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August 7, 2005
Oak
Park Journal
Sports
Dan Peters
Sports Editor
Oak Park
Journal
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Tony Stewart Gets the Win.
© Oak Park Journal photo by Dan
Peters
Orange Crush...
Tony Stewart Wins
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
by Dan Peters
Indiana Native Tony Stewart .. The "Rushville Rocket" finally
lived the dream he has coveted since childhood: winning at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The former IRL driver never
found victory lane here... but persistence pays off. The win gives
Joe Gibbs racing its second win at the fabled Indianpolis Motor
Speedway.
Earlier in the weekend Stewart said he would give up the Nextel
Cup Championship for a win here at Indy... Well maybe he
might get both. Jimmie Johnson was the points leader coming
into the Allstate 400, but continued bad luck at Indy, has
propelled Stewart into the points lead.
The Start of
the 12th stock car race at Indy ... The Allstate 400
at the Brickyard.
© Oak Park Journal photo by Joe Paolella
Stewart led 44 hard-fought laps of the 160-lap race, which was
highlighted by an intense duel between Stewart and Kasey Kahne toward
the end of the race.
"You can imagine my surprise when we take the green and go
into (Turn 1), and he (Kahne) gets tight and can't
close the door,"
Stewart said. "Knowing Kasey as well as I do, and the respect
we have for each other, that's the guy I wanted to race with for
the win. When I sailed off into (Turn
2), I had the attitude that
I was going to win it or wear it. I knew I was going to do
something stupid, I knew Kasey wouldn't. He knows what this
race means to me." Showing signs of exhaustion, Stewart
celebrated by taking a slow "Polish Victory Lap" the wrong way
around the oval, ended by two climbs up the IMS catch fence: in front
of his Turn 2 suite filled with family and friends, and at the
Speedway's famous Yard of Bricks.
"I'm dying right now," Stewart said, grinning. "Too tired to chase
fences right now. Give me five minutes and I'll be ready."
Asked about finally winning at Indy, he said, "I wish I could put it
into words. It's been my entire life."
Tony became the first Indiana-born driver to win at the Speedway since
Shelbyville, Indiana., native Wilbur Shaw won the 1940 Indianapolis 500.
Kahne, who got his first Nextel Cup victory earlier this season at
Richmond, was disappointed for himself but happy for Tony Stewart.
"We had an awesome car," he said. "I just gave up a little bit
through the restart. I couldn't do anything with it.
"It was a big win for Tony. He wanted to win this real bad."
Fan and crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr had one of his worst outings
this year. Dale Earnhardt, Jr Called his car "Junk" all day...finishes
43rd after a freak accident on a re-start on lap 63
after contact from the #23 Car driven by Mike Skinner.
"Everybody took off, and then everybody stopped, and when
I stopped, I got ran into. It's hard to see when you're way back
in the back, you know, what the leaders are doing. But, they called the
green flag, and I was waiting for Bill to go. And when Bill
took off, I took off, and we stopped again. I don't think Skinner knew
what was going on, or whoever took off behind me. I
think it was Skinner. I got turned into the wall. I don't know.
My spotter said the leader checked on the restart, but I don't
know. I didn't see anything. Man, I just hope I don't have to
get into that piece of crap today. Hopefully I can go home."
When asked if this is a setback to the Nextel Cup chase...
"Yeah, obviously. That's life. You've got to deal with it-good
and bad. We'll be all right. I mean, if we make the Chase,
we make it. If we don't, we don't. We'll still try to win some races
before the year is out."
Elliott Sadler
claims Pole for Allstate 400 at Indy
© Oak Park Journal photo by Dan
Peters
Bud Pole winner Elliott Sadler looked impressive at the
beginning of the race, pulling out to a 1.340 second lead by the
end of Lap 2. He led the first 22, only losing the lead for a lap to
pit and then led another 15 laps before surrendering the lead to
Vickers. Sadler remained in the top 10 for most of the race until
he had a tire go flat on Lap 150, forcing a pit stop. He lost a lap
and finished 32nd.
The race saw 10 cautions for 43 laps, slowing the average
speed to 118.782 mph, the second-slowest Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
in history. The 2004 race was slowed by 13 cautions
for 47 laps, with an average speed of 115.037.
Race Fans will
do anything to get the attention of their favorite driver...here Tony
Stewart and Robbie Gordon Fans make up signs to attract the attention
of bot driver and crew alike...
© Oak Park Journal photo by Dan
Peters
Rusty Wallace
was heard saying he would love to be playing golf at the famed
Brickyard.....He always admires the golf course here as he flies
over the speedway in his helicopter on the way to the track.
© Oak Park Journal photo by Dan
Peters
Most drivers attributed the high number of cautions due to the Goodyear
tires. This has been a problem on and off all season. Goodyear did
bring a new tire to Indy, but they still seem to have
the same problem. Several drivers Rookie Carl Edwards and
Rusty Wallace had problems during qualifying on Saturday. Lets hope
Goodyear can find an answer soon.
Other notables from the Allstate 400...
Allstate spokesman and actor Dennis Haysbert was the Grand Marshal of
the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday August 7, 2005. Haysbert
participated in pre race activities which included a ceremonial parade
lap and he also waved the green flag today to
start the 12th running of the Nextel Cup Series cars at Indy.
Haysbert is best known for his port-rail of President Palmer on
the hit series "24" In 2003, his performance in the show earned
him a Golden Globe Award, NAACP Image Award and Screen Actors Guild
Nominations..
Tires again
were a problem this weekend at Indy... Here The
Fed X #11 car driven by Jason Lefler cuts down a tire ... one of
eight drivers to experiance tire issues again this week at Indy
© Oak Park Journal photo by Joe Paolella
Haysbert made his feature film debut in 1989, portraying baseball
player Pedro Cerrano in the sports comedy hit "Major League".
His other film credits included.."Heat (1995) and "Waiting to
Exhale" (1995). He will next star in his own series "The Unit" for CBS.
Dennis is currently also a spokesman for Allstate Insurance
Company and has appeared in commercials for the insurance company since
2003.
Results Sunday of the 12th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses,
driver, manufacturer, laps completed, reason out
(if any) and money earned:
1.
(22) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 160, running, $554,661
2.
(4) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 160, running, $371,875
3.
(5) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 160, running, $289,850
4. (2) Jeremy
Mayfield, Dodge, 160, running, $274,945
5. (20) Matt
Kenseth, Ford, 160, running, $266,411
6. (40) Casey Mears,
Dodge, 160, running, $225,508
7. (10) Mark Martin,
Ford, 160, running, $198,490
8. (7) Jeff Gordon,
Chevrolet, 160, running, $223,436
9. (8) Sterling
Marlin, Dodge, 160, running, $201,908
10. (16) Kyle Busch,
Chevrolet, 160, running, $196,050
11. (12) Mike Bliss,
Chevrolet, 160, running, $168,950
12. (38) Carl
Edwards, Ford, 160, running, $172,425
13. (28) Kyle Petty,
Dodge, 160, running, $169,983
14 (24) Dale
Jarrett, Ford, 160, running, $187,333
15. (15) Jeff Green,
Dodge, 160, running, $181,561
16. (3) Michael
Waltrip, Chevrolet, 160, running, $179,739
17. (23) Jamie
McMurray, Dodge, 160, running, $156,900
18. (37) Kurt Busch,
Ford, 160, running, $206,825
19. (14) Kevin
Harvick, Chevrolet, 160, running, $190,336
20. (29) Jeff
Burton, Chevrolet, 160, running, $174,195
21. (31) Greg
Biffle, Ford, 160, running, $159,400
22. (11) Ken
Schrader, Dodge, 160, running, $143,705
23. (33) Bill
Elliott, Dodge, 160, running, $140,330
24. (13) Robby
Gordon, Chevrolet, 160, running, $141,980
25. (41) Rusty
Wallace, Dodge, 160, running, $171,513
26. (26) Scott
Wimmer, Dodge, 160, running, $162,283
27. (35) Bobby
Hamilton, Dodge, 160, running, $135,325
28. (19) Joe
Nemechek, Chevrolet, 160, running, $156,633
29. (34) Mike
Skinner, Dodge, 160, running, $133,825
30. (30) Dave
Blaney, Chevrolet, 160, running, $144,305
31. (32) Boris Said,
Chevrolet, 160, running, $132,00
32. (1) Elliott
Sadler, Ford, 159, running, $198,896
33. (18) Jason
Leffler, Chevrolet, 159, running, $133,000
34. (6) Ryan Newman,
Dodge, 158, running, $177,496
35. (21) Scott
Riggs, Chevrolet, 152, running, $149,047
36. (43) Terry
Labonte, Chevrolet, 151, handling, $132,200
37. (39) Travis
Kvapil, Dodge, 146, running, $139,315
38. (42) Jimmie
Johnson, Chevrolet, 143, accident, $179,626
39. (25) Bobby
Hamilton Jr., Chevrolet, 119, running, $131,080
40. (36) Bobby
Labonte, Chevrolet, 116, accident, $165,575
41. (9) Ricky Rudd,
Ford, 73, accident, $158,109
42. (17) Martin
Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 62, accident, $130,790
43. (27) Dale
Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 62, accident, $178,444
Race Statistics
Winner's average
speed: 118.782 mph
Time of race: 3:22:03
Margin of victory:
.794 of a second
Cautions: 10 for 43
laps
Lead changes: 15
among 10 drivers
Lap leaders: Sadler
1-22, R. Gordon 23, Sadler 24-39, Vickers 40-50, Kenseth 5159, Mears
60-69, Kahne 70-92, Sadler 93, Petty 94, T. Labonte 95-96, Vickers
97-99, Stewart 100-117, Wimmer 118, Stewart 119-133, Kahne 134-149,
Stewart 150-160.
Point standings:
Stewart 2,923, Johnson 2,848, Biffle 2,812,
Wallace 2,705, Ku.
Busch 2646, Martin 2,636, Newman 2,568, Mayfield 2,554, Jarrett 2,493,
Edwards 2,487.
Kissing bricks
for luck and fun.
© Oak Park Journal photo by Dan
Peters
Fans who want to see another exciting duel to the finish of the 2006
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard like the one winner Tony Stewart
and runner-up Kasey Kahne put on for the 2005 event Aug. 7
are encouraged to place their ticket renewal requests, upgrades
and orders to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office as
soon as possible.
The 13th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is tentatively scheduled
for Sunday, Aug. 6, 2006.
To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office
at (800)822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally
or log on to
www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
The ticket renewal deadline is Monday, Aug.22.
Customers who are upgrading or purchasing Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
tickets for the first time should act quickly to increase
their chances of obtaining their desired seats, said Joie Chitwood,
president and chief operating officer of the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway.
Athough many of our fans are still celebrating the fantastic race
that was the 2005 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, they should
keep in mind that it is very important to get their ticket requests in
early," Chitwood said.
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