Weekend Recap: Indianapolis
Nationwide Series: Indy 250 @ Indianapolis
Results (Top 10): Standings (as of Indy): Points Behind
1. Brad Keselowski (i) 1. Elliott Sadler Leader
2. Sam Hornish Jr. 2. Austin Dillon* -1
3. Ty Dillon (i) 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 13
4. Denny Hamlin (i) 4. Sam Hornish Jr. - 28
5. Austin Dillon 5. Justin Allgaier - 75
6. Michael Annett 6. Michael Annett - 97
7. Joey Logano (i) 7. Cole Whitt* - 127
8. Paul Menard (i) 8. Mike Bliss - 180
9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 9. Brian Scott - 224
10. Jeremy Clements 10. Danica Patrick - 252
(i) = ineligible for points in this series *= Rookie
Brad Keselowski took his third Nationwide Series win of the year in the inaugural race at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it was not without controversy.
Keselowski, a Sprint Cup Series regular, didn't dominate most of the day, that was Kyle Busch, but found himself in victory lane after Nationwide points leader Elliott Sadler was deemed by NASCAR to have "jumped" the final restart of the race with 10 laps left. Keselowski was the leader on the restart with Sadler in second to his outside. As the green flag dropped to resume the race, it appeared Keselowski either spun his tires or missed a shift, allowing Sadler, with a push from teammate and second place in points Austin Dillon, to shoot past Keselowski and grab the lead.
Sadler began to build a big lead when NASCAR black flagged him after seeing that he beat Keselowski to the start/finish line, a move that cannot happen unless under certain circumstances. One of the circumstances where beating the leader to the line is allowed is when the leader spins his tires or misses a shift, but NASCAR didn't see it the same as the TV cameras showed. Sadler had to come down pit road with 8 laps left to serve his penalty before rallying to a 15th place finish. On his team radio, Sadler exclaimed, "NASCAR is trying to take this championship from me!".
The move was so scrutinized because at the very beginning of the race, pole sitter Kasey Kahne did the same thing Keselowski did, allowing second place at the time Kyle Busch to assume the lead with no penalty. Busch went on to dominate the race all day until on the final pit stop he lost two spots and had to start 3rd on the restart. Busch tried to force his way back into the lead, but got too close to Sam Hornish and spun himself out.
Michael Annett won the Nationwide Series Dash 4 Cash promotion by being the best finisher of four selected Nationwide Series regulars, winning $100,000. Danica Patrick crashed after getting into the back of Reed Sorenson, sending him spinning and cutting back across the track, T-boning Patrick, continuing her bad luck. Travis Pastrana, the X-Games star turned NASCAR driver finished 13th in his seventh career start, his best ever finish. The Nationwide Series heads to Iowa this Saturday.
Sprint Cup Series: Crown Royal presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard
Results (Top 10): Standings (as of Indy): Points Behind
1. Jimmie Johnson 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Leader
2. Kyle Busch 2. Matt Kenseth - 14
3. Greg Biffle 3. Greg Biffle - 22
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4. Jimmie Johnson - 27
5. Jeff Gordon 5. Denny Hamlin - 64
6. Denny Hamlin 6. Kevin Harvick - 78
7. Ryan Newman 7. Martin Truex Jr. - 78
8. Martin Truex Jr. 8. Tony Stewart - 79
9. Brad Keselowski 9. Brad Keselowski - 82
10. Tony Stewart 10. Clint Bowyer - 88
If you were all on Twitter and you all followed Jimmie Johnson on your Twitter, you would've known who was going to win this race on Saturday. As per Johnson's Twitter account on Saturday, "I'm so ready for tomorrow's race, our car is awesome. #KissTheBricks". And kiss the bricks he did.
Johnson flat out dominated the competition at Indianapolis, capturing his fourth career Brickyard 400, tying him with teammate Jeff Gordon for the most ever. Polesitter Denny Hamlin lead the majority of the opening of the race, but once Johnson got past him, it was over. It didn't matter how far back Johnson would start on restarts, he'd be in first within five laps. Second and third place finishers Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle were in awe after the race and couldn't figure out how Johnson was so untouchable.
Perhaps the only competition Johnson had was from his fellow Brickyard dominating teammate Jeff Gordon. Gordon slowing but surely worked his way up from his ninth place starting spot up to second and began catching Johnson, but couldn't get within more than half a second of Johnson. But that was impressive considering no other driver could stay within five seconds of him. Gordon however got trapped on the outside lane on the final two restarts and fell too far back to challenge Johnson at the end, settling for fifth.
Brad Keselowski also tried to pull off the weekend sweep and thwart Johnson's day by using pit strategy to stay up front. The plan was working great until Keselowski tried to fend off Regan Smith on a restart and got loose as he tried to pass Smith. That caused the back end of his car to swing out and he had to slow down to keep from spinning his car, allowing about seven other cars to pass.
In the end, nothing mattered as Johnson captured his third win of the season, tying him with Keselowski for the most so far this year. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Johnson's teammate, continued his consistency of great runs by finish 4th and assuming the points lead from Matt Kenseth who was involved in a wreck. This is the first time Earnhardt Jr. has been the points leader since the year 2004. The Sprint Cup Series makes its return to Pocono next weekend.
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