Dennis' Indianapolis Picks

Barney Oldfield Rolling Over in his Grave

Back in Barney Oldfield's day the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the proving ground of American technology. It didn't take long until the European powers in engine design were using Indy to test their engines. But back in those early days of the Brickyard if you told Ford, Maserati, and Mercedes that races would be dominated by a Japanese brand they would have laughed you off of the premises! But now Honda is the only engine at the Indianapolis 500 and Toyota is starting to show supremacy in the world of NASCAR. How times have changed! Will this trend continue? Will it get even worse as American manufacturers suffer huge losses and talk about cutting back their support to NASCAR? This year I expect the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing and Red Bull Racing to show the way. Good luck with your Fantasy Racing picks this week.

Pace Laps:

Only forty-seven entries are filed for this week's race...fewest in history

Bill Elliott will be in the No. 21 and second on the list for past champ provisional

Terry Labonte drives the No. 45 and is guaranteed a starting spot

Jason Leffler drives the No. 70

Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 47

Johnny Sauter drives the No. 08

Stanton Barrett will drive the No. 50

Jeff Gordon has the most wins, poles, top fives, and top tens at the Brickyard

8 of 14 races have been won from a top ten starting spot

3 of 14 races have been won from outside the top twenty

Kevin Harvick was the last driver to win from the pole (2003)

Six times the winner at Indy has gone on to win the Cup championship
(Jimmie Johnson the last to do so in 2006)

Only two drivers have won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard in the same year
(Dale Jarrett and Jimmie Johnson)

ESPN takes over coverage of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Division this week

DMIC's Picks:

Last Week's Results: Chicagoland (32nd, 5th, 22nd)
My top pick Carl Edwards had the car to beat at Chicagoland until his splitter broke! Stewart was a solid pick but Clint Bowyer had trouble on an intermediate track, which concerns me for his chances of making it into the Chase this season.

Win: Denny Hamlin (11-1 Odds)
Fustatin' season can turn around this week

Place: Tony Stewart (7-1 Odds)
Back home again in Indiana where he has won twice

Show: Kyle Busch (5-1 Favorite)
Dream season would be even dreamier with win here

Outsider: Mark Martin (30-1 Odds)
(Outside of Top 20 in Points)
(17th Last Week)
Smooth style will pay off here

Long Shot Special: Jeff Burton (25-1 Odds)
(20-1 or Greater in Vegas)
(8th Last Week)
8th place last year

Rookie of the Race: Sam Hornish Jr
(43rd last week)
Slight edge in weak field of rookies

Struggling Star: Greg Biffle
(Inside Top 12 in Points)
(Last Week 15th)
Only one finish inside the top 15 in 5 tries

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