By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon left their fans with a moment for the ages Sunday with their side-by-side tribute lap after the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

They couldn’t quite pull of another historic Brickyard win, which would have sent most of the stock car racing world into ecstasy, so they made an historic moment while Kyle Busch celebrated his second straight 400 win at the Brickyard.

The lap was symbolic of their Hoosier short-track roots, their combined seven wins at the Brickyard and their evolving friendship.

“It was cool,” Stewart said. “I knew when we got the checkered we just didn’t want to come in just yet. I wanted to run one more lap and Jeff was around us. … We needed to go a lap around here together because most likely is the last time we’ll get a chance to do that. I couldn’t think of a better guy to share that moment with than Jeff.”

Gordon said, “Thank you to Tony Stewart. What a class act he is. It meant a lot to me that he invited me to come and make that last lap with him. It was a special moment.”

Stewart, a two-time winner of the 400, jumped into second place early but later suffered a penalty for speeding in pit lane and soldiered to 11th in the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet in his final race at the Brickyard. His day included a standing ovation at the driver’s meeting.

Gordon, a five-time winner of the race, was the replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and finished 13th in the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet. He was 10th after 120 laps and will race in place of Earnhardt Sunday at Pocono,
Busch led 149 circuits of the 160-lap race, which was extended due to late-race accidents that included 2013 winner Ryan Newman, who finished 31st, and former IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, 22nd. Patrick hinted at a possible return to IndyCar during a special helmet presentation Saturday.

Busch was able to pull from the field on all restarts for a record-setting weekend as back-to-back winner of the 400 and the Lilly Diabetes 250 Saturday at the Brickyard.

Matt Kenseth was second and was followed by Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon and Paul Menard in the top 10. 
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Three of the top four finishers drove Toyotas for Joe Gibbs Racing.

By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

Five-time Brickyard 400 champion Jeff Gordon will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s race as a possible replacement driver for ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In an exclusive interview at Kentucky Speedway, Gordon said he was planning on only attending the race but not driving.

All that changed late last week.

Hendrick Motorsports general manager Doug Douchardt said Gordon would replace Earnhardt at the Brickyard if Earnhardt’s concussion-like syndrome suffered in crashes at Daytona and Michigan continued.

“If Dale is not ready to go in Indianapolis, we will put Jeff Gordon in the car,” Duchardt said at a press conference at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “Obviously, when Dale is ready, it’s his car to get back into. But if Dale can’t go, Jeff Gordon will be the driver in Indianapolis.”

When news of Gordon’s possible return spread, Hoosier driver Ryan Newman said Gordon would have no problem getting up to speed at the 2.5-mile oval.

Newman drew laughter from the motor sports press corps at New Hampshire by saying, “Yeah, just because you go to the nude beach for a couple of months doesn’t mean you don’t know how to put your underwear back on.”

Earnhardt finished 13th July 9 in a 400-mile race at Kentucky Speedway but was examined recently and was replaced by Alex Bowman in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

If Gordon races Sunday, it would be his first NASCAR competition since stepping from the No. 24 Chevrolet last year, ending a spectacular 24-year career that included four Sprint Cup championships, 93 wins in 797 starts, 81 poles, 24,929 laps led and $153.7 million in winnings.

Douchardt said the team would have to make a final decision today, pending a neurological evaluation of Earnhardt. Either way, Gordon plans on being at the Brickyard.

The adopted Hoosier – born in California but raised in nearby Pittsboro – spent the first half of the Sprint Cup season as a rookie commentator during race telecasts on Fox. The network’s split-season contract does not include the Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard.

Life has changed. He gained 10 pounds after the season ended, and he spent the Fourth of July weekend at home with his family in New York City. He would like to do more TV shows as a host. And the first authorized biography of his life – “Jeff Gordon: His Dream, Drive and Destiny,” by Joe Garner – is to be released in October.

Gordon, a graduate of Tri-West High School near Pittsboro, will be 45 Aug. 4. He and wife, model Ingrid Vandebosch, were vacationing in France last week with their children, Ella and Leo.

At Kentucky Speedway Gordon re-emphasized the time was right to step from behind the steering wheel to the microphone. “I love the transition from the car,” he said. “I was ready to step away from driving but not racing. It has been a perfect transition.”

He drew laughter from hundreds of fans assembled in the infield at Kentucky Speedway when he talked about his broadcasting career. 

“If you’ve ever watched any of the Fox telecasts, you’ve never heard in my voice any bias – except Keselowski,” Gordon said after expressing his admiration for rookie driver Chase Elliott’s progress in the No. 24 Chevrolet this season.  

He spent several minutes talking about Tony Stewart’s comeback from a serious back injury in an offseason dune buggy accident to his recent Sprint Cup win on the Sonoma (Calif.) road course. Gordon was among participants who urged Stewart to take part in the dune buggy rides.

“To see him go through one of the best of times to the worst was difficult, but it was amazing to see him come out of it,” Gordon said. “It was hard not to be a Tony Stewart fan that day (Sonoma) – you can never count him out.”

He also reflected upon his career and Stewart’s career, noting that they came into NASCAR at about the same time and that their careers parallel each other. Gordon admitted that they are different personalities.
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Gordon also revealed that he intends to race again but not in Sprint Cup. “I love racing. There are other series that I’ve enjoyed watching and that I would like to try.”

By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

Indiana’s Tony “Smoke” Stewart faces his final Brickyard 400 ride Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 45-year-old open wheel and stock car champion finishes racing on the same historic track where his racing career was inspired when father Nelson Stewart brought him to the Speedway for his first Indianapolis 500 as a little boy.

The Columbus resident is trying not to get caught up in the emotions of the next few days at the Speedway, where he will race the No. 14 Chevrolet for the last time.

“I’m really not thinking about it,” Stewart said earlier this month at the dedication of his three-sixteenths-mile dirt track inside the third turn. “I’ll have plenty to keep me busy, but I’ll be back for more; it just won’t be on the big track.”

Stewart, a two-time Brickyard 400 winner, is bolstered by two recent events: his first Sprint Cup win since 2013 on the road course at Sonoma, Calif., June 26, and driving a borrowed USAC midget car on the small dirt track at the Speedway, where he could slide wide and sling dirt earlier this month.

Stewart snapped an unprecedented string of 110 Sprint Cup races without a win by nudging Denny Hamlin out of the lead on the final corner at Sonoma. The win should give Stewart a spot in The Chase, which he won in 2011, but he has to remain among the top 30 in points. He missed the first eight races this season while recovering from an offseason dune buggy accident.

“I don’t feel like I have to prove anything to myself,” Stewart said after his road course win. “I’m still happy about my decision to make the change I’m making next year, but after Jeff (Gordon) set the bar pretty high last year winning a race in the clutch to get to the last race at Homestead, just to be able to be in the Chase … there’s a lot that can happen still. But I’m proud of where we are.”

Stewart finished fifth in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway and solidified his 30th position in points, the minimum spot for a winner to make The Chase, with a 31-point lead over rookie Brian Scott. He has won three Cup championships, one IndyCar title and USAC’s triple crown in 1995, the only driver to do so. 

Upon retirement, Stewart, a former USAC regional midget series Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis Speedrome, will have plenty to keep him busy. He is co-owner of the four-driver Stewart-Haas team, owns Eldora Speedway and two more dirt tracks in Illinois, a World of Outlaws championship team and the All-Star Circuit of champions and founded the Tony Stewart Foundation, 

And he will be able to pick and choose the bullrings that he wants to race. The little dirt track at I MS will be his playground.

When he was greeted by the media July 5, Stewart shook hands with reporters, grinned and said, “Did you think you’d ever see this in your lifetime?”

For Stewart and aspiring USAC midget car drivers, the track itself represents a step into the future.
“This is a short-track racer’s dream,” Stewart said. “It’s pretty awesome. They haven’t been able to do it for the first 100 years but they can do it for the next 100 … I’m addicted.”

IMS President Doug Boles had the dirt track installed to honor Stewart’s career and to re-emphasize a once popular path to IndyCar and NASCAR. There are no grandstands, little outer fencing and no lights. 

Stewart, who provided some input for the track, praised Boles, who gave him a glass bottle filled with dirt used to carve out the track. Stewart later climbed in a borrowed midget car and raced eight laps against USAC veteran Bryan Clauson and retired driver Sarah Fisher.

“I’m not sure he (Boles) doesn’t want to have races here,” said Stewart. “My pavement career happened because of this. That’s been one of the keys to our success. If you can control a car on tracks like this, that’s what you have to have to race an Indy car or a stock car. The skills they learn and pick up at an early age running these cars goes a long way.”

Stewart then explained his driving style: “I always want to drive something like this. I want something that I’m in control of. I want something that I can drive ... not the car driving me.”

Through July 9, he has won 49 Cup races in 600 starts, 15 poles and more than $122 million in winnings.
No matter how Sunday’s race turns out, Stewart’s heart and soul will always remain with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the small dirt bullrings as well.

By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

South Bend native Ryan Newman could use a win in one of his next seven races to guarantee him a spot in NASCAR’s Chase.

He has made The Chase without a win in the last two seasons and was in contention for the Sprint Cup title among the final four in 2014 at Homestead. He may need to snap his string of 106 races without a win soon.
Newman finished fifth in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway and was 12th in points after 18 races. Sixteen drivers make the first round of The Chase, and there are six races left after the Brickyard 400.

Through 18 races, excluding New Hampshire, 11 drivers have won races this season. Rookie Chase Elliott, who is winless, was eighth and Newman 12th. Several different winners would have to step up to knock them from The Chase.

Newman, driver of the No. 31 Childress Racing Caterpillar Chevrolet, said he believes the team has some momentum. “Our first top five from an organization, our team at least, that’s a big deal. Leading into this stretch of races especially where we are in the Chase and to have good points even though it wasn’t a win; it's a small victory in itself. ”

Only three points separated Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and teammate Austin Newman when they left Kentucky Speedway.

Newman, who has a degree in vehicle structural engineering from Purdue, is in his final year of a three-year contract with Childress.

Armstrong returns

New Castle’s Dakoda Armstrong returns to the Speedway for the Xfinity Lilly Diabetes 250 Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for his third race on the 2.5-mile oval but with a different team.

Armstrong, who raced in the series for two years for Richard Petty, drives for JGL Racing in the No. 28 Winfield Toyota. He was 12th in points last season, but Petty did not have the funding to continue in the series.

“I thought maybe something would come together midseason,” said Armstrong of facing 2016 without a ride. “This deal came together, and I didn’t have to miss a race.”

Armstrong lives in Mount Holly, N.C., which is close to his new team’s headquarters. His best finish this season was 12th at Daytona earlier this month; he is 15th in points. His best career finish was fifth in July 2014 at Daytona, where he started from the pole. 

Armstrong, who has 90 starts in the series, said the Petty and JGL teams are similar in many ways, especially in terms of equipment, although Petty utilized Ford products. 

“Having some experience in these cars has helped, but we’re still trying to prove ourselves,” said Armstrong, the only Indiana-born driver in the series. “We want to get better in the last half of the season. Equipment-wise, it seems the same.”

The Armstrong family is involved in various forms of racing. Dakoda strictly races the Xfinity Series, brother Dalton Armstrong is second in points in the ARCA/CRA Super Late Models, and cousin Caleb Armstrong is recovering from a severely broken ankle suffered in a winged sprint car accident.

Brickyard days 

Team haulers arrive on Main Street in Speedway at 5 p.m. Thursday for a gala that features entertainment and food.

Friday’s practice sessions for Sprint Cup drivers are at 1:30 and 4 p.m., Xfinity Series at noon and 3 p.m.
Saturday’s highlight is the Lilly Diabetes 250 at 3:30 p.m. in segments of 20, 20 and 60 laps, a new format. Gates open at 7 a.m., qualifying at 11:40 a.m.; Sprint Cup qualifying is at 1:45 p.m. Concerts begin at 7 p.m. with Kid Rock taking the stage at 8 p.m.

Gates open Sunday at 10 a.m. with driver introductions at 2:30 p.m. and a 3:19 p.m. start for the 23rd running of the Brickyard 400. Reserved seats are $45; general admission is $40. 
Lucky 13

Thirteen drivers have won the Brickyard 400, topped by retired Jeff Gordon’s five wins (1994,’98, 2001, ’04, ’14). 

Multiple victories also belong to Jimmie Johnson (’06, ’08, ’09, 2012), Dale Jarrett (1996, ’99) and Tony Stewart (2005, ’07). Nine drivers have won once: Dale Earnhardt ’95; Ricky Rudd ’97; Bobby Labonte ’00; Bill Elliott ’02; Kevin Harvick ’02; Jamie McMurray ’10; Paul Menard ’11; Ryan Newman ’13; and Kyle Busch ’15.

Most starts

Gordon is the only drive to have started all 22 Brickyard 400s. Labonte had 21 starts; Jeff Burton and Mark Martin each had 20. Stewart leads all active drivers with 17; Matt Kenseth has 16 and Kyle Busch, Harvick and Newman have 15.