Hoosier Home Team Heats Up Entering Brickyard 400
July 18, 2011 | By Paul Kelly
The Hoosier “home team” is hot heading into the Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com Sunday, July 31 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Stewart-Haas Racing earned its first-ever 1-2 finish at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday, July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as Indiana native Ryan Newman won in his No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet and team owner and fellow Hoosier Tony Stewart placed second in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet.
It also was the first 1-2 finish by Indiana natives in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition since Newman won and Stewart placed second Sept. 18, 2005, also at New Hampshire. Newman drove for Penske Racing and Stewart for Joe Gibbs Racing at the time.
Last weekend at New Hampshire, Newman and Stewart finished in the same spots they started to cap a dream event for the team.
“We had a great weekend at Stewart-Haas Racing, and I’m proud of everybody’s effort,” said Newman, from South Bend, Ind.
Said Stewart, from Columbus, Ind.: “Man, this is one hell of a perfect weekend for Stewart-Haas Racing. It was a sweet 1-2 qualifying and 1-2 in the race. I am so damn proud I can’t see straight.
“I’m proud of my buddy (Newman) there standing on top of his car. He deserved it. He did an awesome job this weekend.”
The last time a team started and finished 1-2 came in the 1989 Daytona 500, when Darrell Waltrip started second and won and Ken Schrader started on the pole and finished second for Hendrick Motorsports.
But it’s been more than 50 years since a team started and finished 1-2 with the drivers in the same order. Fireball Roberts and six-time Indianapolis 500 starter Paul Goldsmith achieved that feat April 7, 1957 for DePaolo Engineering at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
SHR enters the Brickyard 400 with a potent combination at IMS.
Newman has qualified in the top eight in nine of his 10 starts at Indianapolis. Stewart has two victories in the prestigious race, in 2005 and 2007, with six overall top-five finishes in 12 career Brickyard 400 starts.
There’s also another good omen for SHR heading to the Brickyard: A Chevrolet has won the race for eight consecutive years, dating back to Kevin Harvick’s victory in 2003.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is off this weekend. The Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 31.
“This is a perfect way to go into an off weekend, for sure, especially going into Indy,” Stewart said. “This is big for everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing.”
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2011 Brickyard 400 tickets: Tickets are on sale for the 2011 Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 31 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Race Day ticket prices start at just $30. Fans can buy tickets online at www.imstix.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or by visiting the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.
Children 12 and under will receive free general admission to any IMS event in 2011 when accompanied by an adult general admission ticket holder.
Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.