Compliments of ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -July 27, 2008- Jimmie Johnson celebrated his second victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a burnout.

Appropriately, one of his tires exploded.

Johnson survived horrendous tire troubles that made Sunday's race a caution-filled debacle because the Goodyear product was not durable enough to withstand the lack of downforce on NASCAR's new car and the speeds and surface of Indy.

"We came with the best tire we had for the conditions and we fell short. We'll try to get it right," said Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear.

"I don't think anybody likes to race like this, us included. We'll do what we can to make it better."

But there was nothing Goodyear could do on Sunday, when NASCAR threw six competition cautions designed to force teams to pit and change their tires.

It meant the longest green-flag run was an embarrassing 12 laps, causing teams to fear both tire failures and a possible supply shortage. Goodyear shipped in 800 tires earmarked for use next week in Pocono before the race, but they ultimately weren't needed.
Allstate 400 Results

Pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson became a two-time winner at the Brickyard after emerging from the final pit stop as the leader. It was also his second victory of the year.

It was little consolation as drivers feared going full speed and crew chiefs were forced to gamble on tire strategy. No one was certain when NASCAR would call a caution, or if the sanctioning body would eventually decide to let the drivers go as long as they wanted.

Instead, NASCAR called the cautions roughly every 10-to-12 laps.

Johnson fretted the final two stops, unsure what the right strategy would be. He took two tires on his final stop to emerge from pit road as the leader, then held off Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin over a final seven-lap green flag run to the finish line.

"I was worried the stop before that maybe we had to go two less to win this thing," Johnson said.

Edwards, sympathetic to NASCAR's plight, said he raced at 100 percent over the final run but couldn't catch Johnson.

"That's a long day. I know everybody's trying to do their best," Edwards said. "I just, personally, [want] to say to the fans, everybody's doing their best to make that race, at least we got to run at the end."

Hamlin, who led late but gave the lead up during the frenzied final sequences of pit stops, said he never got a feel for how good his car was because of the tire concerns.

"I don't think anyone could push their car as hard as they would have liked to, today," said Hamlin. "I was patient as I ever was in any other race. When I wanted to run hard, I could look like I was 20 mph better than anyone else, but I knew I was going to pay for it in the end."

Brickyard Fast Facts

• Jimmie Johnson became just the second driver to win from the pole at Indianapolis. Kevin Harvick did so in 2003.

• This was Johnson's second win at the Brickyard. After his first victory there in 2006, Johnson went on to win the championship.

• Johnson tied Mark Martin for third among active drivers with his 35th career victory.

-- ESPN Research


The tire issue cropped up early Saturday, when drivers learned during the first practice that the tires could only last anywhere from three to 10 laps before the rubber was wearing down to the cords. NASCAR and Goodyear hoped the conditions would improve -- as it has in years past -- once enough rubber was laid down on the track.

But the first-time use of the Car of Tomorrow didn't allow it because of the lack of downforce on the car, combined with the higher center of gravity of it, created conditions that made it very hard on the right side tires. No matter how much rubber was laid on the track, the tires still weren't strong enough to last more than 10 or so laps.

So NASCAR scheduled a competition caution to check tire wear after 10 laps, but it didn't even get that far as Michael Waltrip spun on the fourth lap to bring out the first yellow. Some of the teams decided to pit then, including 12th-place finisher Dale Earnhard Jr.

"I liked it, because it was less work," Earnhardt said sarcastically. "It was kind of fun, little 10-lap sprints, little heat races, getting new tires every 10 laps, it was great."

NASCAR pushed back the lap 10 caution to 14, but again the field didn't make it. Kurt Busch wrecked into Kevin Harvick on that lap to bring out another yellow. Because Earnhardt had already pitted, he stayed out and assumed the lead with the intention of trying to run to the next planned caution on Lap 30.

Jimmie Johnson held off Carl Edwards en route to the checkered flag at the Brickyard.
But his tire started to fade four laps short of the stop, dropping him off the pace and a lap down when he had to pit under green.

Still, Earnhardt defended NASCAR.

"The truth of the deal is that was the best show we could put on today, NASCAR did everything right," he said. "It's all we could do aside from loading up and going home and not running at all. Yeah, it wasn't quite the race everybody expected, but shoot it was better than some of the races you've probably seen here."

Juan Pablo Montoya soon lost a tire, as did Matt Kenseth, who spun through the grass when his failed.

"It's a really, really, really disappointing situation," said Kenseth, who finished 38th. "This is one of the two biggest races of the year ... I feel bad for the fans -- we're running three-quarters speed because we're worried about the tires blowing out. They got blown out every eight laps."

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton spent the race on pit road, examining tires and talking to frustrated crew chiefs. After, he defended the job NASCAR did in staging a safe race.

"Not every race is a barnburner," Pemberton said. "If you are a good fan, and you didn't get what you wanted, it's OK to be disappointed and we can be disappointed right along with you. We're here to put on the best races we can, and we do a damn good job of it most of the time. Everybody inside these walls works real hard to do that."

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 195/10 160 Running
2 9 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 175/5 160 Running
3 23 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Office 170/5 160 Running
4 6 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Stanley 165/5 160 Running
5 5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 160/5 160 Running
6 8 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 150/0 160 Running
7 4 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser / LifeLock 146/0 160 Running
8 12 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network / DishDVRs 142/0 160 Running
9 32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Prilosec OTC 143/5 160 Running
10 26 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Red Bull 139/5 160 Running
11 2 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 130/0 160 Running
12 11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 132/5 160 Running
13 3 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 124/0 160 Running
14 16 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 121/0 160 Running
15 19 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 123/5 160 Running
16 27 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Totino's Pizza Rolls 115/0 160 Running
17 22 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 112/0 160 Running
18 15 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Sears Auto Center / Valvoline 109/0 160 Running
19 40 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 106/0 160 Running
20 20 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort.com 103/0 160 Running
21 38 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 100/0 160 Running
22 24 147 Marcos Ambrose Ford Little Debbie 97/0 160 Running
23 14 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 94/0 160 Running
24 25 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Cub Cadet 96/5 160 Running
25 35 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 93/5 160 Running
26 31 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg's 85/0 160 Running
27 43 45 Terry Labonte Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 82/0 160 Running
28 39 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 79/0 160 Running
29 36 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com 76/0 160 Running
30 33 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 73/0 160 Running
31 42 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet Principal Financial Group 75/5 160 Running
32 21 70 Jason Leffler Chevrolet Hunt Brothers Pizza 67/0 160 Running
33 29 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Johns Manville / Menards 64/0 160 Running
34 30 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Champion Mortgage 66/5 160 Running
35 41 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 63/5 160 Running
36 28 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Hitachi Power Tools 60/5 160 Running
37 18 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 52/0 148 Running
38 10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 49/0 144 Running
39 13 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Big Red Slim Pack 46/0 124 Engine
40 7 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 43/0 119 Running
41 37 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Johns Manville / Menards 40/0 118 Running
42 17 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 42/5 93 Engine
43 34 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 34/0 91 Running

* Denotes Rookie

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