Race: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Date: Sunday, July 26, 2009
Time: 2:19 PM EST (scheduled green flag)
TV: 1:00 PM EST on ESPN
Odds: Updated Allstate 400 Odds
Preview: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, but NASCAR has only been racing here once per year since 1994, making a total of 15 races in the record books. The track is a flat 2.5-mile squarish oval with just 9 degrees of banking in the turns.
Look for the possibility of rain interrupting some events again this weekend, a situation that has plagued NASCAR this season and has already forced the cancellation of Cup qualifying four times.
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Safe Bets:
1. Tony Stewart (+500): Not only is Stewart the current Sprint Cup series points leader, but he’s won two of the past four Brickyard races – 2005 and 2007 – and is second on the laps-led list to Jeff Gordon, though Gordon has five more Brickyard starts.
2. Jimmie Johnson (+600): The two races in the past four years that Stewart didn’t win were won by Johnson – 2006 and 2008. He’s had some bad finishes here as well, but has certainly shown he knows how to get around the racetrack.
Dark Horse:
1. Juan Pablo Montoya (+2500): Montoya is having his best NASCAR season to date, currently ninth in the point standings, and finished second in his first stock-car race at the Brickyard two years ago. Of course, the former open-wheeler also won the Indy 500 in 2000.
Summary: Last year’s Brickyard race was a shambles, with tires that fell apart every ten-or-so laps, but both NASCAR and Goodyear are adamant that the problem has been remedied. This race has special meaning to many drivers, so they’ll be trying extra hard to win while striving to avoid mistakes.
