Thursday, July 22, 2010

Brickyard 400 Chassis Selections: Lots of Strong Cars Running This Week

by Jeff Wackerlin
MotorRacingNetwork.com

1. Kevin Harvick: Coming off sixth top 10 in nine starts; Winner of the 2003 Allstate 400; 21.5 average finish in two starts with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 288) that most recently finished seventh at Dover.

2. Jeff Gordon: Leads all drivers in wins (4), top fives (9), top 10s (13), laps led (440); Has finished in the top 10 in last three starts; Last win came in 2004; Tied for the fourth-best average finish (7.0) in the two races with the COT.

3. Jimmie Johnson: Coming off third win in eight starts: 2009 win was second consecutive, both coming with the COT; Has combined to lead 128 laps in three of the last four races; Two crashes and one engine failure have relegated his overall average finish to 17.9; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 558) that finished fifth last month at Pocono.

4. Denny Hamlin: Recorded first top five in 2008 race after leading 26 laps; 18.5 average finish in the two races with the COT; Won his fourth race at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway in June.

5. Kurt Busch: 22.5 average finish in four starts with Penske Racing; Best finish with Penske was a 12th in 2006; Three top 10s came with Roush Racing (2001-2004); Will return in the same car (chassis No. 728) that went to Victory Lane in the Coca-Cola 600 after leading 252 laps.

6. Kyle Busch: 26.5 average finish and 14 laps led in two starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Scored consecutive top 10s with Hendrick Motorsports in his three other starts; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 274) in the Brickyard 400.

7. Jeff Burton: 15.4 average finish in five starts with Richard Childress Racing; 25th-place finish last year snapped streak of two consecutive top 10s; Only top five (fifth) came with Roush Racing in 1999; Only driver that has been running at the finish of all 16 Brickyard 400s; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 305) that finished seventh in its last two starts at Pocono and Chicago.

8. Matt Kenseth: Coming off sixth top 10 in 10 starts; Best finish is a pair of runner-ups in 2003 and 2006; 24.0 average finish in the two races with the COT; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 694) in the Brickyard 400.

9. Tony Stewart: Finished third in first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009; Posted two wins and six top 10s in previous 10 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Leads all drivers with a 8.5 average finish; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 591) that finished 15th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

10. Carl Edwards: Sixth-best finishing average (8.5) in the two races with the COT; Finished second in 2008 for second top 10 in five starts; Qualified 41st and finished 15th in 2009; Has completed 100 percent of his laps attempted; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 695) in the Brickyard 400.

11. Greg Biffle: Coming off consecutive top 10s; Fourth-place finish last season was first top five in seven starts; Second-best finishing average (6.0) in the two races with the COT; Only laps led (11) came in the 2007 race.

12. Clint Bowyer: 13.5 average finish in four starts; Best finish (fourth) came in 2006; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 310) in the Brickyard 400.

13. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Finished 12th in first track start with Hendrick Motorsports in 2008; Engine problems relegated him to a 36th-place finish in 2009; Only top 10s in nine starts came with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 2001 and 2006; Led 33 laps in 2007, but an engine failure relegated him to a 34th-place finish; Will debut a new car (No. 612) in the Brickyard 400.

14. Mark Martin: Won the pole and finished second in 2009 in first track start with Hendrick Motorsports; Nine top 10s in previous 15 starts including eight with Roush Racing; Third-best average finish (6.5) in the three races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 550) that led 14 laps in last year's Brickyard 400.

15. David Reutimann: Coming off first top 10 in three starts; Eighth-place finish lowered his finishing average to 25.3; 19.0 average finish in the two races with the COT; Currently tied for the fourth-best average finish (11.6) in the last 10 races this season.

16. Ryan Newman: 13.5 average finish in the two races with the COT; Finished 14th in 2009 in first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing; Only top 10 in eight starts came in 2002; Two crashes have relegated his average finish to 21.4; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 609) in the Brickyard 400.

17. Kasey Kahne: Coming off consecutive seventh-place finishes; Tied for the fourth-best average finish in the two races with the COT; Four top 10s in six starts came in the races he was running at the finish; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 275) that finished second at Michigan.

18. Jamie McMurray: Three top 10s in seven starts; Best finish (third) came with Chip Ganassi in first track start in 2003; will pilot the same car (chassis No. 905) that finished second in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

19. Joey Logano: Finished 12th in first start in 2009; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 275) in the Brickyard 400.

20. Martin Truex Jr.: Has yest to finish in the top 10 in five starts; Posted his track best finish of 12th in 2007; 22.8 average finish with three finishes inside the top 20; Making track debut in a Toyota this weekend.

21. Juan Pablo Montoya: Dominated 2009 race, leading 116 laps up until a late race pit road speeding penalty; Finished second in his Indy debut in 2007; A crash in 2008 season raised his average finish to 17.3; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 1011) that was tested at Indy in April.

22. AJ Allmendinger: 15.0 average finish in two starts; Best finish came in 2008 in 10th; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 276) that finished 38th at Martinsville.

23. Paul Menard: Posted best finish in three starts at track (20th) in debut in 2007; 30.0 average finish; Bringing a brand-new chassis No. 693 to track this weekend.

24. Scott Speed: Making second Cup start; Finished 31st last year.

25. David Ragan: 18.0 average finish in three starts; Will race the same car (chassis No. 668) that finished seventh at Auto Club last fall.

26. Brad Keselowski: Making his first Cup start at track this weekend; Will use same chassis (PRS-720) that he scored a 12th-place finish with at Darlington.

27. Elliott Sadler: Has posted two top-five finishes in 11 starts; Most recent was a fourth-place finish in 2008; Has led a total of 76 laps in three races; 27.7 average finish; Piloting same chassis (No. 280) that he raced to 19th-place finish at Atlanta and 21st-place finish at Charlotte this year.

28. Marcos Ambrose: Making third track start this weekend, after making oval Cup debut at the track in 2008; Has finished 22nd in both of his two Indianapolis starts.

29. Sam Hornish Jr.: Trying to become first driver to win both Indianapolis 500 IndyCar race and Brickyard 400 as he makes his third Cup start at track; Finished 21st in debut in 2008 and 37th last year after running much of the race within the top 15; Contact with Turn 1 wall led to the bad finish last year.

30. Regan Smith: Making third career start; Finished 39th last year in track debut with Furniture Row Racing; Other start resulted in 31st-place finish.

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