After two packed days of on-track action, the field is set for the 18th running of the Brickyard 400. Leading the field to the green flag will be David Ragan and Kasey Kahne. Ragan bumped Jimmie Johnson from the pole position on Saturday with a speed of 182.944mph, and then Kasey Kahne claimed the second spot with a speed of 182.927mph.
Starting line-up
1- #6 David Ragan
2- #4 Kasey Kahne
3- #48 Jimmie Johnson
4-#22 Kurt Busch
5- #2 Brad Keselowski
6- #43 A.J. Allmendinger
7- #42 Juan Pablo Montoya
8- #24 Jeff Gordon
9- #17 Matt Kenseth
10- #99 Carl Edwards
11- #13 Casey Mears
12- #5 Mark Martin
13- #31 Jeff Burton
14- # 11 Denny Hamlin
15- #27 Paul Menard
16- #1 Jamie McMurray
17- #47 Bobby Labonte
18- #16 Greg Bifle
19- #29 Kevin Harvick
20- #20 Joey Logano
21-#9 Marcos Ambrose
22-#99 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
23-#39 Ryan Newman
24-# 14 Tony Stewart
25-# 21 Trevor Bayne
26-# 33 Clint Bowyer
27-# 78 Regan Smith
28-# 00 David Reutimann
29-# 18 Kyle Busch
30-#56 Martin Truex Jr.
31-#83 Brian Vickers
32-#51 Landon Cassill
33-#36 Dave Blaney
34-#37 Scott Speed
35-#66 Michael McDowell
36-#87 Joe Nemechek
37-#34 David Gilliland
38-#60 Mike Skinner
39-#71 Andy Lally
40-#50 T.J. Bell
41-#7 Robby Gordon
42-#32 Mike Bliss
43-#23 Terry Labonte
I’m extremely excited to see my favorite Allmendinger starting 6th. I had not seen him even hit 180mph in practice on Friday or Saturday. Then he comes out and goes 182.445mph. I know he’s been working on his race setup, so he’ll be a contendor on Sunday.
In my earlier preview I gave six drivers who I thought would be the biggest threats to win. Those drivers were: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, and Juan Pablo Montoya. After seeing how everybody did in practice and where they’ll be starting, I would remove Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Both are starting towards the back of the field
I would then put in Matt Kenseth and Greg Bifle. These two are driving Fords and are a part of the Roush-Fenway Racing team. This is the same team as pole-sitter David Ragan and points leader Carl Edwards. Roush has never won at Indy, but this is the best chance they’ve ever had.
The significance of these guys driving Fords is the engine in their cars, the FR9. This new engine is able to perform at higher temperatures than other manufacture’s engines, which is vital at Indy with temperatures expected to be in the 90’s on Sunday. Plus all the extra horsepower that’s needed to get down the front and back stretch.
So if I had to pick one driver to win who would I pick? My heart says Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson (or Allmendinger!), but my brain is saying Kenseth or Edwards. I’ll go with Kenseth as the favorite and Allmendinger as the underdog.
Be sure to tune into the race! Green flag is at 1:20 EST on ESPN. Look for my girlfriend, brother, and me on TV too, we’re sitting at the end of Turn 4.
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