It’s Indianapolis Speedway and the name alone carries history and prestige. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series came to Indianapolis looking to add to the tracks history.
It was David Ragan who earned the pole for the race and he would lead the field to the green.
Another firsts…
Paul Menard wasn’t supposed to win the race. He wasn’t a favorite for the race win and he didn’t look like early on he would be a factor. The team though ran top 15 for much of the day and when the fuel strategy kicked into play Menard was in the lead and he was able to save enough fuel.
Menard was able to hold off a hard charging Jeff Gordon to win his first career race and one of the biggest races of the year. His win also puts him in position to make the Chase as a wildcard if he can maintain the next several races.
White Hot…
Gordon was coming on Sunday afternoon but he was one lap short on running down Menard but Gordon should be pleased at their finish on Sunday. He had the best car all day long. Consistently running in the top five and only fuel mileage forced them to drive from 16th to second in the final 20 laps.
His second place finish continues a hot summer for a driver who after the race said “Not bad for an old man”. He maintains seventh in the standings but has been the most consistent driver since Kansas in June. Next week they head to Pocono where Gordon will be looking to sweep the season races there.
Tight squeeze…
The pit boxes at IMS are big but the actual pit road is narrow. Its narrow because as we know the track was built for open wheel cars.
On Sunday pit road proved to be a game changer for some. Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch made contact on pit road. Both suffered some damage and Stewart had some tow damage. Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers made contact giving both some tire rubs.
All would continue on in the race but those pit road issues hampered their chances for a win. Johnson wound up 19th, Stewart finished sixth and Busch finished 10th.
Lug Nuts…
-Denny Hamlin started at the rear of the field after engine failure in practice on Friday. Through pit strategy he worked his way into the top 10. The car though was never good enough to battle up front he cycled into 27th.
-A multicar wreck ended promising runs for one of the most dominate cars all day. Kasey Kahne ran up front in the early part of the race but struggles on pit road and damage from a ride through the grass on lap 120. He wound up finishing 18th.
-After dominating the last two years at IMS, Juan Pablo Montoya hung around the top 10 but never had a car capable of winning the race. When the pit stops cycled through he wound up 28th.
For the rest of the results click here and for the rest of the standings click here.
Next week the series heads back to Pocono for the final time this season. The race is next Sunday at 12 ET on ESPN.
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