2011 Brickyard 400 Review

Paul Menard "kisses the bricks" after his victory Sunday

            The 18^th Brickyard 400 was all about fuel strategy, and the man with the best strategy on Sunday was Paul Menard. Menard won the first race of his career at the track that his father and he have been a part of for a very long time. Paul’s father, John Menard, has fielded cars in the Indy 500 for 35 years but had never been a part of a victory.

           

            If the Menard name sounds familiar, that’s because it is. John Menard owns the Menard home improvement stores and is one of the richest men in the world.  Many said Paul was only in NASCAR because his father was able to sponsor his car without Paul having to prove himself. One of those critics was Tony Stewart, when a few years ago he said “You can have your father buy a ride and write a big check, but you can't buy talent." But as Jeff Gordon said after the race, “You don’t win at Indy by fluke”. I had never been impressed with Menard before the Brickyard. After seeing him hold off a fast-charging Gordon was very impressive and conserve enough gas to finish was impressive.

Paul Menard(right) and his father, John

           

           

            The first third of the race was dominated by Red Bull Racing’s Kasey Kahne. Kahne led all the laps until the first round of pit stops at Lap 30, then took back over the lead and led until Lap 60 when Hendrick Motorsports took over. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson went back and forth from positions 1, 2, and 3. Then when a caution came out, the fuel insanity began.

           

            Some drivers came in, some did not. Some drivers took 2 tires and others took 4. Drivers with great cars were stuck in the back while drivers with mediocre cars were upfront. From this point on, Lap 100, the race was going to come down to strategy and fuel conservation. There were numerous different leaders including Brad Keselowski, Landon Cassill, and Paul Menard.

           

            With 20 laps left, Indiana’s Tony Stewart had the lead. He has won the Brickyard twice, but there was no way he could make it to the finish without getting gas. This was the same song for most of the drivers except ones who had pitted around Lap 125 during a caution; one of the drivers that did pit was Paul Menard. Stewart did eventually pit on Lap 145, and Paul Menard took over the lead.

           

            Menard lead with Mark Martin 2^nd, Jamie McMurray 3^rd, Greg Bifle 4^th, and Regan Smith 5^th. All of these drivers were pretty low on fuel and had to conserve to make it to the end.  The first driver in line behind these conservationists was Jeff Gordon. Gordon had to pit under green and was 10 seconds behind the lead group of cars with 20 laps to go.

           

            10 laps to go and Menard still lead with McMurray 2^nd, Martin 3^rd, Trevor Bayne 4^th, and Smith 5^th. Gordon was now only 8 seconds behind. With 8 laps to go McMurray took over the lead and looked like he had Menard beat, but Gordon was now only 7 seconds behind.  .

           

            4 laps left and Menard was given the message that he had conserved saved enough gas and could run flat out. He passed McMurray and took over the lead. Gordon was now 2 seconds back and in 4^th place. 3 to go and Gordon moved into 3^rd, then into 2^nd.  2 laps to go and Gordon was just one second behind Menard.  The white flag came out and Menard still held his lead. He made his last four turns and came down the frontstretch to take the checkered flag and win the 2011 Brickyard 400.

           

           

            Jeff Gordon definitely had the fastest car all day. I was really upset to see him not be able to seal the deal. Menard knows what it means to win at the Brickyard, so I’m happy he won. Kasey Kahne also had an incredibly fast car but got caught up in strategy and never saw the lead except for earlier in the race. My driver A.J. Allmendinger also had a fast car and if the race would have played out without the fuel strategy he would have at least had a top 5. Instead he finished 22^nd.

           

           

            My pick to win the race, Matt Kenseth, had a strong car all day and finished 5th. My other picks to win the race with their finishing position: Jeff Gordon (2^nd), Jimmie Johnson (19^th), Greg Bifle (7^th), and Carl Edwards (14^th). If you recall, I originally had Tony Stewart (6^th) and Kevin Harvick (11^th) instead of Kenseth and Bifle.  Neither Stewart nor Harvick had good cars; they just played the strategy right. The same could be said for Bifle too.

Final 2011 Brickyard 400 Preview

            After two packed days of on-track action, the field is set for the 18^th 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 6^th. 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.

2011 Brickyard 400 Preview

            
            Finally, Brickyard 400 Weekend has arrived! This is definitely my favorite weekend of the summer, and second favorite of the whole year behind Memorial Day Weekend.  It’s always an awesome experience, and this year should not disappoint.

               
            The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the most difficult tracks to race on because of its low banked- turns and narrow straight-aways. The track was designed for open-wheel cars, and even they have a tough time getting around. The great thing about the configuration of the track is that only the best of the best win, as opposed to say the Daytona 500. 
            
            The past Brickyard winners are: Jeff Gordon(4), Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett(2), Ricky Rudd, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliot (the only one I couldn’t remember), Tony Stewart(2), Jimmie Johnson(3), Kevin Harvick, and Jamie McMurray. From that list, only Ricky Rudd, Kevin Harvick, and Jamie McMurray have not won the Sprint Cup Championship before.
               
            Looking at who has won it in the past can easily tell you who has the best chance to win this year. Here are my drivers with the best chance to win the 2011 Brickyard 400.


Jeff Gordon – Spent his childhood racing until he became a big name driver, so he knows s the history of IMS. He has won at Indy 4 times, and is having a good season thus far. He will be attempting to be the first person to win at IMS five times.

Jimmie Johnson- He has won three times in the past five races. People think he’s struggling this year, but my god, he’s 2^nd in the points standings! Plus he’s Jimmie Johnson; he has a good chance to win everywhere.

Tony Stewart- Born and raised in Indiana, he is always the crowd favorite (unfortunately). He is a two-time winner, but is struggling a little this season. He is always better in the summer and just came off a second place finish, so look for him to be upfront.

Kevin Harvick- He won his only Brickyard in 2004, but he has been strong all season as he has three wins.

Carl Edwards- The current Sprint Cup points leader has never won at Indy, or any track similar to Indy. He is obviously having a great season, and this could be the year he gets that first win at the Brickyard.

Juan Pablo Montoya- The 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner is struggling this year. He has not had any success all season, and just got a new crew chief, so their first race working together will be in Indy. He has absolutely dominated the past two Brickyards, but has never been able to get the win.


            Before seeing any cars practice or even qualifications, I’m picking Tony Stewart to win the race. I’ll update that pick Saturday night though.