Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Mark Martin and the pole winning Chevy Impala SS outside "Gasoline Alley" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was briefing reporters before sliding into the garage to supervise final preparations for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
Ryan Newman won the final happy hour and a half practice with the fastest speed of 176.706 miles an hour. Martin clocked in 5th in the final on-track activity before today's race.
Last year, there was a tension convention around the Goodyear corner of Gasoline Alley. This morning, Greg Stucker, Goodyear's NASCAR Tire marketing director, was most relaxed--unlike last year, the Pocono tires are en route to Long Pond, PA and not 4790 W 16th St, 46224.
Until the first few laps are run, the tires will still be a factor in most minds. Once that first run is made--that storyline goes away.
The two oldsters (Martin and 2002 Brickyard Winner Bill Elliott, who starts 4th) with a legitimate shot to win is another storyline. Juan Pablo Montoya (2000 Indianapolis 500 winner) starts 2nd, and could make Brickyard history as the first and only driver to win both the 500 and the 400--yet another storyline.
The Hoosier Connection--Ryan Newman, David Stremme, some guy named Jeff Gordon (the event's only four time winner) and the current Sprint Cup Series point leader--Columbus Indiana's Tony Stewart is strong.
The weather looks OK for a complete 160 lap race. Weather Underground calls for a 20 per cent chance of showers--a look at the radar shows spotty green well away from the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road.
We'll blog you a photo of the winner and Tweet on Twitter (twitter.com/MSRnet) throughout the race.
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