Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was not what any NASCAR fan paid to see or tuned in to see. It wasn't what my father expected when he bought our tickets for the event months ago. It wasn't what any of the fans in my annual Brickyard home -- Turn four's Stand J -- wanted to see.

But let's face it, not a sole in the garage area whether it be NASCAR, Goodyear, the race teams, the power-tripping IMS yellow shirt security guards, and not even an absent Tony George wanted to put on a race like the one that happened Sunday at America's most legendary place of speed.

Roger Penske and winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an IndyCar seem to fit together just like a glove.

After all, the car owner has won the Indianapolis 500 a record 14 times in his illustrious career, including most recently with Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006.

After Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Rick Hendrick can lay claim to also being one of the top owners to ever bring race cars to the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis. Jimmie Johnson's 400 victory -- the second at IMS for the California driver -- brings Hendrick's total to six in NASCAR's second-biggest race.

The closest other owner? Joe Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing has three total victories at IMS with Bobby Labonte's win in 2000 and Tony Stewart's pair of victories in 2005 and 2007.

Richard Childress and Robert Yates both have two wins at the Speedway, while Ray Evernham and Ricky Rudd each have one car owner win.

Granted, this isn't a comparison between the Indianapolis 500 and the Allstate 400 in terms of wins -- Penske's eight more victories at the track isn't a record that Hendrick could catch any time soon -- but it is interesting that Hendrick has found his way to the front at Indianapolis in 40% of the stock car races run at Indy.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on location & blogging away at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

After an all-too-quick three days in Indianapolis, here's some final thoughts after an all-too-interesting Allstate 400:

Blame One, Blame 'em All - You simply can't solely blame anyone for what happened at Indianapolis on Sunday. NASCAR and Goodyear tire tested here, thinking they had found a good compound, but the tire just never made it to their expectations. It wasn't for a lack of effort and didn't come to a boycott -- the fans still got to see a race, despite the challenges presented.

Both sides truly tried their hardest to get something to work, and ultimately the race fans still got to see a race -- though a much different one than anybody anticipated.

Next year, you can bet things will be different. We'll talk more about that Monday.

Cream of the Crop, No Matter What - It wouldn't have been hard for Jimmie Johnson & Co. to try to out run their competitors on Sunday and take more chances with their No. 48 race car. It was the fastest one on track, and if he wanted, he likely could have put a straightaway on the field within five laps if he pushed out front.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on location & blogging away at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.


If you're one of those folks that look at life with the glass half full, you could say that ultimately the finish of the 15-running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis was respectable and legitmate.

After all, Jimmie Johnson scored his second victory at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway after flat dominating the entire week in Indy and the race didn't end under caution. And fortunately, nobody got hurt.

Unfortunately for the race fans who tuned in for NASCAR's second-biggest event and the 200,000+ on hand were treated to a race that was ultimately the greatest heat race ever run at IMS.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on location & blogging away at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Jimmie Johnson has to be excited about waking up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday morning.

After all, the 2006 winner of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard seems to have a pretty decent No. 48 Chevrolet for the 15th running of stock cars at IMS. Johnson's weekend at Indy has consisted of winning the pole, pacing the final practice, and having the second-fastest speed in the weekend's third practice.

And oh yeah, he finished second two weeks ago at the Sprint Cup Series' last race in Chicago.

Nothing like striking the iron while its hot at Indianapolis, right?

Pending he gets through the race without pounding the Turn 3 wall and catching on fire (2007) or pounding the Turn 4 wall and catching on fire (2005), Johnson looks to be an odds-on favorite (even over the red hot Kyle Busch) at Indianapolis on a warm July Sunday afternoon.

Tire Gremlins Worsen at Indianapolis With New Car

Tire issues are nothing new at Indianapolis with the big, bulky stock cars early in the weekend. Stated simply, it's an engineering marvel that a rubber compound can be built to carry the 3,400-pound cars through a flat corner at speeds above 150mph four times a lap for 30 circuits around the oval.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on location & blogging away at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Martin Truex Jr. appears set to end the rumor mill swirling around his future.

ESPN.com's David Newton reported on Saturday that "several sources" are confirming that Truex will now stay right where he's at -- with Dale Earnhardt Inc. -- until at least 2010:

The 28-year-old New Jersey native has agreed in principle to a two-year deal that will keep him at Dale Earnhardt Inc. through the 2010 season, multiple sources close to the situation told ESPN.com on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sources said an official announcement is expected any day, and that details with multiple sponsors remain to be finalized.

Truex, asked if he has an agreement, said: "We're getting there, yeah. Things are going well right. I'm pretty happy. I just want to think about racing this weekend."

That quote from Truex seems to seal the deal for me, as he definitely didn't make any attempt to deny the report. He pretty much gave the "yeah, that's been correctly reported but I can't say anything yet so I'm going to get back in my race car and stay away from you media-types"-style answer.

I'm glad Truex has got his deal seemingly worked out with DEI, a team where he'll remain as the No. 1 driver in the camp. I don't think, however, that re-signing with the team will lead him towards a Sprint Cup championship any time soon.

McMurray Grows Weary of Constant Free Agency Reports

It must be tough to have the media firing you from a high-profile job before you get the news, unless, you know, the media is wrong.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

NASCAR might be seeing the same old song and dance Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that can be best described in two of the most worrisome words to any driver: tire issues.

During the one-hour practice session, teams were burning their right-side tires down to the cords in a matter of three to five laps, leaving the cars with unpredictable handling and an increased chance of blowing a tire and sending a race car careening into the wall.

Mark Martin was one of a number of drivers who walked to the NASCAR hauler following practice to discuss the need for teams to have access to more tires in the final practice session:

"I just wanted to make sure that NASCAR knows that even an ol' gray hair thinks that we need more tires," said Martin.

Teams are limited over the course of a weekend to a certain number of $1,600 sets of tires for practice and qualifying. In Martin's case, his No. 8 car used four sets of tires to run a grand total of 15 laps in the session.

There is no limit during the race.

The tire problems come as a result of a changed rubber compound stemming from the new car being used at the track. The left side compound is one that has plenty of grip and but the right side is wearing away quickly in a powder-like form.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

It's a good day to be a driver from Australia or Canada in Indianapolis.

Both drivers representing their respective countries managed to qualify for their first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Saturday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the session's go-or-go-home finale.

Australian Marcus Ambrose, who announced just last week that he would be jumping from the Nationwide Series to the Sprint Cup Series full-time in 2009 with the creation of JTG Daughtery Racing, qualified for his first oval race. Needless to say, he was excited:

"I've never been so anxious and nervous and apprenhensive all my life. Two laps on the race track here at the Brickyard, which is so famous and so intimidating as well, I just had to suck all that up and let her rip," said Ambrose.

"We're racing against the big boys and we qualified ourselves in on merit. It means an awful lot to me. I feel like today I've made it. I feel like we're in the Brickyard."

Now isn't refreshing to hear a guy who is that excited to make the race? Ambrose's run is all that more impressive because his team had just two laps in practice on Friday thanks to NASCAR rules that allow Top-35 cars to go through technical inspection first.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.


Jimmie Johnson was the fastest man during Saturday morning's qualifying session for Sunday's Allstate 400, but Mark Martin backed up what he said at Pocono in June -- that he's a contender for this race.

Martin qualified second to Johnson's pole-winning lap of 181.793 mph in his No. 8 DEI Chevrolet.

Generally, Martin isn't one to make bold predictions about how well he could run, but after the June event at Pocono Raceway he told the media "I'm planning on winning the Brickyard 400 in the No. 8 car."

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

It's Saturday morning in Indianapolis, and after forgetting my parking tag on the way in this morning, I have finally made my way to the media center here at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With that, let's get started on some news and notes from Friday afternoon at the Brickyard:

Rusty & Ryan Still Don't Like Each Other

Rusty Wallace must not be a fan of Ryan Newman, even after all these years. The two drivers had a lukewarm relationship at best while they were teammates, and Rusty decided to pile on some more bad blood Friday at IMS.

Newman said he left Penske Racing on mutual terms but Rusty says not say fast:

"He didn't leave. I've read many, many stories that said that,'' Wallace said. "Roger Penske called Ryan Newman up to his offices and said 'I don't need your services next year.' Ryan Newman didn't come to him and say 'I'm leaving.'''

Now why Rusty feels its imperative that he rag on Newman is beyond me, and apparently Ryan feels the same way. You can read more about the "He Said, He Said" battle here.

I wonder how happy ESPN (Rusty's employer) is about their driver analyst ripping on a driver that is racing in the same series they will be covering on Sunday? They can't be too pleased.

Roush Doesn't See McMurray Coming Back, Apparently

Jack Roush had some interesting words during a Friday press conference at IMS about the future drivers in his operation, and more exclusively about Jamie McMurray: