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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.