't had a ton of them this season.

Lap 23 -- Joey Logano moved up to 14th with a pit stop for just fuel, but he's being passed willy-nilly now as cars with fresher tires get around him. Clint Bowyer moves up to 10th by passing Kasey Kahne.

Lap 22 -- LEAD CHANGE: Juan Montoya moved past Jimmie Johnson on the outside along the backstretch, regaining the lead using the side draft.

Lap 21 -- LEAD CHANGE AND GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson takes the lead when Joe Nemechek drops back in the field to keep from holding up the field on the restart.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Juan Montoya
3. Mark Martin
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Jamie McMurray

Lap 20 -- Denny Hamlin is on pit road, and they're under his hood taking a look.

Lap 19 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kevin Conway moves into the lead when Landon Cassill heads to pit road.

Lap 18 -- LEAD CHANGE: Landon Cassill takes the lead when Juan Montoya takes to pit road. Jimmie Johnson beats Montoya off pit road, and he pulls directly onto the track instead of taking the warm-up lane.

Lap 17 -- Cars hit pit road.
• Tony Stewart takes four tires and fuel
• Mark Martin gets a wedge adjustment
• Jimmie Johnson takes right-side tires only
• Juan Montoya takes two tires, fuel and a grill cleaning

Lap 16 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Back under yellow. Robby Gordon tore up the front end of his car, and Max Papis also has some damage.

Lap 15 -- Ryan Newman's team reports it was a fender rub causing the flats, but they think they've fixed it now. Dale Earnhardt Jr. hits pit road, also battling the overheating that has struck so many.

Lap 14 -- Kasey Kahne continues to climb through the field. He's up to 14th after starting 24th.

Lap 13 -- Carl Edwards remained on the lead lap after only having to have tape removed for the heat. Brad Keselowski is on pit road and taking four tires.

Lap 12 -- Carl Edwards is on pit road for an unscheduled stop, saying his temperature is spiking, and Ryan Newman is back on pit road for another left rear flat. Denny Hamlin is also on pit road, facing some overheating issues as water spurts out from under his hood. A.J. Allmendinger is also on pit road.

Lap 11 -- The leaders are spacing out, with Juan Montoya opening up a 7/10ths of a second lead on Jimmie Johnson.

Lap 10 -- Tony Stewart may not have been strong in practice, but he's strong as all get-out today. He's up to 10th from 15th. His teammate, Ryan Newman, has a flat tire and nearly missed the pit road entrance.

Lap 9 -- Jeff Gordon lost two spots on that lap, down to 10th, and seems to be drifting a little.

Lap 8 -- GREEN FLAG: Juan Montoya takes them to the green. Top five on the restart:
1. Juan Montoya
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Mark Martin
4. Jamie McMurray
5. Greg Biffle

Lap 7 -- Sam Hornish Jr. is being penalized for speeding on pit road, so they're using the time to continue working on the car. Juan Montoya has opted to take the inside line on the restart.

Lap 5 -- A replay shows Joey Logano had to take tape to the front of his car after he hit some debris following that accident.

Lap 4 -- Kasey Kahne is in 21st position after starting 24th.

Lap 3 -- On the positive front, A.J. Allmendinger managed to pick up two spots in the half-lap of racing under green. He's moved from 16th to 14th.

Lap 2 -- Elliott Sadler's crew heads back to the garage as he's on his way after that melee. Marcos Ambrose also pitted to clean off his grill.

Lap 1 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: That didn't take long. Sam Hornish Jr., Reed Sorenson took the worst of a collision on the first lap, with David Reutimann, Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch also being roped into it. There's minor damage to Busch's 18 car, but Hornish's No. 77 took some serious damage to the rear.

1:21 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Juan Montoya and Jimmie Johnson take the green on the way to 160 laps of the Brickyard 400.

1:16 p.m. -- Joey Logano and Todd Bodine both move to the rear of the field for the start after changing engines.

1:13 p.m. -- The cars are on the track for their pace laps.

1:07 p.m. -- Command to start engines from Mari Hulman George, IMS chairman of the board.

1:01 p.m. -- National anthem by Grammy winner Steven Curtis Chapman.

1 p.m. -- Invocation by Rev. Howard Brammer of Traders Point Christian Church.

12:51 p.m. -- NASCAR spokesman Herb Branham says there will be a competition caution at Lap 15. No one can take fuel before that stop.

Noon -- ESPN's pre-race coverage is under way.

11:45 a.m. ET -- It's overcast at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but that means cooler temperatures for the Brickyard 400. Radar looks mostly clear for one of the most prestigious races on the Cup schedule. Green flag is scheduled for 1:18 p.m. ET, and Juan Montoya will start on the pole.

DRIVERS

2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series


Rank:

18

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Behind:

-651

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16

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-625

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5

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-262

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13

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-536

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24

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-981

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17

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-630

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3

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-260

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25

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-984

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40

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-2150

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9

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-376

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11

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-458

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8

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-347

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6

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-290

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28

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-1121

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19

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-679

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2

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-184

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1

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Leader

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7

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-305

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12

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-474

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33

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-1526

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39

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-2121

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34

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-1621

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35

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-1660

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15

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-621

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22

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-799

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21

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-784

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27

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-1081

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4

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-261

Rank:

44

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-2412

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20

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-775

Rank:

41

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-2258

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31

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-1383

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29

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-1152

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30

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-1257

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26

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-994

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36

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-1762

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38

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-2109

Rank:

14

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Behind:

-567

Rank:

23

Pts.
Behind:

-818

Rank:

10

Pts.
Behind:

-424

Montoya call right choice, just didn't work out

Unique quals for Trucks at Pocono; Nationwide standalone standouts

By NASCAR.COM
July 29, 2010
04:07 PM EDT
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1. Did Juan Montoya and crew chief Brian Pattie make the wrong call by taking four tires on the final pit stop at Indianapolis?

Track Smack

Joe Menzer: Duh. Obviously. Even team owner Chip Ganassi admitted as much when he was asked in the post-race media roundup what he would tell the obviously disappointed pair. He said, "I would tell them they should have taken two."

Duane Cross: Of course, in hindsight -- but I couldn't argue the call at the time. Who knew you could hold off the pack on two tires at that distance? I'm sure Brian slept well, knowing he made the four-tire call with the info he had at hand.

David Caraviello: It's easy to say yes, given the outcome, and that teammate Jamie McMurray won by taking two. But in that situation, how can you not take four tires? You're leading the race, you've got the best car, and it's not exactly a sprint to the finish. Like a baseball manager, the No. 42 team went with the book. They became the proverbial sitting duck as a result. But that doesn't mean the thinking behind the call was incorrect.

Joe Menzer: I really thought they were going to be OK. There were, what, 19 laps still to go? And he came out in seventh, with the six cars in front of him on two tires. I thought he would have plenty of time to make up the ground, but he almost immediately started struggling and going backward instead of marching to the front like I thought he would.

David Caraviello: Brian was crushed. He's usually among the most accessible crew chiefs in the garage area, and for him to issue just a three-sentence statement spoke volumes about how badly he was beating himself up. But there were plenty of laps left. I can't believe they didn't think they could get back up front. Of course, they probably also didn't expect so many teams just to take two.

Duane Cross: If Juan had won, the talk would be, 'What a call the 42 team made!' Amazing how the media works at times. And, with the way Juan likes to drive the wheels off a car, no one would have made the two-tire call with him in the driver's seat.

David Caraviello: I can't disagree there, Duane. You look at what's happened to this team the past two years, though -- the car is untouchable up front, struggles in traffic. I have no idea how you try to improve that, or if you even can, given that I don't think you can replicate Indy traffic conditions on a seven-post or in a wind tunnel. One of those things where you don't know how your car is going to react until it's there.

Joe Menzer: Well, we can sit here and say we don't blame them for making the wrong call all we want. But the fact is, in this situation, it obviously turned out to be the wrong call. I think it's another example of how track position is everything, especially at a place like Indy where it's hard to pass. It should be duly noted that Greg Biffle also took four tires, and he was able to at least work his way back up to third.

David Caraviello: Of course, Greg didn't hit the wall trying too hard. And really, third for Montoya would probably have been about as unfulfilling as where they ended up. That was a win-or-bust effort there Sunday afternoon.

Joe Menzer: Then I would argue that he should have taken two and made certain he stayed out front.

Duane Cross: No doubt JPM, Brian and everyone on the team was cussing that ol' track on Sunday night. That's two years in a row he's seemingly had the field covered only to lose it on pit road. This year, four tires was the call -- but, like Joe said, it didn't help in passing back to the front.

David Caraviello: I know crew chiefs scan radios in that situation trying to guess what everybody else is going to do, but really, the leader is in a no-win situation at that point. Not even two tires would have necessarily guaranteed them anything. You're playing a hunch at that point, and Pattie had to look at how good his car was on four tires and go with that call. It's really hard to disagree with him there.

Duane Cross: And that's the bottom line, David -- Brian knew how good the car was on four tires and he figured there were enough laps to make up the difference on the drivers who took two tires.

Joe Menzer: Well, of course there are no guarantees. There never are in racing -- and you're absolutely right that the leader is in virtually a no-win situation there. If they had taken two and someone behind them had taken four and they had lost, we'd be having a debate about that, too. But in retrospect, they simply made the wrong call this time.

David Caraviello: And how about Chip Ganassi, splitting his strategies there, playing his two cars against one another to try and guarantee himself a win? Sly. Though you wonder how the 42 team feels about that.

Joe Menzer: McMurray took two and took off, and then held everyone else off. End of story. He made the right call, the 42 team made the wrong one. No matter how it may have seemed at the time.

David Caraviello: That Menzer is a heck of a crew chief -- when it comes to the Windstar.

Joe Menzer: With a cracked windshield, no less.

David Caraviello: Ouch. That can't help the aerodynamics. Get that thing in the wind tunnel and have a look at it.

Duane Cross: Joe Menzer, crew chief of the 20/20 Hindsight Chevrolet! (Continued)

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NASCAR Broadcast Schedule

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BROADCAST DATE TIME EVENT
07|30|10 8 a.m. Pocono Mountains 125 practice
SPEED 07|30|10 Noon Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 practice
SPEED 07|30|10 3:30 p.m. Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 qualifying
07|30|10 5:30 p.m. U.S. Cellular 250 practice
SPEED 07|30|10 5:30 p.m. Pocono Mountains 125 final practice
07|30|10 7 p.m. U.S. Cellular 250 final practice
SPEED 07|31|10 9 a.m. Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 practice (TV at 9:30 a.m. ET)
SPEED 07|31|10 10 a.m. Pocono Mountains 125 qualifying
SPEED 07|31|10 11:20 a.m. Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 final practice
SPEED 07|31|10 12:30 p.m. Pocono Mountains 125
07|31|10 4 p.m. U.S. Cellular 250 qualifying
ESPN2 07|31|10 7 p.m. U.S. Cellular 250
ESPN 08|01|10 1 p.m. Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

STANDINGS

2010 Official Driver Standings: Brickyard 400

Brickyard 400 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Race 20 of 36
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RANK +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND STARTS POLES WINS TOP 5 TOP 10 WINNINGS
1--Kevin Harvick2920Leader20029144,306,470
2--Jeff Gordon2736-184200010113,595,040
3+1Denny Hamlin2660-2602005783,498,230
4-1Jimmie Johnson2659-26120058114,408,190
5--Kurt Busch2658-26220227124,628,320
6--Kyle Busch2630-29020225103,792,820
7--Jeff Burton2615-30520004103,176,310
8--Matt Kenseth2573-3472000483,307,520
9--Tony Stewart2544-37620105103,208,360
10--Carl Edwards2496-4242000293,138,540
11--Greg Biffle2462-45820003113,058,160
12--Clint Bowyer2446-47420003112,778,330
CHASE FOR THE Sprint CUP - CURRENT CONTENDERS
13+1Mark Martin2384-5362010562,734,490
14-1Dale Earnhardt Jr.2353-5672010263,155,250
15+1Ryan Newman2299-6212011262,982,050
16+2Jamie McMurray2295-6252032674,687,500
17--Kasey Kahne2290-6302010573,299,610
18-3David Reutimann2269-6512001443,162,220
19--Joey Logano2241-6792010283,007,290
20--Martin Truex Jr.2145-7752010142,428,910
21+1A.J. Allmendinger2136-7842010032,764,490
22-1Juan Montoya2121-7992020482,978,240
23--Paul Menard2102-8182000132,176,180
24+1David Ragan1939-9812000012,169,200
25+1Brad Keselowski1936-9842000002,563,310
26-2Scott Speed1926-9942000022,297,480
27+1Marcos Ambrose1839-10812000022,474,560
28-1Elliott Sadler1799-11212000002,096,890
29--Sam Hornish Jr.1768-11522000002,080,700
30--Regan Smith1663-12572000002,061,990
31--Bobby Labonte1537-13832000002,001,810
32--Robby Gordon1438-14821800112,126,820
33--Travis Kvapil1394-15261900001,966,070
34+1Kevin Conway*1299-16211900001,795,150
35-1David Gilliland1260-16601600001,570,680
36--Brian Vickers1158-17621100031,579,830
37--David Stremme825-2095110000946,775
38+1Joe Nemechek811-21091900001,692,990
39-1Mike Bliss799-21211100021,083,400
40--Max Papis770-21501600001,490,380
41--Dave Blaney662-22581600001,282,930
42+1Bill Elliott609-231170000857,504
43-1Casey Mears599-232180000878,989
44+1Michael McDowell508-24121300001,210,360
45+1Reed Sorenson493-242770001828,476
46-2J.J. Yeley491-242980000630,029
47--Boris Said399-252150001636,920
48--Robert Richardson Jr.249-267130000524,460
49+1Todd Bodine221-269950000479,784
50-1Michael Waltrip200-272030000486,063
51--Terry Cook*164-275630000240,170
52--Aric Almirola154-276640000330,573
53--Johnny Sauter154-276640000308,612
54+3Landon Cassill146-277430000285,890
55-1Steve Park129-279110000100,400
56-1Jan Magnussen127-27931000092,500
57-1Mattias Ekstrom105-281510000118,023
58--Scott Riggs79-28411000072,575
59--Jacques Villeneuve76-284410000137,725
60-1Andy Lally52-28681000069,625
61-1John Andretti49-287110000286,779
62-1Geoffrey Bodine40-28801000063,045
63-1P.J. Jones40-28801000071,025
64-1Tony Raines37-28831000093,129
65-1Chad McCumbee37-28831000062,890
66-1Brandon Ash0-2920000000
67-1Ted Musgrave0-2920000000
68-1Brian Simo0-2920000000
69-1Derrike Cope0-29200000069,588
70-1Mike Wallace0-29200000021,995
71-1Norm Benning0-29200000050,504
72-1Jeff Fuller0-29200000021,920

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