Numbers tell the story at the Brickyard

Tag : Motor Speed Controller

The story it tells: The introduction of the new car to the speedway, the varioustire-related problems, and pure luck combined to help give the topthree finishers their best results of their careers at thespeedway. While that's not a story itself as they are all perennialchampionship-caliber drivers, it is at Indianapolis — a trackwhere the trio are not considered among the best drivers.
Yes, the victory was Johnson's second in seven career starts at the2.5-mile venue, but it was only his third top 10, equal to thenumber of finishes of 36th or worse he has had there. Edwards hasput together consistent results in the past — 12th, ninth and18th from 2005 to 2007 respectively — but he has never been acontender for the win, never leading a lap at IMS before Sunday.Like Edwards, Hamlin had consistently been midpack at the famedspeedway before Sunday.
More importantly for the trio, their performances give each of thembreathing room as the number of races before the start of NASCAR'spostseason dwindles.
Although he has been long gone from contention for the Chase, a nodshould be given to AJ Allmendinger. The second-year Red Bull Racingdriver had a 10th-place finish, the best of his career, and helpedhis team climb to within 64 points of a coveted spot in the top 35in the owners standings — quite a turnaround for this driverand team.
The story it tells: Throughout the drama, there were many drivers who just put theirheads down and quietly put in strong performances. What makesBurton's result stand out more than others is the fact that hecontinues to be the track's iron man.
With his run Sunday, Burton has now been running at the end of all15 NASCAR races at IMS. Also, he now holds the track record formost laps completed at the Speedway (2,365)
The result is also a positive for Burton because it may signal theend of a mini two-race funk. Prior to finishes of 37th and 19th atDaytona and Chicagoland, respectively, Burton had finished all 17races this season inside the top 15.