Kyle Petty insists he's not being forced out

Kyle Petty said that his not racing the last two weeks is different than his situation earlier this season at Texas Motor Speedway when he was pulled from the Petty Enterprises No. 45 car.

With the team currently 273 points outside the top 35, Petty said it only makes sense to use the rest of the season to evaluate drivers. Petty, speaking following a taping of "Tradin' Paint" at Pocono Raceway, was originally scheduled to drive at Indianapolis last week and then Pocono. He had missed the previous seven races because of his daughter's wedding and then to do commentary during TNT telecasts.


Petty said no one should read into this as new majority owner Boston Ventures trying to push him out.

"We're so far back in points, it really is going to give us an opportunity to evaluate a lot of things," Petty said. "[Texas] was a different deal.

"We're all on the same page on this and everything is going according [to the plan]. • I was mad at Texas, and you know I'm not going to hide it if I'm mad about it. We don't have a shot of getting back in the top 35, and so when you get to that position, then you can try a lot of different stuff."

He said he will race at Watkins Glen next week before Terry Labonte, who drove during most of his absence, returns at Michigan. Petty likely will run the seven races from Bristol through Talladega.

Chad McCumbee, who qualified the No. 45 for the Pocono race, will run at Lowe's Motor Speedway in October and likely will drive in the majority of the final five races after that, Petty said.

McCumbee had failed to make races earlier this year at Texas and Dover.

"It gives you an opportunity for Chad to run some places like here, Charlotte, and get some experience so we can really evaluate him," Petty said. "We've really not had an opportunity to really look at Chad. We've not given him a fair shot."

And what about next year? Petty said he is still doing his six races in the broadcast booth for TNT. He said he was open to running a limited schedule, ranging from 10 to 30 races. Marathon and Wells Fargo should return as sponsors, Petty said.

Petty said he is agreeable to running a third part-time car for the team if it wants to have two other full-time drivers.

"I've got no problem running the third car if you can put the right program together," Petty said. "The question is 'Can you put the right program together?' We've struggled with two cars, so to go to three or two-and-a-half is a stretch. Sponsor dollars are hard to come by right now because there are a lot of people looking."

If there is a third team, Petty said he would still drive the No. 45. He drives the No. 45 as a tribute to his son, Adam, who was killed in a crash during Busch Series practice in 2000 at New Hampshire.

NASCAR uses rain tires in Montreal

NASCAR drivers raced in grooved rain tires for the first time in a major points race Saturday after showers at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve made it impossible to run on regular slick tires.

After just eight laps in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on the 2.71-mile, 14-turn road course, rain and lightning forced an eight-minute, red-flag delay. The cars returned to the track with the grooved Goodyear tires and many also had a single windshield wiper.


"This is ridiculous," race leader Scott Pruett said over his radio.

Grooved tires also were used in 1999 during a Craftsman Truck Series practice on the road course at Watkins Glen. In 1997, the tires were used in practice and qualifying for an exhibition race in Japan.

The historic tire switch came a week after tire troubles derailed the Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis. Goodyear's tires weren't durable to withstand more than 10 or so laps at a time, creating a chaotic and confusing caution-filled race.

"We have a lot of history with this tire on the sports car side," Goodyear's Chad Fletcher said. "We're expecting them to be able to go a full fuel cycle."

When racing resumed on the 14th lap, Marcos Ambrose took the lead from Pruett and pulled away, with rooster-tails flying off his back tires.

Kahne goes for Pocono sweep

Little has changed for Kasey Kahne in the last six weeks.

After winning the June race at Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup star sat in ninth place in the season standings, exactly where he remains heading into Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.


The big difference now is that the Chase for the championship is looming on the horizon and Kahne has not yet nailed down a spot in the 10-race stock car postseason.

"We had an awesome Dodge Charger back in June here at Pocono," Kahne said. "I hope that we can run well again this weekend. It's going to be a real battle to make it in the Chase these next six races, so it's real important to run consistent and stay up front."

The top 12 drivers after the first 26 races of the season qualify for the Chase and right now drivers in positions seven through 14 are separated by just 154 points.

Kahne, who drives for Gillett Evernham Motorsports, is just 81 points ahead of 13th-place Kevin Harvick. A victory on Sunday would go a long way toward solidifying his chances to make the NASCAR postseason.

"That's the main goal -- that's what all the teams want to do for their sponsors and owners and the employees that work on these cars," said Kahne, who failed to make the Chase last year after finishing eighth in 2006. "Out of the 14 (drivers) going for the Chase, I think that we have as good a shot as anyone from sixth on back."

A year ago, Kahne was in the midst of a woeful, winless season. But his two points wins this year have given him and the whole GEM team a boost, and his 10 top-10 finishes in 20 starts are already two more than in all of 2007.

"We have some different people in place at Gillett Evernham Motorsports and we have a better starting point this year," he said. "I think we have a great test team that does a lot for our team now. I feel that everything that they work on is much better than last year."

In June, most of the prerace talk centered on a 3,800-foot asphalt patch between turns two and three on the 2.5-mile triangle track.

That asphalt, installed after track owner Joseph Mattioli found baseline cracks in the roadway, produced a little extra grip for the cars. In qualifying and during the race, it did help some drivers, but it also was the site of several crashes.

But that's old news heading into Sunday's race.

"The patch in turn three doesn't have as much grip as it did when we were here before," Kahne explained. "It's easy to slip off the top of it and get too high now, which it looks like a lot of people figured out because there are a lot of marks above the patch.

"It's the same racetrack, just a little bit slower and a little bit later in the year. Those are the things that you have to get right again on Sunday to win the race."

The final practice for the race was rained out Saturday.

Jimmie Johnson, coming off a second-place finish in Chicago and a win last Sunday at Indianapolis, will start from the pole, with Mark Martin alongside and David Gilliland and Jeff Gordon close behind. Kahne will start seventh.

This is the first race since the tire debacle at Indy, where rightside tires -- and particularly right rears -- were wearing out so fast NASCAR had to keep putting out caution flags every 10 or 12 laps if a yellow wasn't brought out for some other reason.

But no tire problems are expected Sunday.

"Last week was unfortunate, but that's what it was and I'm sure that it won't happen again," Kahne said. "I think that we had a really good tire that (Goodyear) brought here for the first race. It's the same one that we have again this weekend.

"I look forward (to) being able to have some green flag stops. (It's) a good, strong, durable, racy tire and I'm looking forward to that."

Bigger Goodyear tire on the way for NASCAR

A bigger tire could be in NASCAR's future.

In the wake of last week's tire controversy at Indianapolis, where some of its tires failed, Goodyear is looking ahead to a tire that could work better with NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow, a bigger, heavier vehicle than the previous models used in Sprint Cup.


"We had some discussion about a larger tire ... several years ago with NASCAR when we started this whole discussion about the Car of Tomorrow," said Stu Grant, general manager of worldwide racing for Goodyear, the exclusive tire supplier for NASCAR's top three professional series.

"But, obviously, we've been working with the current size on the Car of Tomorrow. This spring, we decided to ramp that (new) program up."

Grant said there would be several differences from the current tire.

"We are working on a larger contain-air volume, a bigger section width, taller tire, larger bead diameter," he said. "Right now, it's all modeling. We're trying to figure out what the right size would be."

Goodyear hopes the bigger tire would be a better match for the CoT, but it will be two years before the new model would be available. Grant said NASCAR has been "totally supportive."

The problems at Indy, where rightside tires, and particularly right rears, were wearing out much too fast, was completely different from Atlanta, where Goodyear also had a disastrous race in March. In that race, drivers complained bitterly about the rubber compound, saying the tire was undriveable.

"That was the most pathetic racing tire I've ever been on in my professional career," an angry Tony Stewart said after the Atlanta race.

Grant said Goodyear was too conservative in its tire choice for Atlanta and will be bettered prepared for the October race in Georgia.

The company held a test at Atlanta two weeks ago, but the temperatures were near 100, much hotter than it will be for the fall race. So Grant said Goodyear will probably go back for one more test before October.

------

FAST FIX: Jimmie Johnson dodged a bullet when his crew was able to fix a gearshift problem Friday before the two-time reigning Cup champion won the pole.

Johnson said he couldn't use first or second gear in practice and relied on his crew to help him get started.

"My guys would just push me off and I would put it in third gear," Johnson said.

"My spotter did a good job of getting me onto the track where I didn't have to stop at the end of pit road again. I don't think I would have gotten going at that point. It really didn't affect the performance of the car, it just made it a little frustrating and added some tension to the day."

Fortunately for Johnson, there is no penalty for fixing the transmission before qualifying. If it had happened afterward, Johnson would have had to start from the rear of the 43-car field.

------

BEER PARTY: Anheuser-Busch has signed a multiyear sponsorship renewal with Daytona International Speedway that includes continuing the Budweiser Shootout.

It appears fears that the St. Louis brewer would cut back on its sports marketing and sponsorship under new owner InBev, known for its cost-cutting ways, could at least partially be put to rest by the new agreement that also includes exclusive alcohol and non-alcohol malt beverage sponsorship of the race weekend, four new interior track wall signs, and sponsorship of the annual Budweiser Shootout Draw Party, televised by Speed Channel, as well as the post-race infield concert.

"February is the start of our important spring selling season, and big events such as the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500, plus the Super Bowl, NHL and NBA All-Star weekends, provide a powerful combination to excite consumers and energize our wholesaler family," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch.

The Shootout, a non-points race for the previous season's pole winners and former race winners, will be run Feb. 7.

------

NO COMMENT: Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, who has often sounded off about tires, rules and anything else that affects NASCAR, was a model of tact Friday at Pocono Raceway.

Asked whether the two 500-mile Cup races at Pocono, run just six weeks apart, are too long, he replied: "Let me ask you a question: Does my opinion really matter at the end of the day? And if I had an opinion, would it change anything? Probably not. We'll let Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. do it, but I'm not sure my opinion counts."

Final practice rained out

The final practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway was rained out Saturday.

The 43 starters will have to make do with Friday's hour practice in preparation for Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. The race-day forecast called for sunshine and a high of 72 degrees.


"We got a little bit of race runs," said Clint Bowyer, who qualified 30th and was looking forward to trying to improve his car in the final "Happy Hour" practice. "It isn't like we haven't been here in two or three years. We were just here six weeks ago, so everybody kind of knows what to expect as far as the track goes.

"This track does swing a lot, weather related," he added. "When it clouds up, it gains a lot of grip and a lot of speed. When the sun breaks (out), it gets slick and greasy. That has a lot to do with the outcome of the race and, hopefully, it will be just fine."

Rookie Regan Smith, who will start 36th, echoed Bowyer.

"It's definitely not ideal," he said. "I think we had a pretty good baseline last time here. We were pretty happy with our race car, so we'll go back and look at those notes a lot and take what we learned yesterday, with the track being a good bit different for us, and try to incorporate that all into a best-educated guess on what we want."

Cully Barraclough, crew chief for David Gilliland, who will start in third, said the rainout does put a crimp in his team's preparations.

"There's always a menu of stuff that we would like to try to improve our car, like everyone else," Barraclough said. "And a lot of these teams have a lot more experience here than us. But, with the (Car of Tomorrow), everybody is trying to build a new catalog of tools in their chest to improve their car for certain things.

"The one thing we have going for us, even though we made just a short race run off the track (on Friday), that helps out, knowing that you rolled off the truck and it went decent."

On this day ... August 2

2003: Brian Vickers, on his way to the Nationwide Series championship, wins his first NASCAR race, the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Vickers finishes the season with three Nationwide wins and takes the championship by 14 points over David Green.

On this day ... August 1

1999: Former NFL coach Jerry Glanville makes his last start in a NASCAR race, finishing 23rd in the Craftsman Truck Series Pennzoil/VIP Discount Auto Center 200 at New Hampshire.

On this day ... July 31

1988: Ken Schrader wins the Talladega DieHard 500 by two car lengths over Geoffrey Bodine for his first NASCAR victory. The win comes in his 108th Cup start.

Newman: Tire fiasco is NASCAR's fault

NASCAR's apology went only so far with driver Ryan Newman, who held the governing body responsible for the tire fiasco that ruined the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend.

"NASCAR has the ultimate responsibility," Newman said Wednesday, during a visit to Buffalo Bills training camp in suburban Rochester. "They are the Barnum and Bailey. They know what's going on in the center ring. And if they put a tiger out there that's going to bite somebody, then that's their responsibility."


He was careful to say he wasn't referring to NASCAR as being a circus in voicing his frustrations over a stop-and-go race in which the longest run under green was 13 laps. What troubled Newman, who is from Indiana, is that the problems occurred at Indianapolis.

"Let's just say, there's 100 years of automobile racing there. And I bet going back to 19-0-whatever they didn't have tire problems," Newman said.

The trouble was blamed on a durability issue involving the compound of the tires Goodyear selected not being strong enough when combined with NASCAR's current car.

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton issued an apology Tuesday, saying: "I can't say how sorry we are and it's our responsibility being NASCAR that we don't go through this situation again."

Newman, however, said the apology was no consolation to fans.

"No, because you've got 250,000 people that spent time there, their money and took their families to see a great race. And all they saw was a 12-lap window max I think of racing," said this year's Daytona 500 champion, who finished 13th last weekend. "And that's not the way racing in NASCAR is supposed to be."

Newman did say "it was big" of NASCAR to apologize, but then criticized the governing body, Goodyear and track officials for failing to communicate.

Newman, who has been critical of NASCAR in the past regarding safety issues, noted that he watched Juan Pablo Montoya blow a tire that flew higher than the protective fence. "It's crazy," he said.

His visit to Rochester was part of a swing through the region to promote the Centurion Boats at the Glen race taking place at nearby Watkins Glen International on Aug. 10.

Newman agrees to drive for Stewart-Haas

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Penske Dodge, has agreed verbally to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing next season, according to ESPN.com sources.

The 30-year-old has been in limbo for a 2009 driver's seat since declaring that he and Penske Racing were parting ways. Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs confirmed Sunday that Newman was not being considered for a ride at JGR next season.

Once a deal is signed, Newman will drive the No. 4 car, and two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart will be in the No. 14 for Stewart-Haas.

Stewart spokesman Mike Arning told ESPN.com that talks are ongoing with several drivers and that "any verbal agreement with a particular driver is premature."

One factor that makes the deal more attractive for Newman would be that his former Penske crew chief, Matt Borland, who guided Newman to 12 of his 13 Cup victories, is currently the competition director at Stewart-Haas.

Villeneuve set for Nationwide debut

Former Formula One and CART champion Jacques Villeneuve will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut Saturday on a very familiar track.

The Canadian driver will be at the wheel of the No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, named for his late father, another F1 star.


"Knowing the track as I do is obviously a big advantage, but I do worry about the Formula One habits that I have already formed," said Villeneuve, who hoped to run full-time in Sprint Cup this season before a lack of sponsorship cut short his effort. "My biggest worry is my brake lines. I will have to constantly remind myself not to use the Formula One brake markers that I am accustomed to."

Villeneuve, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, last raced in Montreal in 2006 with the BMW Sauber F1 team. His best finish at the track on Notre Dame Island near downtown Montreal was sixth in 1996 while driving for Team Williams.

Villeneuve made seven NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts and ran two Cup races last season.

He tested the No. 32 Braun Camry last week on a road circuit in South Carolina.

"The test went really very well; almost better than I expected," Villeneuve said. "Driving the Nationwide cars on the (road) course was a big surprise to me. It's very different than the other cars I have driven. It was a great learning experience.

"The Braun Racing team was excellent to work with and, as the car became more familiar to me and we got into a rhythm as a team, it was a lot of fun. After the two days of testing, we got the car setup so that we should be very competitive this weekend."

------

MORE ACTION: Jimmie Johnson, coming off his victory in last Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, has added a pair of races to his 2008 schedule.

In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet fielded by Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen on Aug. 9.

The two-time reigning Sprint Cup champion will also make his Truck Series debut in the No. 81 Kobalt Tools Silverado fielded by Randy Moss Motorsports at Bristol on Aug. 20.

In Nationwide, Johnson has made 88 starts, with his only victory coming in 2001 -- his second and final full season in the former Busch Series -- at Chicagoland.

"Watkins Glen and Bristol are two tracks where I really want a win," Johnson said. "I enjoy racing (on the road course) at Watkins Glen and, for some reason (I) always seem to be a little better there than Sonoma. We've had some top-fives so, hopefully, this will put us in the win column.

"As for the trucks, I am really looking forward to that. I have never run a truck race, so it should be fun. Heck, my brother Jarit has run more than me. But it's going to be a good time."

------

CHARITY WORK: For the first time since 1997, the August race at Pocono Raceway has a title sponsor -- and it's one that can make a difference.

Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race will be called the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.

"Pocono Raceway admires and respects the work of the Red Cross and wanted to help support its mission and the great work they do for families in Pennsylvania," said track president Brandon Igdalsky.

As part of this partnership, Pocono Raceway will donate 10 percent of the ticket revenue generated by online ticket buyers who use the promo code REDCROSS to American Red Cross Chapters in the area. The first 1,500 ticket buyers using the promo code also receive a free prerace Pit/Paddock Pass, a souvenir program and commemorative die cast car.

In addition, the track has added a donation collection site on its Web site, will donate a portion of the proceeds from T-shirt sales and provide the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter the opportunity to collect donations at the race.

The Red Cross is also receiving a percentage of the proceeds from a charity walk hosted by the NASCAR Foundation on Saturday.

Harvick takes hit in Chase standings

When Kurt Busch wrecked out of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he just might have taken Kevin Harvick's championship hopes with him. A victim of Busch's slip, Harvick finished 37th and fell to 13th in the Chase for the championship.


Of course, he's been out of the top 12 before this season, and he's well within striking distance now at just two points out of the final qualifying spot.

At the same time, there are just six races to go to decide the field and Harvick and the rest of the drivers on the bubble can't afford any more slip-ups.

Harvick, who was on the bubble last year and still made the Chase, won't let his precarious spot change his strategy.

"It doesn't really matter -- you just race as hard as you can every week," Harvick said. "We have had some really good cars since Sonoma, but haven't been able to capitalize every weekend. We have had some bad weeks that have been out of our control. I am very confident in my team and I think we will do everything we can do to make the Chase."

If the Chase began this weekend, the field would consist of Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and Clint Bowyer.

But the standings are so close from seventh to 15th that the field could change weekly between now and the Sept. 6 "regular season" finale at Richmond.

For example, Hamlin used a third-place finish last week at Indianapolis to move off the bubble and gain a bit of breathing room. Ranked 12th before Indy, he moved up four spots to eighth.

Kahne gained two spots and moved up to ninth. Now he heads back to Pocono with the same car he won with in June, intent on solidifying his spot in the Chase.

"We saved the same car. The car was brand new for the first Pocono race and it's been waiting to go back," he said. "I don't see why we can't have a shot at another win. As good as it was the first race, if we do the right things, we should have another shot."

Bowyer was the beneficiary when his Richard Childress Racing teammate fell out of the top 12. Bowyer is now in the final qualifying spot, albeit with a mere two-point advantage over Harvick.

Kenseth was the biggest victim of the tire problems that plagued Indianapolis. He blew a right rear fairly early in the race, and the explosion tore a chunk of the quarter panel off his Ford before it went spinning through the grass.

He finished 38th and dropped three spots in the Chase standings to 11th. He's only six ahead of Harvick now, in position to fall out at any time.

"Last weekend was a huge disappointment for us," he said. "We unloaded pretty good, with high hopes for a good finish. So, blowing a tire like we did and tearing up our car was pretty embarrassing. This weekend we're looking to bounce back at Pocono, which has really been one of our tougher tracks.

"A solid finish at Pocono would go a long way toward gaining some momentum in this stretch run leading up to the Chase."

So who does that leave on the bubble?

Well, Harvick for one. He was in a similar position last year when he hovered at the bottom of the top-12 during the stretch run. Although he grew weary of being asked about strategy, he never changed a thing and earned a spot in the field.

Now he's vowing to do the same.

"I am planning on just going out there and racing as hard as I can," he said. "I mean, you might not take a chance on fuel or a different pit strategy to win a race, but you really don't do much different."

Right behind Harvick is David Ragan, the surprise of the Chase contenders.

The second-year Roush Fenway Racing driver is having a remarkable season considering his rookie year struggles, and he's just 56 points out of 12th.

But Pocono could be the make-or-break race for Ragan, who has qualified 30th or worse in his three starts there and has never finished higher than 24th.

"I've struggled," he admitted. "But we've had some good runs recently, so hopefully we can build off of that momentum. We need to go there and get a good run -- it's all about points and having solid finishes at this point in the season."

Behind Ragan is Brian Vickers, who is 132 points out after engine issues in Indy led to a 42nd-place finish. But Vickers can make some ground when the series returns to Pocono and Michigan over the next month. He was second at Pocono in June and followed it with a fourth-place finish in Michigan.

Beyond Vickers, the last driver with a chance -- albeit an outside one -- is Ryan Newman. The Daytona 500 winner is 16th in the standings with significant ground to make up.

He's also got to deal with finding a new job for next season: Newman said two weeks ago he's leaving Penske Racing at the end of the year, and he's believed to be the top candidate to join Stewart's new team.

But Newman, who finished 13th in Indy, also wants a strong close to his Penske career.

"We had a really good points day at Indianapolis, and that's what we need right now," he said. "Our goal is to get the No. 12 Dodge into the Chase, and to do what we can to have solid runs without any issues for the next several races. We have to take that mentality and the momentum we have into this weekend's race and have another good one."

On this day ... July 30

1955: Today, Syracuse, N.Y., tomorrow, San Mateo, Calif. Tim Flock wins a 100-lap event on the 1-mile dirt track of New York State Fairgrounds and then travels cross country for a scheduled 250-lap race on the mile dirt track of Bay Meadows Speedway. The race actually goes 252 laps because of a scoring error, but Flock still wins by a lap over John Kieper. By the way, Flock starts from the pole thanks to his brother Fonty, who was fastest in qualifying in his brother's Chrysler.

Jimmie Johnson to drive Randy Moss' truck

Randy Moss on Tuesday showed he can attract big-time talent to his Craftsman Truck team by naming Jimmie Johnson his driver for the Aug. 20 race at Bristol.

Johnson, the two-time defending Spint Cup champion, will run in the No. 81 Randy Moss Motorsports Chevy Silverado. Moss wears 81 for the New England Patriots.

"I have never run a truck race so it should be fun," the Boston Herald quoted Johnson as saying. "Heck, my brother Jarit has run more than me, but it's going to be a good time. I'm excited to run Randy's truck. Hopefully we can get them a good finish."

Moss' team debuted July 19 at Kentucky, with driver Willie Allen finishing 15th.

NASCAR apologizes for Indy tire fiasco

NASCAR apologized Tuesday for the tire fiasco that ruined its prestigious race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and vowed to avoid a repeat.


A durability issue with the tires Goodyear brought to Indy forced NASCAR to call cautions every 10 to 12 laps on Sunday to slow the action and force teams to change their tires before they failed. The longest run under the green flag was 13 laps, and Jimmie Johnson claimed the victory at the end of a seven-lap sprint to the finish in the second-slowest race in the 15 years NASCAR has competed at the Brickyard.

The drivers were disgusted, fans were frustrated and NASCAR is still trying to figure out why things went so wrong.

"I can't say enough how sorry we are and it's our responsibility being NASCAR that we don't go through this situation again," said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition.

"The race didn't come off like we had hoped, the fans didn't get what they exactly wanted and we'll do everything in our power -- it won't happen again, I can tell you that much."

NASCAR must first figure out why Goodyear's tires struggled so mightily at Indianapolis. The only thing that is certain is that the tire compound Goodyear selected was not strong enough when combined with NASCAR's current car.

The new car is a heavier model that puts significantly more stress on right-side tires, and Goodyear's inventory last weekend couldn't hold up to the pressure.

"It's obvious that we didn't go there with the right car-slash-tire combination," Pemberton conceded.

The problem was exposed in a Saturday afternoon practice session, when some cars couldn't make it three laps without the tire wearing down to the cords. A second practice session was only slightly better, when the runs stretched to about 10 laps before tires began to falter.

Goodyear shipped in an emergency batch of 800 tires it had earmarked for this weekend's race at Pocono, and NASCAR pulled all the crew chiefs together hours before Sunday's start to discuss a strategy for staging a safe race.

Officials decided to throw a "competition caution" 10 laps into the race to examine the tire wear, and promised to continuously monitor throughout the race. With Pemberton patrolling pit road, it became clear the tires wouldn't last much past the 10-lap window unless the abrasive Indy surface began to pick up rubber that would help the tires' traction and extend their wear.

It never happened, as the surface became the equivalent of a cheese grater and the rubber turned into a black dust that made the track even slicker -- forcing NASCAR to take control of the race.

"We have to run the race and we have to run the safest race possible, and when we're in situations where we have to take control under adverse circumstances, that's what we do," Pemberton said. "To get ahead of it and have the safest race possible, we had to take control and that's what we did -- run 10 to 11 laps at a time and let the cautions fly."

Goodyear plans to return to Indianapolis later this year to conduct another tire test. The first was held in April when Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers participated in a controlled test session for the manufacturer.

NASCAR did not have an open test at Indy this year -- something it has done in previous years -- because the crew chiefs did not select it when polled late last season on where they wanted to test.

NASCAR is currently working on a new testing policy that would give teams more testing dates and freedom to choose the tracks.

NASCAR officials spoke Tuesday morning with both Goodyear officials and Indianapolis president Joie Chitwood, as all parties tried to move forward. Track chairman Tony George was adamant in an interview with The Indianapolis Star that the surface was not a factor in Sunday's debacle.

"The problem is solely (NASCAR's), and by that I mean it's theirs to figure out," George told The Star. "It's not going to come with anything we do to the track. Figuring it out will only come with getting the car and tire combination right, and that requires actually spending the time and effort to do something about it.

"The track won't change next year, so if they want to come back, they better figure it out because I don't think the fans want to come back and see that."

Pemberton agreed there is nothing wrong with the track, and in admitting NASCAR is deeply affected by the fiasco, vowed the issue will be corrected before next year's return.

"It hurts us whenever we have a weekend like we had," Pemberton said. "There's nothing worse than coming away from a race and knowing the result was ... it wasn't even close. It wasn't even in the 25th percentile of what we're capable of doing and what we do week in and week out.

"When we go back to Indianapolis next year, we'll probably have the best Brickyard we've ever had."

Petty to use 3 drivers in No. 45 in next 3 races

Petty Enterprises will use three different drivers in the No. 45 Dodge over the next three races as it continues to evaluate the slumping team.

Chad McCumbee will attempt to qualify the car this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Kyle Petty will try to qualify the car the next week at Watkins Glen, and Terry Labonte will drive it at Michigan.


"Chad, Kyle and Terry will be competing at places where they have all had success in the past," said Robbie Loomis, vice president of race operations. "That should put the No. 45 team in the best position possible to gain points on the teams in front of us in owner points.

"Everyone at Petty Enterprises is committed to doing whatever it takes to get this team back inside the top-35. That is one of our highest priorities as an organization."

The No. 45, which is typically driven by Petty, is currently 41st in car owner standings and 273 points out of the top 35.

Petty has not raced the car since Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. He took a six-race hiatus to join TNT during its portion of the NASCAR broadcast schedule, and has given up seat time this season to both McCumbee and Labonte.

He'll get back in the car at Watkins Glen, where he has one victory and four top-10s in 20 career starts.

"He has been a great road course racer throughout his career," Loomis said. "I know he is looking forward to it as well so we are going up there with a lot of confidence that we will have a solid run."

McCumbee takes over the car this weekend, when he'll attempt to make his first Sprint Cup start of the season. He made the first series start of his career at Pocono last season when he finished 25th while filling in for Petty. He also won the ARCA race on that track last season.

Labonte, who has competed in seven races in the No. 45 this season, returns to the car at Michigan on Aug. 17.

On this day ... July 29

2006: Carl Edwards gets his first win on his "home track," Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. Edwards, of Columbia, Mo., wins the rain-delayed Busch Silver Celebration 250 Nationwide Series race by 5.658 seconds over Clint Bowyer. Gateway is located just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

Moss is an amazing catch

It was about the last thing you'd think would happen in the generally predictable world of NASCAR.

Sophia Loren as a race queen? Marilyn Manson doing the national anthem? Kyle Busch winning most popular driver?


None of the above.

Randy Moss now owns a NASCAR team. Yes, that Randy Moss. The wide receiver for the New England Patriots.

Moss announced earlier this month that he had bought 50 percent ownership in Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, a Craftsman Truck Series team. The team ran its first race with its new name -- Randy Moss Motorsports -- July 19 at Kentucky Speedway, with Willie Allen driving a Chevrolet Silverado and Moss sitting atop the pit road war wagon.

Virtually all white and virtually all male for much of its existence, NASCAR has tried to light the fires of diversity in recent years, mostly by helping minority drivers find entry-level opportunities. The sport got a boost in its efforts last year when former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, a native of Colombia, roared onto the NASCAR scene.

Moss brings diversity and a national sports reputation to the mix. But can he succeed?

Over the past decade or so, names like Terry Bradshaw, Julius Erving, Tim Brown, Mark Rypien, Dan Marino and Jackie Joyner-Kersee have been pulled into the sport in ownership capacities, all with big plans. All fizzled.

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman started Hall of Fame Racing two years ago. They've since sold controlling interest to Arizona Diamondbacks owners Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel, and the team continues to struggle for stability.

The biggest crossover success is Hall of Fame football coach Joe Gibbs, who built a championship NASCAR team. Former NBA star Brad Daugherty, a longtime fan and an ESPN NASCAR analyst, has been an owner at lower NASCAR levels and has announced plans to move up to Cup.

NASCAR isn't easy. Its attractions -- a friendly sponsor arena, splashy races in or near major television markets, famous drivers with huge fan bases -- can lure movers and shakers who have dollars to spread around. Often, however, it takes only a few broken engines, a series of crashed racecars and a couple of failed-to-qualify race weekends for the newcomers to find their path to success littered with all manner of difficulty.

Moss has the right idea. He's starting at the lowest level of national series racing. The Truck Series is a significantly cheaper plaything than Sprint Cup or Nationwide, and it's easier to make strides quickly. He and team co-owner David Dollar are using a series of younger drivers this season to work toward a solid foundation for 2009, and Moss hopes to eventually make it to the Cup Series.

Moss, who's from West Virginia, describes himself as a country boy who became attracted to NASCAR because so many of the people with roots similar to his are hooked on the sport. Of course, he's the only one in the group who has a three-year, $27 million contract for playing professional football.

That's the sort of guy NASCAR needs.

Tire troubles ruin Indy race

Yes, the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a debacle. No point in denying it.

But don't be so quick to castigate NASCAR, which was faced with the unenviable task of trying to salvage a race that was destined to look like stalled, rush-hour traffic.


When it became obvious in Saturday's practice sessions that the tires Goodyear brought to Indy had a serious durability issue, there was only one option for NASCAR a day ahead of the green flag: figure out how to stage a safe race. Option No. 2? There wasn't one.

Formula One and Michelin learned that at Indy in 2005, when three-fourths of the field refused to compete in the United States Grand Prix because of tire concerns. Indy took a hit, the race never recovered and F1 isn't currently racing in this country.

"The difference between NASCAR and Formula One is Formula One thinks of it as a business -- they don't think about the fans, they don't think about the show," said Juan Pablo Montoya, the only driver to participate in both tire fiascos.

"Here they do. NASCAR will do whatever is possible to put the show on in the best way possible."

And that's exactly what NASCAR tried to do, relying heavily on deliberate caution flags that slowed the pace of the 400-mile race and forced teams to change tires every 10-to-12 laps. It meant a record 52 of the 160 laps ran under caution, with the longest green-flag run a mere 13 laps.

The victor Sunday was decided by one final heat race, a seven-lap sprint to the finish that saw Jimmie Johnson win the race off pit road then hold off Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin to grab his second Brickyard title in three years.

To call it horrible racing is an understatement, and the participating drivers didn't mince words.

"It's embarrassing and it's disappointing. I've never seen anything like this," four-time Indianapolis winner Jeff Gordon said.

"Didn't see much of a race," Matt Kenseth echoed.

"It's just unacceptable at this level," Brian Vickers offered.

But their ire wasn't aimed square at NASCAR. Across the board, everyone understood NASCAR did the best it could with what it had to work with.

Goodyear tested the tires it brought to Indy back in April, when Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch experimented with several different compounds to help the tiremaker find a match for Sunday. Although the tires in that two-day stretch seemed to last somewhere around 15 laps a run, Goodyear wrongly believed their durability would improve once the full field took to the track and began laying rubber on Indy's abrasive surface.

Where Goodyear went wrong was underestimating the effect of NASCAR's current car, a heavier new model that puts a ton more stress on right-side tires than last year's car.

The tires at Indy couldn't hold up to the pressure, and the rubber Goodyear had assumed would stick to the track never happened. Instead, the surface became the equivalent of a cheese grater, turning the rubber into a dust that never settled onto the surface.

With tires worn down to their cords, failures were almost certain every 10 laps.

So NASCAR stepped in with competition cautions, which didn't give teams a chance to push their tires to the limit. Given the opportunity, teams certainly would have raced through the durability window -- a situation that likely would have created multiple tire failures and many wrecks.

It was a decision based on experience. Durability issues at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2005 produced record cautions and dangerous racing conditions, when tires began popping like balloons. All NASCAR could do to stop it was a mid-race mandate on air pressures.

"Hindsight is 20/20," said vice president of competition Robin Pemberton, who patrolled pit road during the race so he could examine the tires up close and help the officials in the tower decide how to proceed.

Using a different tire wasn't an option, either. Although Goodyear shipped in an emergency allotment of tires it had earmarked for this weekend's race in Pocono, at least one manufacturer ran a simulation on that compound and determined the reserve tires would have been a dangerous 2 seconds faster per lap than the Indy tires. It would have created a major speed change not adaptable to the gear ratios and rev limits programmed for Indy.

NASCAR doesn't get a total pass on the Indy debacle.

The sanctioning body whiffed in failing to hold an open test session at the track, something that's been consistently done in past years.

Once the tires started failing during the test, and Goodyear saw the tires weren't laying any rubber on the track, there's no chance the company would have brought the same compound to Sunday's race.

Without the luxury of a full test, Goodyear had to guess a bit in preparing for Indy. Sometimes you guess right, and sometimes you guess wrong. In this case, Goodyear was clearly wrong.

As the only tire supplier in NASCAR, the company is not subjected to competition from other makers. Goodyear has the NASCAR market cornered, and every team needs its tires to turn even one lap. Its position as the only player in the game means its even more important that Goodyear avoids the blunders it made coming into Indy.

It's not NASCAR fault Goodyear wasn't prepared, and top officials did the best they could to salvage a dangerous situation. Now it's up to them to make sure it never happens again.

On this day ... July 28

1974: David Pearson starts eighth in the Dixie 500 at Atlanta, his lowest start of the season. Pearson competes in 19 of 30 races, wins 11 poles, starts second twice, third four times and fourth twice. He wins seven races and finishes in the top five 15 times. The other four races? DNFs. On this day, he finishes second to Richard Petty by 21 seconds.

NASCAR won't visit Mexico City in 2009

NASCAR will not return to Mexico next season, The Charlotte Observer reports.

For four years, the Nationwide Series has run a race at the Hermanos Rodriguez Autodrome road course in Mexico City. Officials confirmed Sunday that the series will not be back there in 2009, but they have not announced where the replacement race will be. However, sources told the Observer the likely replacement venue is the new Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.

Several factors, including a growing and stable touring series in Mexico and lower attendance at the Nationwide event, contributed to the decision not to return to Mexico City in 2009, the Observer reports.

"This was never about a single event. The big idea was to strengthen motorsports in Mexico," NASCAR executive Robbie Weiss told the Observer. "We didn't create racing in Mexico and it has a long heritage, but in reality the racing market down there was very fragmented.

"The idea was could we help relaunch and strengthen the Mexican motorpsorts community with the big idea of launching a national championship that would be the most significant championship in the country."

Elledge gives Allmendinger a boost

How much of an impact has new crew chief Jimmy Elledge had on A.J. Allmendinger's team? Plenty. Since Elledge became crew chief of the No. 84 Red Bull Racing Toyota, Allmendinger has finishes of 13th at Chicagoland and a career-best 10th last Sunday at Indianapolis. Allmendinger has improved the position of his car to 37th in the owner standings, 63 points behind the 35th-place No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet. Next up is Pocono, where Allmendinger finished 12th in June -- his previous career best. ...

In an effort to remedy the tire problems that marred Sunday's race, Goodyear officials most likely will test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway later this year. "This was the same compound we raced last year, and the wear improved over the course of the day last year to the point where we could run the full stops," said Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear. "That didn't happen today, so we need to understand why." ...

Jimmie Johnson's win Sunday was the 35th of his Cup career, tying him with future Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin. Next on the list is Bobby Isaac at 37. The victory came in Johnson's 239th race. Isaac's 35th win came in his 235th race.

Tire problems dredge up bad memories for Indy fans

Indianapolis racing fans expected more than a parade of caution periods Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Given the tire situation, they ended up with a series of short sprints won by Jimmie Johnson and left the largest attended race on the NASCAR circuit mostly dissatisfied .


"My wife wanted a souvenir. I should have bought her a caution flag," said Max Guillozet of Rossburg, Ohio.

The subject of tires is a sensitive subject in Indianapolis, site of the Formula One fiasco in 2005. Back then, 14 of 20 starting drivers pulled off the track, citing safety concerns, before the green flag waved and fans threw beer in disgust.

Nothing like that happened Sunday, but the loud cheers normally associated with passes and chases were muted and some fans heard others complaining about NASCAR's decision to throw six competition cautions, turning the race into a series of short sprints none longer than 12 consecutive laps.

"I think there were a lot of disappointed fans because I heard it in the stands," said Alan Wood of Pendleton, Ind., who also attended the F1 debacle. "I hope (speedway president) Joie Chitwood will demand Goodyear never do this again."

Chitwood later issued a statement saying that the track surface hasn't changed since 2005 and that it was not the race the speedway wanted to have for the largest crowd on the circuit.

Despite the problems, it was a record-setting day. Sixteen drivers led the race, breaking the previous mark of 13 set in 1994 and matched in 1996, and there were a record 26 lead changes. There were 21 in 1994. Nine drivers led the race for the first time, the most since 13 held the lead in the inaugural event of 1994.

And not everyone walked away angry -- including some who were not Johnson fans.

Illinois residents Stephanie Sheehan, who wore a Jeff Gordon shirt, and Christina Boer, donning a Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirt, considered it one of the better Indy races they had attended.

"It was pretty good, there was a lot of battling," Sheehan said.

But the race will be remembered most for its deliberate pace. It was the second longest Brickyard in 15 years, taking 3 hours, 28 minutes, 29 seconds, and produced the most laps ever run under caution (52). The old record was 47 in 2004.

And although most fans believed they watched a legitimate race and saw a legitimate winner, most do not want to watch a recurrence next year.

"I always said I wanted a shootout," Wood said. "I'm not so sure any more. I think Goodyear should have learned from Formula One. I'll give NASCAR credit for this, the show went on."

------

POINTS HIT: Three of the drivers who entered the day ranked among the top 12 points fell to early trouble, and Kevin Harvick dropped out of Chase for the championship contention.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started the day second in points, had to pit on lap 26 because of a flat right front tire. Harvick was caught up in a crash with Kurt Busch on lap 14, and Matt Kenseth had much of the metal peeled off from the right rear quarterpanel when a tire blew.

"I just got caught up in my mess," Busch said. "I was trying to make it so we could pit at the next caution, and it snapped loose on me. I guess I got caught behind in the steering."

Earnhardt was the only one of the three to get back into contention, finishing 12th.

Harvick, however, finished 37th, 12 laps behind Johnson. It dropped him four spots in the standings, to 13th. Only the top 12 drivers after the 26th race of the season make the Chase.

Kenseth was 38th, 16 laps back, dealing at least a temporary blow to hold onto their tickets to race for the title in the final 10 weeks of the season. He fell three spots in the standings to 11th.

"We had a great car today; it was just harder to run right rears than other people," Kenseth said. "There wasn't really anything we could about it."

Another driver to take a hit was Brian Vickers, who is trying to make his first Chase. He had an engine problem, finished 42nd and dropped a spot in the standings to 15th.

------

SMALLER CROWD: For the third straight year, attendance dropped at the Brickyard.

An hour before the race started, when seats have typically been filled, the stands were only about half-full. By the start of the race, most seats were full, but there were still empty spots in the lower part of the front straightaway and in the turns around the 2.5-mile oval.

Race organizers, who do not give out attendance figures, blamed the decrease on the economy.

"But it's still the second largest sporting event in the world," speedway spokesman Fred Nation said, referring to the attendance.

Speedway officials call their signature event, the Indianapolis 500, the world's largest attended sports event.

------

FIRST-TIME OBSERVER: Motorcycle racer Nicky Hayden has been making regular trips to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year was back Sunday for the NASCAR race.

Surprisingly, it was the first time the Kentucky native had ever witnessed a Cup race in person.

"I had the weekend off, so I didn't have an excuse not to do it," Hayden said. "I'm from Owensboro, Ky., so it's hard not to be Waltrip fans. It is their hometown, so I like them. I like Dale Earnhardt Jr. too."

Waltrip's hopes were dashed quickly when he spun in the second turn, brushing former Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. and then getting pushed into the wall by Paul Menard on the fourth lap.

Hayden will be return to the historic speedway in September when he's expected to compete in the track's third event of the year, the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

"The whole paddock -- not just me -- is excited about coming to the Brickyard," Hayden said.

------

NATIONWIDE SCHEDULE CHANGE: NASCAR's Nationwide Series race in Mexico will be replaced on next year's schedule by another American race, The Charlotte Observer reported Sunday.

"This was never about a single event. The big idea was to strengthen motorsports in Mexico," NASCAR vice president Robbie Weis told The Observer.

Weis would not say which track would add the race, but The Observer cited sources saying it could go to Iowa, a track seven eighths of a mile long that already hosts IndyCar and NASCAR Camping World East series events.

The NASCAR Corona Mexico series ran its first points race this season during the April weekend the Nationwide series held its race in Mexico City.

------

ONE CHANCE: Actor John C. McGinley, who stars in the NBC television show "Scrubs," waved the green flag for Sunday's race.

Since it was the first time he had the honor, McGinley was given specific instructions about what to do: Hold on to the flag. Otherwise, he joked, he wouldn't get a do-over.

"I think they throw you off the tower if you drop it," he said. "That's the new McGinley Rule: If you drop the flag, we kick you off the tower."

------

PIT STOPS: When four-time race winner Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 24, it marked the first time he led the field at Indy since 2004. He has now led in a record 10 races on the 2.5-mile oval. ... Jeff Burton is the only driver who has completed all 15 races at Indianapolis. ... Only four drivers have started all 15 races -- Gordon, Burton, Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte. ... Former NFL offensive lineman Matt Elliott and his 8-year-old son, Max, met with one of Elliott's former coaches, Joe Gibbs, before the race. Elliott was the final player picked in the 1992 NFL draft and spent two seasons with the Washington Redskins. ... Students from Evansville Mater Dei High School spent race day with the Shell Oil Company after winning the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon. The vehicle entered the by the school set a record for fuel efficiency, getting 2,843 miles per gallon.

Johnson survives tire debacle at Indianapolis

It's one of the biggest events of the year at a venue intended to help NASCAR showcase its racing.

Instead, Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway left everyone apologizing to the fans for what could only be called a fiasco.


Hopefully NASCAR can bounce back better than Goodyear's tires did over the course of a chaotic caution-filled race that ended with Jimmie Johnson winning his second Brickyard in three years.

Tire troubles derailed one of NASCAR's crown jewel events when Goodyear's product wasn't durable to withstand more than 10 or so laps at a time.

"Every lap. Every lap I was concerned about it. Every corner, for that matter," said Johnson, who beat Carl Edwards to the finish in a seven-lap sprint to the checkered flag.

"As a group, we all knew we couldn't push the envelope. I knew at the end, a seven-lap shootout, I could blast it off in there and I'd be OK."

Johnson was indeed OK. Goodyear and NASCAR were not OK, left to explain why the race became a debacle.

The tire issue cropped up early Saturday, when drivers learned during the first practice they could only last anywhere from three to 10 laps before the rubber wore 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 prevented any improvement because of the lack of downforce on the car, combined with its higher center of gravity, created conditions that made it very hard on the right side tires. No matter how much rubber was laid on Indy's notoriously abrasive surface, the tires still weren't strong enough to last more than about 10 laps.

"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."

There were 11 total yellow flags, and NASCAR had to throw six competition cautions 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.

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.

"It was a pretty crazy day," winning crew chief Chad Knaus said.

NASCAR never chanced it, calling cautions every 10-to-12 laps as 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."

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 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."

NASCAR started the day with a scheduled 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 Earnhardt Jr.

"I liked it, because it was less work," Earnhardt said. "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.

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."

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard results

Fin. St. Car Driver Make Points Laps Status
1 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 195/10 160 Running
2 9 99 Carl Edwards Ford 175/5 160 Running
3 23 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 170/5 160 Running
4 6 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge 165/5 160 Running
5 5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 160/5 160 Running
6 8 26 Jamie McMurray Ford 150/0 160 Running
7 4 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge 146/0 160 Running
8 12 16 Greg Biffle Ford 142/0 160 Running
9 32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 143/5 160 Running
10 26 84 AJ Allmendinger Toyota 139/5 160 Running
11 2 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet 130/0 160 Running
12 11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 132/5 160 Running
13 3 12 Ryan Newman Dodge 124/0 160 Running
14 16 6 David Ragan Ford 121/0 160 Running
15 19 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 123/5 160 Running
16 27 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge 115/0 160 Running
17 22 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge 112/0 160 Running
18 15 10 Patrick Carpentier* Dodge 109/0 160 Running
19 40 7 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 106/0 160 Running
20 20 38 David Gilliland Ford 103/0 160 Running
21 38 77 Sam Hornish Jr.* Dodge 100/0 160 Running
22 24 147 Marcos Ambrose Ford 97/0 160 Running
23 14 20 Tony Stewart Toyota 94/0 160 Running
24 25 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 96/5 160 Running
25 35 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 93/5 160 Running
26 31 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet 85/0 160 Running
27 43 45 Terry Labonte Dodge 82/0 160 Running
28 39 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota 79/0 160 Running
29 36 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 76/0 160 Running
30 33 44 David Reutimann Toyota 73/0 160 Running
31 42 1 Regan Smith* Chevrolet 75/5 160 Running
32 21 70 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 67/0 160 Running
33 29 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 64/0 160 Running
34 30 0 Michael McDowell* Toyota 66/5 160 Running
35 41 22 Dave Blaney Toyota 63/5 160 Running
36 28 28 Travis Kvapil Ford 60/5 160 Running
37 18 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 52/0 148 Running
38 10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 49/0 144 Running
39 13 42 Juan Montoya Dodge 46/0 124 Engine
40 7 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 43/0 119 Running
41 37 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet 40/0 118 Running
42 17 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 42/5 93 Engine
43 34 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 34/0 91 Running


* Rookie

Gibbs says 4 teams not likely for 2009

Joe Gibbs probably won't field a fourth team next season because he's running out of time to put a proper expansion package together.

"You wouldn't say never, but it doesn't look right now that it will happen for us next year," Gibbs told The Associated Press before the start of Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


Gibbs has been intent on pushing his program to four teams, but doesn't want to rush into it and said he's closing in on a deadline that would make 2009 impossible.

"I think we want to be real cautious, we always have been, we've gone slow and I think everything has to be in place," he said. "I'd say right now everything is not in place. You've got to have the right driver, the right sponsor and I'd say we're pretty close to not being able to do that in time for next year."

That would seemingly indicate that 18-year-old phenom Joey Logano will indeed be promoted to replace Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Toyota.

Stewart is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season, and team officials are very high on Logano and have not said anything that would infer Logano won't be in the ride.

There had been some speculation that Ryan Newman, who announced last week he's leaving Penske Racing, was in talks with Gibbs. But if there's no fourth team, there doesn't seem to be room for Newman or any other free agent.

Gibbs was deliberate when the organization went from one car to two, properly putting Tony Stewart's team together so that he was competing for wins immediately. But the expansion to three teams was not as smooth, as the No. 11 entry struggled through its 2005 debut season.

Jason Leffler ran 19 races before he was replaced by a combination of Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley. Hamlin took the ride over for good at the start of the 2006 season, won two races and made the Chase for the championship.

"We definitely do not want to rush it," Gibbs said. "The startup things, it's hard to get something off and running with that many people. Used to be, the first year we had 17 people and that's what you needed to start a race team. Now it's more like 70, it's a lot to get done and a lot to get done the right way.

"We did learn lessons from what we did before, and it's always good not to underestimate and think 'we did this, it won't be that hard' because it is very, very hard."

On this day ... July 22

1990: Richard Petty finishes ninth in the AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono, the second-to-last top 10 of his career. It is his last top 10 on an oval. In 1991, he will finish ninth at Watkins Glen for his 712th and final top 10.