Nascar 2012 - race 20

Indianapolis Motor Speedway




SPEEDWAY, INDIANA - The Nationwide Series came to the famous track for the first time on Saturday. The race would be a 100 laps on the two and a half mile track. This would be the third “Dash for Cash” race, with Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett racing for the $100,000.00 bonus paycheck. The Pole Winner was # 38 Kasey Kahne, with # 54 Kyle Busch starting second in his own race car.



The start of the race was very sloppy, with Busch jumping the start, and NASCAR not calling him on it. It was very clear that he took off well before the leader did. NASCAR waited too long to review it. Later in the race, they penalized a car for the same infraction, when the car was pushed past the leader on a restart. The penalty for passing the leader before the start/finish line is a black flag, resulting in the car going to the rear of the field.



On lap 16, Nascar threw a competition caution. This was due to rain washing the track clean over night and earlier in the day. On the restart, Busch again was very aggressive and forced cars out of his way. On lap 39, a second caution came out for # 7 Danica Patrick and # 98 Reed Sorenson. The two got together in the corner and Patrick’s car took heavy damage, as she hit the wall hard. Sorenson’s car then slammed into her car as well, ending her race. Sorenson did however continue racing. They were racing for fourteenth position at the time of the incident. A third caution came out on lap 63 for debris. Caution number four was on lap 74, when # 11 Brian Scott lost control of his car and tagged # 51 Ty Dillon. On the restart, Busch again went three wide immediately, clipping # 3 Austin Dillon’s front end, then Busch bounced off # 12 Sam Hornish Jr. before losing control of his car and spinning out. Busch fell one lap down and never recovered.



On the restart, # 2 Elliott Sadler was pushed by teammate # 3 Austin Dillon past the leader # 22 Brad Keselowski. Nascar would throw the “Black Flag” against Sadler. Sadler went from the lead to twenty-fourth. At the end, # 22 Brad Keselowski would win his first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This would be Keselowski’s 20th victory in the series. This was car owner Roger Penske’s first stock car victory at the track, and Penske’s 100th Nascar Victory.



The rest of the top ten were: # 12 Sam Hornish Jr. (Keselowski’s teammate), # 51 Ty Dillon, # 18 Denny Hamlin, # 3 Austin Dillon, # 43 Michael Annett (winner of the $100,000.00 bonus), # 20 Joey Lagono, # 33 Paul Menard, # 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and # 4 Jeremy Clements.



The final “Dash for Cash” race is next weekend at Iowa. Drivers # 3 Dillon, # 6 Stenhouse Jr., # 12 Hornish Jr. and # 43 Annett will race for the money.











BRICKYARD 400



SPEEDWAY, INDIANA - The Sprint Cup Series would run their 19th race at the famous speedway. Chevy has won the last nine races at the track. The race was 160 laps around the two and a half mile oval. In the race, # 78 Regan Smith ran a special paint scheme to honor all those people that were affected by the shooting in Aurora, Colorado. It was noted prior to the race, that Roush and Penske both, have not won a stock car race at IMS, in the Cup Series. Earlier in the week, AJ Allmendinger was indefinitely suspended due to a drug test having a positive finding of amphetamines. This was test number two, a “B” testing that was requested as an appeal to the first results. The pre-race ceremonies were completed with two V-22 Ospreys flying overhead, and the lead singer for “Mavericks” Raul Malo singing the national anthem.



The race ran green for the first 40 laps before a caution flew for # 93 Travis Kvapil having a tire go down, before he struck the outside wall. Another tire down brought out the second caution on lap 47 for # 15 Clint Bowyer. The third caution came out when # 13 Casey Mears hit the wall hard. Another caution came out on lap 124 when # 31 Jeff Burton also had tire issues on track. The final caution flew when # 20 Joey Lagono got loose and spun. As he was spinning, he clipped # 47 Bobby Labonte, then he shot across the track and into points leader # 17 Matt Kenseth. This ended Kenseth’s day, as his car started on fire right away after the hit.



On the restart, # 48 Jimmie Johnson would then cruise to his fourth victory at the track, after leading 100 of 160 laps. # 18 Kyle Busch would finish six seconds behind the leader. The rest of the top ten were: # 16 Greg Biffle, # 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (now the new points leader), # 24 Jeff Gordon, # 11 Denny Hamlin, # 39 Ryan Newman, # 56 Martin Truex Jr., # 2 Brad Keselowski and # 14 Tony Stewart.



Hendrick has won eight of the nineteen races held for the Brickyard 400.

The next race is on Sunday at Pocono Speedway. The race is scheduled to start at noon.