Jimmie Makes It Four!

INDIANAPOLIS, IND – Jimmie Johnson has entered the record books winning his fourth Brickyard 400. The only other driver to win 4 Brickyards is teammate Jeff Gordon giving Hendricks Motorsports 8 wins at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Johnson finished 4.758 sec ahead of 2nd place Kurt Busch. Greg Biffle rounded off the podium with a third place finish whilst Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 4th and Jeff Gordon managed a 5th place finish. Johnson dominated the race. "Jimmie Johnson wasn't even in his own zip code Sunday; he was in his own country," Kurt Busch exclaimed. "The rest of the field has a whole lot of work to do, I can tell you that."

Kenseth’s misfortune provided Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a gift. The resultant 30-point swing in the series shot Earnhardt to the top with 731 points and a 14 point lead over Kenseth. "I'm proud of that because it says a lot about our body of work," Earnhardt said. "All season long, we've been working hard and finishing well. That is symbolic of how well we've done. I'm proud of that. I have felt that way about our position in points all season long."

Another unfortunate outcome from Sunday’s race was Carl Edwards. The Ford driver was fast all weekend and qualified on the front row. It was looking very promising, but only 11 laps into the race, Edwards says over the radio, “I think the engine is blowing up.” Dreams were shattered as he dropped to 12th place in the points standings, 61 points out of the Chase. “Now, that avenue appears almost certainly closed. "It makes decisions simpler. ... We just have to do what we can," Edwards said. "We have to plan to win these races. I don't think we can think about points anymore. I don't know what the spread is but it can't be good. That is what I am saying when I say it is simpler. We just have to go race for wins now." Is there any other way to race?

Looking back historically, three other drivers have won 4 times at Indy; Rick Mears, Al Unser and AJ Foyt. One driver has won 5 times. Michael Schumacher won the US Formula One race 5 times at the Indy track. The Hendricks 8 wins is very significant as the next best team, Joe Gibbs acing, has only managed 3.

In related news, Roger Penske will be meeting with AJ Allmendinger to discuss his future with Penske Racing. The suspended driver has failed two drug tests. It is unclear at this point what Penske will do. Stay yuned folks.