Sprint Cup 2010: Race 20 - Brickyard Update

Juan Pablo Montoya sits on the poll for the 2010 Brickyard 400 anxious to not only make up for last year's foul up, speeding on pit road late in the race which cost him the race, but also to be the first driver to have won the Indy 500, the F1 Grand Prix, and NASCAR's race. Chevrolet dominates the starting line up securing first six positions and nine out of ten of the top spots. The silver lining for Ford is Greg Biffle starts seventh when the Roush/Fenway operation has been shut out of the top ten for most of the season. Matt Kenseth starts 13th, A.J. Allmendinger -- 16th, and Carl Edwards -- 20th. The rest of the Petty stable is bunched up with Kasey Kahne 24th, Paul Menard, 26th, and Elliott Sadler 27th. The final Roush/Fenway comes next with David Ragan in 28th. Bill Elliott racing for the "legendary" Wood Brothers, normally qualifying well in the Ford pack languishes in 31st. 

Top 10 Starters

1-  Juan Montoya

2-  Jimmie Johnson
3-  Mark Martin
4-  Jaime McMurray
5-  Ryan Newman
6-  Clint Bowyer
7-  Greg Biffle
8-  Jeff Gordon
9-  Kevin Harvick
10- Jeff Burton

Brad Keselowski is the top Dodge in 11th. While Marin Truex, Jr. check in at 12th as the top Toyota.  David Gilliland - Ford #38, and David Stremme - Ford #26 did not qualify with full sponsorship to complete the race. J.J. Yeley, #46 Dodge did not run a lap. Casey Mears, Chevy #36 for Tommy Baldwin also did not make the field.

IT IS UNACCEPTABLE THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE PROBABLY FIVE ENTRIES THAT WILL START AND PARK FOR THE RACE.  HOW MUCH LONGER CAN NASCAR TOLERATE SPONSORED TEAMS PREPARED TO RACE NOT STARTING WHEN TEAMS WITH NO INTENTION NOR RESOURCES TO COMPETE IN.

Teams are struggling to find sponsors as it is.  For teams to shell out the money and not make the field when they can see unsponsored teams entering and quitting cannot be helping finding new sponsors.  The Brickyard 400 is one of the most prestigious races on the schedule that showcases NASCAR talent. This continues to be an on going embarassment.  Excuse us for harping on this issue, but in this race the implications shout louder than most.

Final practice holds out hope for teams needing a break. Here's the top 10 for final practice.

1-  Martin Truex, Jr. -- Toyota
2-  Jeff Burton -- Chevrolet
3-  Clint Bowyer -- Chevrolet
4-  Carl Edwards -- Ford
5-  Mark Martin -- Chevrolet
6-  Jimmie Johnson -- Chevrolet
7-  Greg Biffle -- Ford
8-  Kasey Kahne -- Ford
9-  Matt Kenseth -- Ford
10- Denny Hamlin -- Toyota

These results must be encouraging for Mark Martin struggling to re-enter the "Chase" field, and for the Blue Ovals. Fords and Chevrolets dominate 11-20, 3 each. Reed Sorenson for Red Bull is the only Toyota in 17th.  The Penske Dodges show Brad Keselowski in 19th and Kurt Busch in 21st.

For Junior fans, not only was his practice slow, 28th but he starts 17th.  The pressure is on to pick up the spots to get back in the sacred top 12.

Race weather calls for a temperature around 80 much cooler than qualifying and practice with partly cloudy skies and a 20% chance of rain falling off to 10% for the rest of the afternoon with only a slight increase in temperature. The change overnight should be enough to make crew chiefs anxious how well their final setup will be suited for track conditions.

Defending Champion, Jimmy Johnson is going for his third consecutive win at the historic track.