Thursday, July 25, 2013

Driver Chassis Selections For 2013 Brickyard 400

Uh-oh, Johnson is bringing this beast of a car from Pocono
#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis for Indy is PRS-860 which is a new brand new chassis. The Backup Chassis is PRS-838 which last raced at Darlington and finished 32nd.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-809 for the Indianapolis race. This is new chassis. In nine Cup starts at Indianapolis, Kahne has two top-five finishes and four top-10s, including a runner-up result in 2005. He has qualified in the top 10 six times at the Brickyard. In this event last year, Kahne started 15th and finished 12th.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 DeWalt team will bring chassis No. 847 this weekend. It was last run at Michigan.

#10-Danica Patrick will pilot chassis No. 10-805, which is a new car that has not been used previously.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-707 made its first start in May 2012 in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte. It was an unassuming debut, as Chassis No. 14-707 started ninth and finished a quiet 17th. The car sat idle until late August where it was used for the Labor Day weekend event at Atlanta. It started strong by qualifying on the pole and took the lead from Greg Biffle on lap two and continued to pace the 43-car field for eight laps. But as the race wore on, Chassis No. 14-707 struggled with its handling, leaving it one lap down in 22nd when the race ended. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-707 was tested March 7 at Las Vegas and April 11 at Texas. The Brickyard 400 will mark the car's first start of 2013, its second points-paying start and its third overall.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Primary Chassis No. 777 is new to the MWR fleet. Backup chassis No. 724 has served as a backup all season, but not raced.

#16-Greg Biffle: and the Matt Puccia led #16 3M Safety Ford Fusion team will bring primary chassis RK-859, which is a brand new chassis. Biffle has 10 starts at Indy, earning three top-five and six top-10 finishes. His average start at Indy is 15.3 with an average finish of 12.1.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: and the #17 Ford EcoBoost team will be using primary chassis RK-860, which is a new chassis. The backup chassis is RK-811, which raced numerous times by #99 team in 2012. Stenhouse has one Nationwide career start at the historical track, earning a ninth-place finish last year.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis for Daytona is PRS-859 which is a new chassis. The Backup Chassis is PRS-839 which last raced at Darlington and finished 22nd

#24-Jeff Gordon: chassis not reported on race preview. Overall, Gordon has six victories, three poles, 12 top-fives and 19 top-10's in 41 starts at the 2.5-mile track.

#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 428 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This #27 Menards / Duracell Chevrolet SS is a new addition to the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable and will turn its first laps in practice on Friday. Menard has six starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His best start of eighth came in 2012 and his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win came in 2011. The RCR driver has completed 916 of 960 laps attempted (95.4 percent) at the 2.5-mile facility, leading 21 of them.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 429 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This Jimmy John's Chevrolet is new to the #29 team lineup and will turn its first competitive laps this weekend at the 2.5-mile oval. Harvick has competed in 12 events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since his first NASCAR appearance at the track in 2001. Harvick visited Victory Lane in 2003, earned one pole award (2003) and has collected four top-five and seven top-10 finishes at the historic track. The RCR veteran has completed 99.4 percent (1,909 of 1,921) of the laps contested and is credited with 92 laps led. Harvick was also the first driver to win the Brickyard 400 from the pole position and is only one of two Sprint Cup Series drivers who have achieved this accomplishment.

#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 426 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet was utilized earlier this season at Michigan International Speedway in June where Burton earned a 10th-place finish. Burton has started every Sprint Cup Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (19) and this weekend's Brickyard 400 will mark his 675th-career Sprint Cup Series entry. He has amassed one top-five and five top-10 finishes at the 2.5-mile facility, starting from the pole position in the 2006 event. MacAllister Machinery Co., Inc. will be featured on the deck lid of the #31 Caterpillar Chevy this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

#33-Austin Dillon will pilot chassis No. 418 in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dillon drove this Mycogen Seeds Chevrolet SS to an 11th-place finish at Michigan in June. This former #27 entry was also driven by teammate Paul Menard to a 13th-place finish at Charlotte in May and a 17th-place finish at Texas in April. Dillon will make his first-career Brickyard 400 start on Sunday afternoon,

#39-Ryan Newman will pilot Chassis No. 39-733 which debuted at Indianapolis in July 2012, when Newman recorded a seventh-place finish. The crew turned the car around in just a couple of days and took it to Pocono, where it finished sixth. Two weeks later, the chassis was back on track at Michigan, where it finished eighth. The chassis earned its first top-five finish at Chicago. The chassis next raced three weeks later at Dover. The chassis made its last start of 2012 at Kansas in October, when Newman was involved in an incident that forced him to retire from the event prematurely. Chassis No. 39-733 was outfitted with a new front clip and a Chevrolet SS body over the offseason, and saw its first laps of 2013 at Kansas in April, when Newman finished 14th. He then raced this Chevrolet SS to a 10th-place finish at Darlington in May. Newman again raced Chassis 39-733 at Pocono in June, where he recorded a fifth-place finish. Most recently, Newman was in contention to score another top-10 finish with Chassis 39-733 at Kentucky last month, but a late-race restart saw him shuffled to 14th when the checkered flag waved.

#43-Aric Almirola:: The #43 Eckrich team will race the chassis No. 850 this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's the same used at Martinsville earlier this year. Almirola has just one start at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He started fourth in his first Brickyard 400 but battled an ill-handling car to finish 19th.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive chassis No. 728 at Indianapolis, which last raced and won in 2013 at Pocono in June. It also ran in three other 2013 races: Darlington in May, finishing 4th; Texas in April finishing 6th and Las Vegas in March, finishing 6th. Chassis No. 797 serves as the backup.

#55-Mark Martin: Primary chassis is 774, which Martin drove to 9th place in Dover. Martin has finished in the top 11 in all but five of the 19 Brickyard races. He's finished second twice, posted six top-five finishes, led 67 laps and won the pole in 2009. Martin along with Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton are the only drivers who have raced in all 19 Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.:crew chief Steve Letarte and the #88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-810 this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is a new chassis. In 13 Sprint Cup starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Earnhardt has recorded three top-10 finishes and led 61 laps. In five of those races, Earnhardt lined up sixth or better for the historic event. He scored his best finish -- fourth-place -- at the 2.5-mile oval last season.

#99-Carl Edwards the #99 Fastenal team will be bringing chassis RK- 861, which is a new chassis. The backup car is RK- 826 which last ran in Texas where Edwards landed a third place finish in the Fastenal Ford. Edwards will make his ninth Cup start at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. In his previous starts, Edwards has one top-five and three top-10 finishes. His average start is 22 and his average finish is 13.2. Edwards captured his best start (second) last year and best finish (second) at the Brickyard in 2008.

- Compiled by Jayski.com

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