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Practice Day At The Speedway

Speedway, Ind.-July 29-Practice day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway went off relatively smoothly with only a single caution flag waving during the two scheduled sessions on the historic 2.5 mile oval.

Matt Kenseth placed his Crown Royal Ford at the top of the list following the opening practice as his first lap of 49.668 seconds at a speed of 181.203 mph was never bested throughout the hour long session. Kasey Kahne in his Red Bull Toyota came the closest to Kenseth after clocking in a lap of 49.675 seconds at 181.178 mph while Denny Hamlin posted the third best time with a 49.710 second (181.050 mph) trip around the speedway. Carl Edwards continues to be the focus of speculation regarding what car he’ll drive next season and while he remained tight-lipped about the situation in the Media Center, he made plenty of noise on the racetrack with the fourth best lap during the first session at 49.818 seconds and 180.658 mph. David Ragan gave Roush-Fenway Racing its third entry in the top five practice speeds from Session One as his 49.888 second 180.404 mph was fifth best. Kurt Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya were sixth and seventh respectively and the only other drivers under the 50 second mark. Defending Brickyard 400 champion Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, and Jeff Burton rounded out the top ten.

Greg Biffle continued Roush-Fenway Racing’s dominance of the day as he paced the second practice session while Denny Hamlin’s earlier good run fell by the wayside late in the round as his blown engine produced the only slow-down of the afternoon. Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson followed Biffle as speeds in the second practice were significantly slower than those turned in earlier presumably as teams worked on race set-ups as opposed to qualifying ones. Casey Mears turned a lot of heads by placing the Geico Toyota in fourth while Kevin Harvick completed the top five on the speed chart for the second practice. Carl Edwards and Joey Logano were sixth and seventh respectively while David Reutimann, Jeff Burton, and Brian Vickers were eighth through tenth.

Solid practice day runs were beneficial to Biffle, Kahne, and Montoya as they need to find victory lane in the next few weeks to significantly bolster their chances to qualify for the Chase for the Championship while others such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart are also seeking their first wins of the year to prevent themselves from sliding out of Chase contention.

The Brickyard 400 is one of the marquee events on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule and that coupled with the unpredictable mystique that surrounds the Indianapolis Motor Speedway presents an ample opportunity for surprises that have seemed to be common with the major events this season. Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and Southern 500 victor Regan Smith are two drivers that hope lightning strikes twice and they can taste the accolades at the Brickyard while others such as A.J. Allmendinger or Paul Menard will look to continue the trend of the unexpected at NASCAR’s major races in 2011.

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