By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Not too many moons ago, NASCAR not only didn't have a driver from across the oceans, it didn't even have a driver from Indiana.
In the 15th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, July 27, Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind., will be one of two Hoosier-born drivers in the starting lineup, along with Tony Stewart. Also getting the green flag in the 43-car field will be Juan Pablo Montoya from Bogota, Colombia, and Marcos Ambrose, a native of Launceston, Australia.
Each has a different look at what he may accomplish in the race.
Newman, in the middle of his ninth season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, will be seeking a rare double-victory in both the Daytona 500 and the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, for car owner Roger Penske. He also will be audition for another job since last week it was announced that Penske and Newman would be separating at season's end.
Montoya is the only driver to have competed in all three major-league races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won the Indy 500 in 2000, then moved to Formula One and drove in six U.S. Grands Prix on the road course before moving to stock cars full time in 2007 and driving to second place in his first Brickyard. He would like to move up one spot to add another victory at the historic 2 ½-mile track.
Finally, Ambrose is making his Sprint Cup debut on an oval after qualifying for his only other race a month ago on the Sonoma, Calif., road course, where he started seventh and finished 42nd. Since he holds down the bottom slot of 61st in the standings with seven points, whatever he does Sunday is gravy.
Newman qualified third in his No. 12 alltel Dodge at 180.907 mph and then steered clear from his impending departure from the Penske team and the possibility he may drive the No. 4 car next year for the new Stewart-Haas team.
This was Newman's seventh straight qualifying run at seventh or better. But his race results have been reversed with a best finish of 11th in 2003. Last year he also qualified third but finished 42nd.
As far the points chase goes, he ranks 16th, 189 behind Denny Hamlin, who holds the 12th and last spot for the final 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Montoya qualified his No. 42 Wrigley's Big Red Slim Pack Dodge 13th with a speed of 179.698 mph. Last July, he started second and finished second behind Stewart. When he won the Indy 500 in 2000, he beat Buddy Lazier by seven seconds.
A win Sunday could give him a victory in two of Indy's primary races. Michael Schumacher and Ferrari kept him from winning on the road course during the Formula One run at IMS. Does he favor one of the races over the others?
"I don't think I want to answer that question," he said with a grin.
"Each one is completely different. The Indy 500 has got a lot of history behind it, I love driving stock cars, Formula One was cool to drive the cars here, when the racing wasn't that great. Each one has its own thing."
So, who were the toughest drivers he faced?
"I don't know," he said. "In Formula One, you have to say Schumacher. Here you have Tony (Stewart), Jeff Gordon) and Jimmy (Johnson). I ran against Sam (Hornish Jr.), Jimmy Vasser and all those guys when I ran the Indy 500. It's pretty interesting.
"It's good memories. I have won the Indy 500 here, my last Formula One race was here, and I finished second last year. So, there are a lot cool things to be around here, so it's pretty cool."
Ambrose drove for the Stone Brothers in V8 Supercars in Australia in 2001. Now he's driving for JTG Racing in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition and at Indy. He's starting 24th in the No. 47 Little Debbie Snacks Ford, which sounds kind of odd for a driver whose nickname is "Devil Racer." His speed was 178.133 mph.
"This is fairly spectacular considering the trouble we had yesterday," Ambrose said. "We did a whole two laps yesterday and didn't know what to do with the car. We're a start-up team, and we made it in today.
"This feels like my first genuine Cup start. I feel like we climbed Mount Everest after yesterday. We had less than seven minutes on the racetrack and here we are, qualified."
***
Tickets: Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, scheduled for Sunday, July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday, while online orders can be made at any time.
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