NASCAR Cup Series

Garage chatter: What everybody's talking about going into Indy

Published Jul. 19, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

July 23 news and notes

Gordon has reinforcements waiting in the wings – 9 p.m. ET

“Big daddy” has a plan in place so he doesn’t miss the birth of his second child.

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon revealed Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that Aric Almirola will be on call to serve as a relief driver next weekend at Pocono Raceway if his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, goes into labor.

Gordon and Vandebosch welcomed daughter Ella Sofia in June 2007, and are expecting a son in the coming weeks.

If baby watch goes beyond Pocono, Gordon admitted he was “excited” to have road-course ace Scott Pruett waiting in the wings at Watkins Glen International.

According to NASCAR rules, all Gordon would have to do is run one lap in the race to earn points. Although he is winless going into the weekend, he is second in points — 103 points behind championship leader Kevin Harvick.

Who me? - 3:15 p.m. ET

Drivers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today found themselves addressing a variety of issues, including last Saturday’s on-track incident between Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards.The two famously traded hits on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway.

While many have been succinct in discussion the incident, which concluded with Edwards punting Keselowski near the finish line to take the win, the quote of the day goes to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.

Reviled by many fans for his own aggressive driving style, Busch offered up that it wasn’t his fight, nor one he cared to be involved in. He concluded with the following nugget:

“I haven’t been involved in something like that in my career,” he said. “It just shows that I’m not as bad of a guy as they make it out to be.” - Rea White

Roush reaches milestone at Indy – 1 p.m. ET

It’s been a tough season for Roush Fenway Racing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, so any small victory or chance to celebrate is welcomed.

The organization will get one this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the four-car outfit, which began as a tiny operation in 1988, will celebrate racing one million miles in Cup competition.

According to a release sent out by the team, the miles were turned by 16 different Cup drivers over a 23-plus year period. During that span, Roush Fenway has fielded 2,688 Sprint Cup entries and captured 116 wins, while collecting 632 top fives, 1,102 top 10s and 65 poles. The organization has churned 768,810 laps, leading 32,754 laps along the way, while capturing two championships and finishing the season top two on nine occasions.

“You sure can’t say that it has come without its bumps,” said team owner Jack Roush. “There has been a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears that have been poured into that milestone. There have been a lot of drivers, crew chiefs and crew guys that put in a great deal of work in order for us to be as successful as we have been during that stretch and to be able to sustain that type of longevity.”

Unfortunately, this has not been a banner season for Roush. Although three of its four drivers (Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle) are inside the top 12 – the cutoff for NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup – the organization is winless and has fallen behind its rivals Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing. — Jorge Andres Mondaca

July 22 news and notes

Team Chevy feels confident - 11:45 a.m. ET

Team Chevy must feel pretty good heading into this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After all, the drivers that the manufacturer is bringing to the track this weekend have won 11 Cup races there. Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon has a series-leading four wins at the track. Teammate Jimmie Johnson has won three Brickyard 400 outings – in the last four races there.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Tony Stewart has a pair of Brickyard wins and both Richard Childress Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Phoenix Racing’s Bobby Labonte have won at the storied 2.5-mile track.

That has certainly led to optimism in the manufacturer’s ranks.

"With our proven track record in Indy, and a productive tire test in June for many of our teams, I'm looking forward to having another opportunity to 'kiss the bricks' at the end of the race on Sunday with a Team Chevy driver and crew,” said Pat Suhy, GM Racing NASCAR group manager. — Rea White

July 21 news and notes

Dale Jr. tries something new - 10:30 a.m. ET

After a disappointing 23rd-place finish at Chicagoland that knocked him out of the top 12 in points, Dale Earnhardt Jr. could use a new approach to things.

At least he'll get new equipment this weekend.

The No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team plans to use chassis No. 88-612 this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is a new chassis that has not been raced or tested.

"I think some of the stuff we ran at Indy last year, we now have better stuff," said crew chief Lance McGrew. "Sometimes we will try our old packages and then may migrate more toward what we've been racing lately. I think that Indy race was a good one for us. We had a car capable of finishing in the top five but didn't end up with the finish. This season we've managed to run up front and stay up front when we've had cars capable of doing so and doing it pretty consistently."

In 10 career starts at the famed 2.5-mile speedway, Earnhardt has two top-10 finishes, three DNF's (including an engine failure last year) and an average finish of 21.7. — Jorge Andres Mondaca

July 20 news and notes

Jeff Gordon says Edwards 'out of line' - 5:30 p.m. ET

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon jokes that he’s glad he’s not the one having to make the call on whether NASCAR should assess penalties following the Nationwide Series crash involving Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski Saturday night. For those who missed it, Keselowski and Edwards were battling for the win on the final lap of the race at Gateway International Raceway. Keselowski made contact with Edwards, who slid out of his line, then Edwards came back and punted Keselowski, causing a multi-car pileup as the checkered flag waved for Edwards’ win.

Asked about the incident during a national teleconference Tuesday, Gordon said that it was obviously well-documented that NASCAR is letting more go this season.

Gordon’s take on this incident? “It's hard to really say just because there is a little bit of a past history with those two,” he said. “You don't really know what all has gone on over the years with them that has brought it to this point.

“But just looking at the incidents, looked to me like Brad got into him a little bit getting into (Turn) 1, but was just racing hard for the position, for the win. Then what Carl did I felt like was definitely out of line. I felt like it was over and above what needed to be done.”

Gordon says there was a time when it would be certain that NASCAR would get involved and react.

Now, with the proclaimed “Have at it, boys” stance of the sanctioning body, things are a little more murky. For his part, the four-time champion will seek some clarification on that type of incident from NASCAR officials this weekend.

He’s not even certain where the line is anymore.

“What I saw happen Saturday night, to me that was right there on that edge of crossing the line if not possibly crossing the line,” he said. “So it's kind of a new era now. In the past, like I said, I would have immediately thought something would have been done.

“The thing is, the drivers have always taken care of these things on track, whether you knew about them or not. They just weren't maybe as much out in the open because there would be a fine or there would be some kind of penalty handed down immediately. So you thought from an outsider's standpoint, That's over. But, trust me, as a driver, that was not over, that was not the end of it.”

The way that carried forward, though, might have been a little different in years past.

“The payback might not necessarily be the same thing that was handed down to you,” Gordon said. “It could be something different. You're usually going to try to make life miserable for them or do something that is considered necessarily payback that takes away either points or a good finish or makes for a bad day or tears up a racecar. Could be a lot of things.

“Who's to say where that line is at right now. But I definitely have some questions when I get to the track to kind of try to clarify that a little bit for myself.”

According to reports, NASCAR officials will not address a potential Edwards' penalty on Tuesday. — Rea White

Nationwide Series crew member suspended – 5:20 p.m. ET

Mark Fordham, a crew member for the No. 28 Jay Robinson Racing entry of Kenny Wallace in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, has been indefinitely suspended for violation of NASCAR's substance-abuse policy, according to a release.

The infraction was discovered on July 14. — Rea White

July 19 news and notes

Drivers weigh in on Carl vs. Brad – 5 p.m. ET

Fans aren’t the only ones with opinions on the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski wreck this past weekend.

Drivers are turning out en masse to voice their thoughts – and it’s not necessarily what you would expect.

Denny Hamlin shocked many by defending his rival Keselowski. Responding via Twitter to a reporter’s question, Hamlin called the incident “dirty.. Just dirty.” Then he followed it up with, “I'm suprised (sic) he got to keep the win frankly.”

Kevin Harvick, Edwards’ rival, may not have a surprising stance, but his bluntness definitely raised eyebrows: “I went back and watched it last night,” Harvick said on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain Sunday night. “I have a tough time with people just hooking … hooking someone in the right-rear is different than rubbing on somebody and just leaning on somebody, and wrecking half the field is something that’s pretty tough to swallow for a lot of those guys that were involved in that at the end.

“I know you’re going for a win and everything is fine but hooking someone in the right-rear down the straightaway — I probably wouldn’t have reacted as kindly as Brad did. I probably would have walked down there and punched him in the mouth. I just think that’s way, way out of bounds as far as hooking somebody in the middle of the straightaway.”

Even track promoters are having their say. Late Monday afternoon, Charlotte Motor Speedway president Marcus Smith issued a press release inviting both Edwards and Keselowski to take out their aggression by racing 13-ton school buses during Tuesday night's Kangaroo Express Summer
Shootout Series.

With reactions like those above, things are bound to stay interesting for a long time. — Jorge Andres Mondaca

More on Edwards-Keselowski: Edwards wrecks Keselowski to win | Payback is coming against Carl Edwards | Photos from the weekend

Hornaday looks for a reversal in fortunes – 3 p.m. ET

Ron Hornaday has enjoyed a stellar run since joining what is now the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 1995.

He’s won at least a race every season that he’s run in the series, excluding 2004 when he competed in only one race. He only ran two in 2002 and still managed to win one of those. His winless streaks have been few and far between, especially since he partnered with Kevin Harvick Inc. in 2005. Since then, he’s won a pair of championships, including the 2009 title that came after a six-win season.

All of that makes Hornaday’s struggles this season all the more baffling.

Hornaday not only has failed to win for almost a year (his last victory came at Nashville Superspeedway on Aug. 1, 2009), but he hasn’t even been in the mix late in races all that much. Hornaday rides a 22-race winless streak, one of the longest of his Truck career. Certainly he’s had his share of setbacks through no fault of his own this season. And he has finished in the top 10 in more than half of his starts – six to be exact. But the Hornaday of recent years has been a dominating force, one capable of consistently reeling off top-fives and continually challenging the frontrunners.

Eleven races into the 2010 season, he has four finishes of 24th or worse, including finishes of 24th and 26th in his last two races.

This weekend, though, offers a solid chance for Hornaday to turn the tide. He has three wins and has finished in the top five in seven of his 10 races at O’Reilly Raceway Park. Can he begin to cut into his 261-point deficit to points leader Todd Bodine this weekend? Time will tell. — Rea White