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  • Truex Fastest in Final Practice at Pocono

    Truex Fastest in Final Practice at Pocono

    Martin Truex Jr. topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 51.027 and a speed of 176.377 mph. Brad Keselowski was second in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 51.097 and a speed of 176.136 mph. Kevin Harvick was third in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.133 and a speed of 176.012 mph. Kurt Busch was fourth in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet with a time of 51.159 and a speed of 175.922 mph. Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 51.176 and a speed of 175.864 mph.

    Kyle Busch was sixth in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Kyle Larson was seventh in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Paul Menard was eighth in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Carl Edwards was ninth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10 in his No. 48 HMS Chevrolet.

    Truex posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 174.625 mph. Austin Dillon, who’s fastest single lap was 11th fastest, was second at an average speed of 174.442 mph.

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  • Almirola says he’s a proponent of a pit speed limiter for the cars

    Almirola says he’s a proponent of a pit speed limiter for the cars

    Aric Almirola says he’s in favor of a mechanism that forces cars to run no faster than pit road speed on pit road.

    During his media availability at Pocono Raceway earlier today, the driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford elaborated on how he’d like to see NASCAR implement a device on cars that forces the cars to run just pit road speed on pit road.

    “I’ve long been a proponent for some sort of mechanism that we can have in the car that just causes us to go pit road speed,” he said. “If they’re that worried about us getting an advantage between timing lines and things like that, why don’t they just make us all go pit road speed like every other form of racing has. I think it would be safer. I think it would give us the opportunity to actually look out of our windshields because, like I said, every driver coming down pit road – that’s why you see it a lot, if somebody checks up to get in their pit box you, you see cars stack up on pit road.”

    This discussion came about after NASCAR implemented more timing zones on pit road to prevent teams from accelerating into their pit stalls to take advantage of the time over distance formula used to calculate pit speed and to prevent cars from illegally passing one another on pit road. The extra timing zones were first used during last week’s XFINITY Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There were 12 zones, roughly one for every 3.5 stalls, used during the race.

    For this weekend’s race at Pocono, 18 zones – up from 10 in June – will be utilized, nearly one for every two stalls. Almirola was also asked what effect the zones will have on the race tomorrow.

    “It forces us to be a lot more mindful of our tach,” he added. “You have to realize and something I think a lot of people don’t understand and don’t realize is that our dash is mounted low in the race cars, so when we’re going down pit road we have to look down at our dash to make sure that we’re keeping our pit road speed at an optimal speed. We want to go fast enough to make time on pit road. You don’t want to go too slow because then you give up time to your competitors, and if you go just 100 RPM too fast you’re speeding and then you get a penalty.”

    He addressed how drivers are now focusing more on the dash and less on what’s ahead.

    “So we’re really focused and concentrating on looking down at our dash and not really looking up at all until our spotters and crew chiefs tell us we’re five away or 10 away, and then you kind of look up but at the same time make sure you’re maintaining a pit road speed,” he said.

    “Before, with the timing lines being so far apart, you kind of had some leeway to where if you are supposed to be running one red light and you happen to flash two or three red lights, which would be speeding, you had an opportunity to kind of slow back down and slow back down to a few green lights and get the time between those segments back to where you wouldn’t be speeding. Now, with the timing lines closer together, if you just get a little bit greedy or you look up to see where your pit stall is at and you creep up your rpms a little bit, you’re gonna get a speeding penalty.”

  • Jeff Gordon: ‘I will be here as long as they need me’

    Jeff Gordon: ‘I will be here as long as they need me’

    Jeff Gordon says he “will be here as long as they need me” for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Speaking in his weekly media availability at Pocono Raceway, the substitute driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was asked how long he’s prepared to fill in for Earnhardt and if there’s a plan in place for next week at Watkins Glen International.

    “Well, we have to cross that bridge when we get there. It seems like… it was great last Friday to see him (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) say ‘hey I feel good today and made some progress.’ We want to just keep going with how he is feeling.  The doctors are evaluating.  I’m not speculating anything at this time.”

    Earnhardt has been sidelined with concussion-like symptoms since the week leading into the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Last Friday, he took to Twitter to give an update on his status, saying “Today is the 1st day in many that I sensed improvement. Seen small gains during my physical therapy as well. Light at the end of the tunnel.”

    During his absence, his ride has been driven by Alex Bowman at Loudon and Gordon at Indianapolis. Both Earnhardt and Gordon praised Bowman for his drive at Loudon.

    “The result will not show what a great job and the gang did this weekend. Proud of them guys,” Earnhardt said on Twitter following the race at New Hampshire.

    “I thought Alex Bowman did an excellent job at New Hampshire,” Gordon said. “I tell you after going through what I went through at Indy I have a much greater appreciation for him because that was one of the toughest things I ever did. Not just getting in the race car after eight months, but trying to fill-in for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. knowing the kind of attention that it gets. My heart was beating out of my chest because of the pressure and the eyes that were on you as much as just not being in the car. Great job to Alex.”

    He described his role as “a balance between trying to make this transition. First of all, you want Dale to have the comfort of knowing that somebody is there for him. He doesn’t have to worry about that aspect of it through this process. Just get well at the pace that is the right pace to do it. So, nobody is putting any pressure or time frame on that. He may be putting that on himself more than anybody else. Then there is the side of who is the best person to be in the car to get the most points. And then there is the sponsorship side of it as well. So far from what Rick (Hendrick) is telling me that seems to be me. That is why I was at Indy and that is why I’m here.”

  • Truex Nabs the Pole at Pocono

    Truex Nabs the Pole at Pocono

    Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota scored the pole for the Pennsylvania 400 after posting a time of 50.211 and a speed of 179.244 mph.

    “Feeling great,” Truex said of his feelings on getting the pole position. “It’s exciting for us, you know anytime you win anything in this series it’s a big deal. Getting a pole today is awesome. We had a game plan coming here that we felt like we needed to qualify well to have a shot at winning on Sunday and we were able to do so today was a success.”266

    It’s his 10th career pole in 390 Sprint Cup Series starts, the third of the season, first in 22 starts at Pocono and his 14th top-10 start of 2016.

    Carl Edwards will start second in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 50.315 and a speed of 178.873 mph.

    ““I guess the thing I’m most grateful for about the lap is coming across the line I had the urge because it was such a good lap to say something on the radio like, ‘That’s it. That’s the pole.’ I’ve got to brag a little bit but it wasn’t good enough so I’m glad I didn’t say that,” Edwards said of his qualifying run. “My lap was awesome and Martin’s lap was spectacular so congrats to them. We have a very fast race car and all three rounds went really well and I’m really looking forward to the race.”

    Paul Menard will start third in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 50.372 and a speed of 178.671 mph.

    Menard said afterwards that he has “had a rough year. We are not where we expected to be and need to be in points, so we had to make a change. Danny (Stockman) came in here and gave us a good car right off the truck. We stuck in qualifying trim all day. We know we have to improve our qualifying that just starts your race off way better. A good way to start it off.”

    Denny Hamlin will start fourth in his No. 11 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 50.409 and a speed of 178.540 mph. Ryan Newman will round out the top-five starters in his No. 31 RCR Chevrolet after posting a time of 50.439 and a speed of 178.433 mph.

    Tony Stewart will start sixth in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski will start seventh in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Chase Elliott will start eighth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth will start ninth in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Joey Logano will round out the top-10 in his No. 22 Penske Ford.

    Kyle Larson will start 11th in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Austin Dillon will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet.

    Forty cars attempted to qualify. So no driver was sent home.

    Twenty-two Chevrolet’s, 11 Ford’s and seven Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400.

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  • Menard fastest in first practice

    Menard fastest in first practice

    Paul Menard topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 50.722 and a speed of 177.438 mph. Denny Hamlin was second in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 50.731 and a speed of 177.406 mph. Kyle Busch was third in his No. 18 JGR Toyota with a time of 50.842 and a speed of 177.019 mph. Carl Edwards was fourth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 50.854 and a speed of 176.977 mph. Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 50.957 and a speed of 176.620 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr. was sixth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Joey Logano was seventh in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Chase Elliott was eighth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Ryan Newman was ninth in his No. 31 RCR Chevrolet. Austin Dillon rounded out the top-10 in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet.

    Danica Patrick, who’s fastest single lap was 23rd fastest, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 171.094 mph. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was second at an average speed of 167.161 mph.

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  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indianapolis

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indianapolis

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski was collected in a lap 154 crash started when Carl Edwards got loose on a restart. Keselowski was able to stay on the lead lap, however, and finished 17th.

    “That accident was about the only excitement on Sunday,” Keselowski said. “I doubt the presence of ‘Mr. Excitement’ himself, Jimmy Spencer, could have improved things unless Kurt Busch’s face could also have been present.

    “It was brutally hot during the race. I heard there were several fans overcome by heat, and even more overcome by sheer boredom.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch started on the pole at Indianapolis and led 149 of 170 laps in winning the Combat Wounded Coalition 400. It was Busch’s third win of the season.

    “The No. 18 Skittles Toyota was fast,” Busch said. “My opponents couldn’t see the rainbow, much less taste it.”

    3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth at Indianapolis, recording his 15th top 10 of the year. He leads the Sprint Cup points standings by 14 over Brad Keselowski.

    “It was a bittersweet day for me,” Harvick said. “I had a great result, but Tony Stewart took his final lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fittingly, Tony puts the ‘round’ in ‘last go-round.’”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano finished seventh at Indianapolis, posting his 12th top 10 of the year.

    “It was a hot day at the Brickyard,” Logano said. “It was sweltering. Temperatures were approaching the hundreds, as was attendance.”

    5. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 16th at Indianapolis as younger brother Kyle won for the second straight year.

    “Kyle has won the last two Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis,” Busch said, “and he also won Saturday’s XFINITY race at the Brickyard. He’s made it a habit of kissing the bricks. I don’t know what it’s like to kiss a brick, but my girlfriends do.

    6. Carl Edwards: Edwards got loose and slammed the wall on lap 154, taking out several cars in the process, and damaging his No. 19 Stanley Tools Toyota beyond repair. He finished 35th.

    “That accident was my fault,” Edwards said. “Of course, this isn’t the first time a prominent driver of the No. 19 has pleaded guilty. In my defense, though, I’m not doing meth.”

    7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished eighth in the Combat Wounded Coalition 400, scoring his ninth top 10 of the year.

    “I recently visited Furniture Row warehouse facilities,” Truex said, “and it reminded me of the grandstands at Indianapolis because there was nothing but empty seats.”

    8. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson overcame a pit road speeding penalty and finished third at Indianapolis, posting his first top-five finish in the last eight races.

    “I got caught going faster than the law allows,” Johnson said. “That sounds like a quote from Kyle Busch.

    “Jeff Gordon filled in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and did a mighty fine job. It was strange seeing Jeff in the No. 88 car. That’s because it’s strange seeing a Sprint Cup champion in the No. 88 car.”

    9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished second in the Combat Wounded Coalition 400, as Joe Gibbs Racing drivers captured three of the top four positions.

    “It was a great day for JGR,” Kenseth said, “and Japanese engine-makers. I think the Fords and Chevys knew they couldn’t compete, and they weren’t sure why. That left them ‘dis-Oriented.’

    10. Denny Hamlin: Denny Hamlin finished third at Indianapolis, joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth in the top four.

    “My good friend Tony Stewart said it was special taking one last lap around Indy with Jeff Gordon after the checkered flew,” Hamlin said. “And their embrace afterwards was equally as special. I think everyone who hugs Tony would agree on two things: 1) it is special, and 2) there’s no way I can wrap my arms all the way around Tony.”

  • Kyle Busch puts on clinic at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch puts on clinic at the Brickyard

    Winning the pole and spanking the field in the previous day’s XFINITY race wasn’t enough for Kyle Busch as he won the pole and spanked the field a second time to score the victory at the Brickyard.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led a new track record of 149 of 170 laps on his way to winning the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    “I hoped it would be like that and be that good,” Busch said on his dominance. “This Skittles Camry was awesome, I can’t thank everyone from Skittles enough and everyone from M&M’s and their 75th anniversary year this season with us. Of course Interstate Batteries. This Toyota was awesome today, it was just so fast and able to get out front and stay out front. Not even some of my teammates could challenge. This was hooked up and on rails. I can’t say enough about Sprint and everything they’ve done for our sport. Of course the fans – thank everyone for being here and everyone watching on TV – you guys are awesome. We appreciate all of our partners at Joe Gibbs Racing. Adam Stevens (crew chief) and these guys are a phenomenal group and I’m proud to be with them. It’s fun to come out here and have such a dominant piece at Indy. They don’t come along often so I was just hoping I didn’t screw it up.”

    It’s his 38th career victory in 410 Sprint Cup Series starts, fourth of the season, second at the Brickyard, 13th top-10 finish of 2016 and 10th top-10 finish at the track. He’s the second driver to win in back to back years at Indianapolis and the first driver in NASCAR history to win both the pole and the victory in both XFINITY and Cup races on the same weekend.

    Matt Kenseth finished second in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. It’s his ninth top-10 finish of 2016 and 11th in 17 races at Indianapolis.

    “We never got in front of him (Kyle Busch) all day and the clean air is always really big here,” Kenseth said. “It was a great day for our Dollar General Camry. We did not have a good Friday, did not have a good Saturday and pretty respectable Sunday, so I have to thank all my teammates for helping us out. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) made some great changes. We were pretty competitive all day, just never got quite to the lead to see what we had.”

    Jimmie Johnson overcame a speeding penalty to end Hendrick Motorsport’s three-race drought without a top-10 finish by rounding out the podium in his No. 48 HMS Chevrolet.

    He said afterwards that the way he and his team overcame the penalty “says a lot. We’ve been working really hard to get our cars where they need to be. We’re still not happy, but we’re getting closer. I’m very proud of the effort today. Unfortunately a mistake on my part in that second segment, trying to get in the pits I got dinged for speeding and then rallied from like 24th back.

    “We got third but I wish we would have gotten a win.”

    Denny Hamlin overcame a speeding penalty to finish fourth in his No. 11 JGR Toyota.

    “It was great, our FedEx Camry was great it got through traffic well as you saw going back to 20th with that penalty and driving to the front,” Hamlin said of his race. “Proud of the effort by our whole FedEx Camry team. It’s disappointing to just get a top-five. We had aspirations to come here and win. Like I said, you have to be perfect in every part of the race team, especially on race day to win these races, especially track position races and we just had one big mistake on pit road and we at least came back and got a top-five.”

    Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    “I don’t know that I was expecting much more than a top-five really,” Larson said. “I didn’t know we’d have that speed in our car. And we were probably a fifth or seventh-place car. But I was able to get some good restarts there at the end.

    “We qualified good for once, and it was just a solid weekend,” he added. “It was a good one.”

    Kevin Harvick finished sixth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Joey Logano, who restarted second on the final restart, led six laps on his way to a seventh-place finish in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    “It just was not good,” Logano said of the final restart. “I had a decent restart the first time, and the second one I probably had just as good of a restart, but the 20 got underneath me and I was kind of stuck from that point and kind of fell into the clutches of the tires behind me.  I was trying to stay down and be where I needed to be to get in front of them, but they just kept turning underneath me.  I hate that we finished seventh, but it’s probably where we deserved to finish from a speed point of view.  I thought our execution went very well today to give us an opportunity to win, but we couldn’t quite get it done when it mattered.”

    Martin Truex Jr. finished eighth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Austin Dillon finished ninth in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Paul Menard rounded out the top-10 in his No. 27 RCR Chevrolet.

    Brad Keselowski, who led 15 laps, finished 17th.

    Nineteen cars finished the race on the lead lap and 33 were running at the finish.

    The race lasted three hours, 17 minutes and 46 seconds at an average speed of 128.940 mph. There were four lead changes among three different drivers and eight cautions for 34 laps.

    Harvick leaves Indianapolis with a 24-point lead over Keselowski in the points standings.

    Next up for the Sprint Cup Series is the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway next Sunday.

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  • Kyle Busch scores the pole at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch scores the pole at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag in tomorrow’s Sprint Cup Series race at the Brickyard.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota scored the pole for the Brickyard 400 after posting a time of 48.745 and a speed of 184.634 mph. It’s his 19th pole in 410 Sprint Cup Series starts, first at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, second of 2016 and 14th top-10 start of the season.

    “I don’t know if there’s necessarily a key,” Busch said when asked the key to his pole lap. “I just think that everything kind of worked together. There’s a lot of different variables that are happening as you go from run to run and round to round and changing what you do as a driver a little bit, but also changing the car a little bit and making adjustments to keep up with the race track.”

    “It means a lot,” he added. “It’s definitely pretty special to be running the way that we’re running and to have the success that we’ve had here the last couple of years at Indy and I’d love nothing more than to try to win here again.”

    Carl Edwards will start second in his No. 19 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 48.768 and a speed of 184.567 mph.

    “I was happy with my lap and I just – I was surprised Kyle got me,” Edwards said. “That was a good lap for him – I mean, that was a good lap that he ran because I felt like my lap was pretty good – but, yeah, it’s frustrating right now to be second because it’s so close and the pole position is obviously huge here. But by tomorrow, the race gets started and I think I’ll be pretty happy with that starting spot, so just good job by all my guys.”

    Tony Stewart will start third in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 48.826 and a speed of 184.328 mph.

    “I think it’s a big deal here,” Stewart said of starting third. “It always has been. It seems like the more downforce they take off these cars the easier it is to race around each other. That is what you need, but it always helps when you can start up front. When you can get up there and really get working on your car in cleaner air and plan for the end of the race that is really an advantage.”

    Denny Hamlin will start fourth in his No. 11 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 48.892 and a speed of 184.079 mph.

    “It was pretty good,” Hamlin said of his qualifying effort. “We got a little bit better each run as far as position is concerned, so I feel like we’re pretty close. I thought in race trim our Camry was really exceptionally good especially over the long run, so pretty optimistic about tomorrow.”

    Brad Keselowski, who will start fifth in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 49.022 and a speed of 183.591 mph, said starting fifth “on a hot day like today isn’t too shabby, but of course we want the pole and we want to win the race. That’s the most important part is winning the race, so we can win the race from fifth.”

    Ryan Newman will start sixth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick will start seventh in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. will start eighth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Jamie McMurray will start ninth in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Larson will round out the top-10 in his No. 42 CGR Chevrolet.

    Kurt Busch will start 11th in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet. Austin Dillon will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet.

    Jeff Gordon, subbing for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., will start 21st.

    With 41 cars entered, Josh Wise was the lone driver who failed to qualify.

    Twenty-one Chevrolet’s, 11 Ford’s and eight Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field.

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  • Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.749 and a speed of 184.619 mph. Kevin Harvick was second in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.842 and a speed of 184.268 mph. Kyle Larson was third in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.975 and a speed of 183.767 mph. Ryan Newman was fourth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 49.000 and a speed of 183.673 mph. Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 49.032 and a speed of 183.554 mph.

    Austin Dillon was sixth in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson was seventh in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. was eighth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Danica Patrick was ninth in his No. 10 SHR Chevrolet. AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10 in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet.

    Denny Hamlin, who fastest lap was 17th fastest overall, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 177.938 mph.

    The Sprint Cup Series will be back on track tomorrow afternoon at 1:45 for qualifying.

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  • Kyle Busch says he’d give the Indy 500 a shot

    Kyle Busch says he’d give the Indy 500 a shot

    During his media availability earlier today, Kyle Busch mentioned he’d like a try at the Indianapolis 500.

    “Sure, I’d give it a shot and see what it’s all about, but obviously you’ve got to have funding to go run that race,” he said. “It’s a big race for all those teams that come here to run that race and putting on a good effort for myself means that you want to get with a top-tier team that has success here and that you know can run well and you can have good stops on pit road because it seems as though pit road is a big deal in those car here at Indy and just being able to learn as much as you can, so trying to get a little bit of track time in the times that we’re not busy doing what we’re doing is awfully hard to do.”

    He started off by saying, however, that plans would have to be made long in advance.

    “Yeah, you definitely can’t do it a month before for sure,” he added. “There’s got to be planning involved and you’ve got to be ahead of the curve and probably this is about the start time in which you need to get some things started planning and definitely have all those plans solidified probably by the end of the NASCAR season in November.”

    NASCAR drivers running the Indianapolis 500 isn’t new. Bobby and Donnie Allison, and Cale and Lee Roy Yarbrough all ran the Indy 500 in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Since 1994, four NASCAR drivers have run both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. John Andretti 10th in the Indianapolis 500 and 36th in the Coca-Cola 600 in 1993. Tony Stewart ran both races in 1999 finishing ninth in the 500 and finishing fourth in the 600 after starting from the rear of the field. He’s the only driver to run both races to completion when he did so in 2001 finishing sixth in the 500 and third in the 600. From 2002 to 2004, Robby Gordon ran both races. Kurt Busch attempted both races in 2014 finishing sixth in the 500, but losing an engine and finishing 40th in the 600.