Sunday, July 27 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis, IN

Johnson Wins Second Allstate 400 at the Brickyard





INDIANAPOLIS (July 27, 2008) – Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team survived a challenging 15th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard to become a two-time winner of the race, beating a late-race challenge from Carl Edwards to win by .332 of a second on July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Johnson’s win was his second in the last three years, having won in 2006, and it gave Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick a record sixth win at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Johnson’s teammate, Jeff Gordon, has won the “400” a record four times.

Johnson, of El Cajon, Calif., won $509,236 of a record $9,621,012 race purse. He led eight times for 71 laps, the most of any driver.


NASCAR's VP of Competition Robin Pemberton talks with Goodyear Director of Race Car Tires Greg Stucker about the tire wear situation.

Tire-wear issues prompted NASCAR to call six competition cautions. The final competition caution came on Lap 150, with Denny Hamlin leading in the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota. Johnson won the race off pit road with a six-second pit stop, with Edwards close behind.

At the Lap 154 restart, Johnson accelerated away from the field but Edwards gave chase in his No. 99 Aflac Ford and stayed approximately four-tenths of a second behind Johnson until the checkered flag.

“The first three-quarters of the race, it seemed that we could really run any pace that we needed to and pass guys, kind of control the race,” Johnson said. “But at the end, I don’t know if the No. 11 and No. 99 were just kind of waiting for the right time to get aggressive with their race pace. Those guys really matched our pace and were tough to race with.

“I was behind the No. 11. I thought I could get by him maybe two stops from the end. I blistered the right rear tire, wore it out trying to get by him. Chad (Knaus, No. 48 crew chief) had a great strategy to keep four tires on the car, keep those left sides as fresh as possible. I got up to, I guess, second or third for that last pit stop, we had an awesome pit stop, got us out, off we went.

“Carl put a lot of pressure on me at the end there. I have to commend him, how hard he was driving. I think it was a good race there at the end. Those last seven laps were white-knuckle, to say the least."

Hamlin finished third, Elliott Sadler was fourth in the No. 19 Stanley Dodge and Gordon was fifth in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, his record ninth top-five finish in 15 starts at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Edwards’ and Hamlin’s finishes were their career best at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

“Second place, I mean, awfully close,” Edwards said. “We just did the best we could with it, and at the end I actually believed we were going to be able to drive by Jimmie. All day I’d been racing around him. I thought I was a little better than him, but he was holding back a little more than I thought he was.”

There were a total of 11 cautions for a record 52 laps, limiting the race average speed to 115.117 mph, the second-slowest Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in history.

Defending race winner Tony Stewart struggled to his career-worst Allstate 400 at the Brickyard showing, finishing 23rd in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. His teammate, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Kyle Busch, finished 15th in the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, his career-worst “400” finish in four starts.

Complete Race Results click here

Post-Race Driver Point Standings click here

NASCAR Newscast - Race Recap click here



Fast Facts

The Race: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Track: 2.5-mile oval
The Distance: 400 miles/160 laps
TV: ESPN & TSN, pre-race @ 2 p.m. (AT)
Radio: Indianapolis Motor Speedway network, SIRIUS Satellite.
2007 Winner: Tony Stewart
2007 Polesitter: Reed Sorenson
Pre-Race Schedule (local track time): Thursday— Practice, 2-3 p.m. amd 3:30-4:30 p.m. Friday—Qualifying, 10:10 a.m. Practice—2-3 p.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Year-To-Date Race Results & Driver Point Standings click here

Broadcast Times - AT*

Practice: Friday, July 25 (ESPN2 at 4:30 p.m.)

Qualifying: Saturday, July 26 (ESPN2 & TSN at 11 a.m.)

Final Practice: Saturday, July 26 (ESPN2 at 3 p.m.)

RaceDay: Sunday, July 27 (SPEED at 12:30 p.m.)

Pre-Race: Sunday, July 27 (ESPN & TSN at 2 p.m.)

Race: Sunday, July 27 (ESPN & TSN at 3 p.m.)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Qualifying Notes


Jimmie Johnson won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard with a lap of 49.515 seconds, 181.763 mph.

• This is his 15th pole in 239 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
• This is his second pole and 15th top-10 start in 2008.
• This is his first pole in seven races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• Mark Martin (second) posted his eighth top-10 start of 2008 and his seventh in 15 races at Indianapolis.
• Ryan Newman (third) posted his eighth top-10 start at Indianapolis. It is his eighth in 15 races this season.
• Patrick Carpentier (15th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Starting Lineup click here

Qualifying Order click here


Jimmie Johnson drives to the garage after posting the fastest practice lap of the day at Indianapolis Friday...

Friday Morning Speed Chart click here

Friday Afternoon Speed Chart click here

Track Map



Event Preview

• Race To The Chase: Indy History In NASCAR Brief But Bold...In 1994, NASCAR roared into Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a brand-new race and a brand-new star named Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet). Gordon won the inaugural Indy event — just two months after he had won one of NASCAR’s then-established “majors,” the Coca-Cola 600. Gordon was off and running toward his place in history. Ditto for the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, which 14 years later has become quite established itself, as the clear highlight in the “Race to the Chase,” the 10-race stretch that precedes NASCAR’s “playoffs” known as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. After 14 runnings of the 400, the trend is etched in stone ... er, brick: Only big guns win Indy. Check it out: Six times in the 14 races, the winner at Indianapolis has gone on to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. The first four of those special sweeps came in consecutive years; Gordon (1998), Dale Jarrett (‘99), Bobby Labonte (No. 43 Cheerios/Totinos Dodge) (2000) and Gordon again (’01). 12 of NASCAR’s Brickyard events have been won by series champions and the two exceptions — Ricky Rudd in 1997 and Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) in 2003 — were by no means upset results. On the other hand, there was a memorable upset in the summer of 2002, by former series champion Bill Elliott (No. 21 Motorcraft Ford), then amid a late-career resurgence with the new Ray Evernham-led Dodge operation.
• Road To the Series Title Runs Through Indy...Year of Indy Win/Series Title: Jeff Gordon, 1998; Dale Jarrett, 1999; Bobby Labonte, 2000; Jeff Gordon, 2001; Tony Stewart, 2005; Jimmie Johnson, 2006...
• Martin A Marked Man, As He Tries To Back Up Prediction...Mark Martin (No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet) climbed out of the car last month at Pocono Raceway and immediately started talking Indy. Driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Martin qualified third at Pocono. Post-qualifying, Martin boldly looked ahead, past the upcoming event. “I'm planning on winning the Brickyard in the 8 car,” Martin said. “We've got the stuff. We've got the team. The cars are awesome on flat tracks … I have never planned on anything any more than my plan is for the Brickyard. That's the crown jewel. “And if you look at how that car ran at Phoenix, I believe that we can adapt that setup to work there. The team is strong enough on pit road, and (crew chief) Tony Gibson and those guys that work on that car are due a win. “They got several disappointments last year when they had great race cars and had failures and what have you. Nothing would make me happier than to see their faces in Victory Lane.” In 1998, Martin was second in the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard. In 14 starts at Indy he has five top-five runs. Narrow the focus to the last three seasons and the gathering of Loop Data (statistics gleaned from electronic scoring loops imbedded under race tracks), and Martin has a Driver Rating of 102.9, fifth-best in the series at Indianapolis.
• Kyle Busch Tries To Pad Seeding, Set National Series Single-Season Win Mark...Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) is set for another NASCAR national series tripleheader this weekend. Three races in a three-day period? No problem for the 23-year-old Busch, seeking to establish a single-season mark for NASCAR national series wins in the “modern era” (post-1971). Busch has 14 wins this season at the national series level — seven in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, five in NASCAR Nationwide competition and two in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. That has tied Kevin Harvick’s 2001 record. Busch will race Friday night in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Saturday night in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, at O’Reilly Raceway Park, located just west of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Come Sunday, if Busch needs one more shot at the record this weekend, he’ll get it on one of racing’s biggest stages. Thing is, much more than sole possession of the record will be at stake. Much more. Busch will be out to pad his seemingly certain “top seeding” in the Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup, which starts Sept. 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. NASCAR’s “Emphasis On Winning” initiative, started last year, has evolved into a full-blown season script for Busch in 2008. The 12 drivers who qualify for the Chase have their point totals reset at the Chase outset, to 5,000. They then get 10 bonus points for each race victory achieved during the 26 events preceding the Chase. Those “adjusted” point totals create “seedings” to start the Chase. Seven wins thus far for Busch equals 70 potential bonus points and a very imposing top seeding. Coming into Indy, Busch has a 50-point spread over the potential second and third seeds, Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford) and Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser/LifeLock Dodge). Those drivers will definitely be racing to win, to prevent Busch’s starting advantage in the Chase from increasing.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.