Last Year's
Allstate 400 winner Jimmie Johnson escaped serious injuries after his
car crashed hard in turn 3 at the Brickyard. He
only had singed eyebrows from this spectacular crash. It
was Johnson's second crash of the day.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters
 Video
of Photos showing Jimmie Johnson escaping serious
injuries
after his car crashed hard in turn 3 at the Brickyard.
STEWART DOMINATES…
SMOKES THE FIELD…WINS ALLSTATE 400 AT THE
BRICKYARD
by Dan Peters
Sunday, July 29, 2007 – Tony Stewart passed his buddy and rival Kevin
Harvick with nine laps remaining to win the Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard on his beloved home track, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
He had the most dominate car when it counted, passing cars like they
were standing still.
Tony Stewart beat runner-up 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo
Montoya by 2.982 seconds and averaged 117.379 mph for
\his second victory at the famed Brickyard. Stewart also won in
2005.
 
<>Kevin Harvick's
Car sports a special Reeses Elvis paint scheme at this year's Allstate
400.
<>
<>© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters
<>
Stewart seemed to be on a relaxing Sunday drive, even taking time
to have a drink of water while driving his Home Depot Monte Carlo at
nearly 200 MPH.
Four-time Allstate 400 champion Jeff Gordon placed third. Kyle Busch
and pole sitter Reed Sorenson finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Coming off his
Busch Series Win last week at Gateway, Sorenson remained hot, claiming
the pole for the 2007 Allstate 400. He ran strong all
day and avoided disaster and finished fifth.
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters
“We had a pretty good race. I mean, we had to come from
21st. You know, wasn't sure how good our car was going to be in
traffic. In there early on, we really motored on up through
there. I really thought we had something for them. We just
got a little bit too tight. We tried freeing it up. One
time we took four tires and that just got us so far behind, we played
catch up for the rest of the day.
I was happy to get to third. You know, Tony was the guy to
beat.
I mean, I don't think anybody had anything for him. Juan, you
know, was definitely strong there at the end. You know, I think
we made the most of our effort. Just shows another great team
effort to come here in a big race without a crew chief and finish
third. I'm pretty happy.” Said Gordon.
Stewart, from nearby Columbus, Ind., finished an intense duel with 2003
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Harvick on Lap 151. Harvick passed
Stewart for the lead in Turn 1 on a restart on Lap 141. Stewart stalked
Harvick for the next 10 laps, finally passing him in the short chute
between Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 151.
“This one I’m going to remember a lot more of it, for sure, afterward,”
Stewart said. “But no, it is still like a dream. The first one was
great, but there was so much going around it, being the first one. Both
races were special. Neither of the wins outweighs the
other win.”
Nothing would get in his way today, not even good buddy Kevin Harvick.
Stewart was even heard saying “Here kitty, kitty” on his radio as he
was reeling in his good buddy Harvick.
“We had the fastest car today. It was consistent all day
long. The guys had great pit stops. It was just like
Chicago except on the restarts; we were real vulnerable on the
restarts. Three times I went down into (Turn)1 and got really
tight on a restart for some unknown reason. I kept trying to keep
scrubbing the tires, making sure they were cleaned off. For some
reason, we'd go down in there and get tight. We were fine after
that. But it let Kevin get by us.
I was confident that we could get back to him, and I thought in my
mind, I mean, I really believed we could get by him again 'cause we'd
done it the run before. But we got up to him and actually dropped
back away from him a little bit. I thought, man, this may or may
not happen. It was just a matter of trying to get the timing
right, get the runs right, get a good run on him to where we could get
a run down the straightaway.
The motor was awesome. We could draft up to him and get
underneath him going into (Turn) 3. That was my strong
point. Kevin got really smart and changed how he was driving Turn
2 and got to where I wasn't getting as big a run as I was before.
Had to do something different. I'd been lifting earlier. He
had been driving in deeper than I had. Just the differences in
setups let us drive our cars different than each other.” said Stewart.
Harvick may not have been as amused as Stewart. After he took the win,
Harvick pulled along side Stewart and gave him a donut on the passenger
side of hid car. Some say this was aggressive driving, but most would
agree that it was Harvick’s way of congratulating Stewart. The move was
reminiscent of the late Dale Earnhardt, who was known to give the
winner a donut out of respect for a battle well won. Harvick would not
talk after the race, heading directly to his hauler.
“I tried to go in hard with him once and see what happened, and I got
up to him and he got tight, I guess, in (Turn) 1. We got
underneath him. I just squeezed him a little bit, not on purpose,
but I got too close to him I guess, ran into him in the short
chute. It was a really cool, almost like a slide job,
countermove, him getting back underneath me. It was a drag race
down the backstretch. Whoever got through Turn 3 was probably
going to win the race at that point.” Said Stewart
Jim Hunter from NASCAR saw nothing in Harvick’s driving.
Harvick pulled alongside Stewart in Turn 3 on that lap, with their
Chevrolets touching. But Stewart pulled away on the main straightaway
in his Home Depot Chevrolet and never trailed thereafter. Harvick faded
to seventh.
Tony Stewart
has fun with the Corvette Pace Car during the race's 1st caution
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
photo by Dan Peters
Stewart earned $488,111 for the victory. He led seven times for 65 laps.
Juan Pablo Montoya made Indy history immediately after “Desperate
Housewives” actor James Denton waved the green flag to start the race,
as he became the first driver in speedway history to compete in three
major events at the track. In 2000, he won in his only Indianapolis 500
start. He started in six Formula One United States Grand Prix and his
first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday.
He ran among the leaders during the entire event and passed Harvick for
second on Lap 157 of the 160-lap race.
“At the start, I was just happy to run in the top five. That was
the idea, stay in the top five, try to make the car better every
stop. And we kept working on it. We really did a little bit
of tire pressure, but we put a hell of a lot of (indiscernible) in the
car today and couldn't get it freed up. The only time it was free
is in the last stop when it was on the green.
I was lucky, I lost the right front tire coming into the pits, I was
coming down the pit lane, it blew up. That's why I came up behind
Jeff and Junior. It was pretty loose. When we got behind
the pace car after that, it actually draw pretty good. Just way
too tight in one and three. Just couldn't let the car roll.
Tony was rolling through there so much faster than me, we just couldn't
do anything.”
Seven of the nine caution periods in the race occurred in the first
half of the 160-lap event, with six triggered by accidents on the
2.5-mile oval.
One of the drivers eliminated in an accident on Lap 62 was 2006
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson. It was his second
accident of the day, as he was involved in an eight-car wreck on Lap 46
triggered by a collision between he and Jamie McMurray.
Last Year's
Allstate 400 winner Jimmie Johnson escaped serious injuries after his
car crashed hard in turn 3 at the Brickyard. He
only had singed eyebrows from this spectacular crash. It
was Johnson's second crash of the day.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
photo by Dan Peters
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Joe Paolella
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
photos by Dan Peters and Joe Paolella
After repeated pit stops for repairs, Johnson’s Lowe’s Chevrolet
careened into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 3, with flames trailing from
the rear. Johnson walked away from the car and was unhurt, except for
singed eyebrows.
While Indiana native Stewart and former Indiana resident Gordon
finished first and third, other Hoosier racers didn’t fare as well.
South Bend’s David Stremme and Ryan Newman finished 26th and 42nd,
respectively. Newman’s day ended after a Lap 21 accident. Tony Raines,
from LaPorte, finished 41st after a Lap 40 incident that also involved
Kasey Kahne and IMS veteran Robby Gordon.
It was not a good day either if your name was Kasey or Casey. Both
drivers were involved in separate incidents this afternoon.
Tony Stewart is
known for climbing the fence after he wins a race, but this week, his
crew joined him in celebration as
Stewart won his second Allstate 400 in three years, and his second
consecutive race in a row after
winning at Chicagoland two weeks ago
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
photo by Dan Peters
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
INDIANAPOLIS - Results Sunday of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event July 29 at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis
Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses,
driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any) and
money earned:
1. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 160, Running, $488,111
2. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 160, Running, 360,850
3. (21) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 324,411
4. (18) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 271,075
5. (1) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 160, Running, 282,408
6. (13) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 223,075
7. (20) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 244,411
8. (7) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 221,391
9. (27) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 160, Running, 204,958
10. (31) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 160, Running, 226,241
11. (6) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 160, Running, 205,358
12. (33) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 160, Running, 191,670
13. (26) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 169,175
14. (40) Ward Burton, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 161,125
15. (8) Greg Biffle, Ford, 160, Running, 178,425
16. (30) David Ragan, Ford, 160, Running, 193,450
17. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 160, Running, 183,114
18. (35) Carl Edwards, Ford, 160, Running, 163,150
19. (29) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 160, Running, 190,636
20. (28) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 160, Running, 153,650
21. (25) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 160, Running, 151,475
22. (10) Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 159, Running, 167,875
23. (32) Bill Elliott, Ford, 159, Running, 169,789
24. (37) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 159, Running, 179,258
25. (36) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 159, Running, 158,683
26. (12) David Stremme, Dodge, 158, Running, 146,075
27. (42) Robby Gordon, Ford, 157, Running, 144,975
28. (17) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 155, Running, 162,320
29. (16) Scott Riggs, Dodge, 154, Running, 150,975
30. (43) Terry Labonte, Toyota, 150, Engine, 152,108
31. (22) Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 145, Running, 139,450
32. (41) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 141, Running, 148,497
33. (15) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 139, Running, 147,650
34. (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 136, Engine, 203,658
35. (9) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 132, Running, 156,150
36. (23) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 120, Accident, 165,958
37. (39) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 100, Running, 137,975
38. (34) David Reutimann, Toyota, 92, Engine, 137,850
39. (19) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 59, Accident, 191,686
40. (5) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 39, Accident, 186,016
41. (11) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 39, Accident, 145,550
42. (3) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 20, Accident, 172,025
43. (24) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 13, Accident, 145,647
Race
Statistics
Winner's average
speed: 117.379 mph
Time of race: 3:24:28
Margin of victory:
2.982 seconds
Cautions: 9 caution
flags for 43 laps
Lead changes: 14
among 6 drivers
Lap leaders:
Sorenson 1-16, Stewart 17-19, Earnhardt Jr. 20-39, Stewart
40, Earnhardt Jr. 41-53, Stewart 54-61, Kyle Busch 62-76,
Stewart 77-91, Biffle 92-102, Harvick 103-110, Stewart 111-
126, Kyle Busch 127-128, Stewart 129-140, Harvick 141-150,
Stewart 151-160.
Point standings:
J.
Gordon 3,076
Hamlin
2,705
Kenseth
2,699
Burton
2,633
Stewart
2,624
Edwards
2,582
Harvick
2,488
Ky.
Busch 2,479
Johnson
2,469
Bowyer
2,405.
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