RCR Teammates Quick In Final Preparations For The Brickyard 400
by John Wiedemann
7/24/2010

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Speedway, IN - Richard Childress Racing teammates topped the charts in the final rounds of practice in preparations for the 17th running of the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Jeff Burton set the fastest lap with a time of 51.221 seconds around the 2.5 mile oval in the third session. Chevrolet drivers Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick followed closely behind their teammate. Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth were fourth and fifth in their Fords. Denny Hamiln and Martin Truex Jr., driving Toyotas, were sixth and seventh. The fastest Dodge was driven by Kurt Busch, clocking in at 16th fastest.

As the track heated up and tires wear came into play, speeds dropped dramatically. Hamlin ran twenty-nine laps, tying Bowyer for the most run in the session, but still maintained one of the fastest paces of the field. Kahne also remained quick throughout the twenty-seven laps of practice that he ran.

Truex Jr. set the fastest lap in the opening moments of the final practice session with a lap time of 51.245 seconds. Burton and Bowyer were second and third overall. The RCR teammates also remained near the top of the charts after teams had run ten or more laps. Carl Edwards was the fourth quickest and Mark Martin, who will start 3rd in the Brickyard 400, was fifth.

While not at the top of the speed chart during both practices, Juan Pablo Montoya turned consistent laps that were on pace with the rest of the leaders after more laps were run and tire wear entered into the speed equation.

Notes and quotes for Sunday's race:

Jimmie Johnson will be gunning for his fourth Brickyard 400 win and third in a row. "I feel very fortunate and at the same time proud of my team that we've been able to continue to bring good cars to the track, execute and put ourselves in the position to have streaks from championships, race wins, an opportunity at three in a row here which hasn't been done," said Johnson. "The goal (in the race) is to not screw up what we've done today, and stay up there in the top two and ideally leading the race. Especially from the last pit stop on. Clean air from the last green flag on is really important."

Juan Pablo Montoya was fastest in an earlier tire test at the speedway, in the first two practices and put his car on the pole for the race Sunday. What does that mean? "The fact of the matter is I want to be here talking to you after tomorrow's race for good reasons," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "That's why they have a race. If they didn't have a race tomorrow, we could just hand the trophy out now." "I'll take it," responded Montoya.

RCR is back. Talking about the resurgence of the team Burton explained, "Our engines were awesome last year and they have gotten better this year. This year our cars drive so much better and you can be real aggressive with them so RCR has done a great job of getting us better equipment and we have better stuff coming."

Will Denny Hamlin's success at Pocono transfer to Indianapolis? Turn two at Pocono was built to resemble the turns at Indy. "(Turn three) is a flat, sweeping, fast corner. It's like that all the way around this race track. So, if you're good in turn three in Pocono, more than likely you can drive this track pretty well," said Hamlin. Actually, turn three at Pocono is built to resemble the Milwaukee Mile. That's ok, Hamlin ran the Milwaukee Mile pretty well in the Nationwide Series.







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