INDIANAPOLIS RECAP

Five different drivers broke the old track record in qualifying, including Bill Elliott � who nearly got his third pole in a row. However Tony Stewart did more than break the track record, he demolished it � getting the pole with Elliot alongside. There were a couple of surprises in provisional land however, as Kurt Bush spun while Jimmie Johnson had a car that was way off. Despite 50 drivers making qualifying attempts, there were no drivers of note who missed the field. The field takes the green flag with track temperatures hovering around an unbearable 135 degrees. Stewart gets the early lead, with aero push keeping Elliott from taking the lead from Stewart, although the #9 drag-races the #20 on the backstretch of Lap 11. An early concern for the Elliott camp concerns fuel mileage, which was not the greatest during his Pocono win the week before. However there would be enough yellows during the afternoon that there would be no green flag stops. The first caution of the day occurs when Mike Wallace shoots up Turn 1 (tire going down???) and takes Brett Bodine out with him. Even at this early juncture, literally the entire field pits � even though many cars take on gas only. A spring rubber is taken out of the #48 of Jimmie Johnson, while Sterling Marlin gets a tract bar adjustment. Marlin�s car would remain way off for the entire afternoon. The first pit road collision of the day occurs when Jeremy Mayfield damages the sheet metal of Johnny Benson. That would relegate both drivers to the rear of the grid.

Dale Jr. restarts in the lead, while Elliott actually loses a couple of positions. Stewart eventually passes Junior, giving a wave as he goes by. The #8 starts to slip on Lap 21, and five laps later would be all the way in 16th with a very tight condition. Junior would not be a factor the rest of the day. Meanwhile Stewart and Elliott pull away from the field. Kurt Busch has charged his way through much of the field � all the way up to 17th. The last car Busch passes is that of Jimmy Spencer on the backstretch of Lap 35. As Busch cuts in front of the #41, Spence decides to see how resilient Rubbermaid really is, and punts Busch straight into the Turn 3 S.A.F.E.R barrier. KB wastes no time getting out of the #97, grabs his ball cap � and then waits for the return of Spencer, and at this point runs towards the #41 to give Jimmy a piece of his mind. On the second trip around Busch points to his posterior, and then to Spencer � indicating (a) Spencer, you�re an ass and (b) you ought to penalized to the rear of the field. The two displays earn KB a trip to the Cup Trailer. In an ensuing TV interview, Busch gets real innovative (again, just like his sponsor), and delivers arguably the two best cracks in the history of the sport. First Busch whines about the qualifying mishap that left him back in the field with 'the decrepit old has-beens'. Then Busch modifies his statement and refers to Spencer as �a never was� � end of frickin' quote!!!!! Busch then explains that just because he got Spencer at a 100 mph at Bristol doesn�t mean that payback has to come at 200 mph, then adds that it's pretty low 'to call your shot', then actually do it. Did KB actually expect to call Spencer a bluff??? Later on Spencer would claim that �something must have broke on the Busch car� and that he didn�t mean to punt him. Jimmy would add that Busch needs to mature, and that includes �watching his mouth�. Something has to be said about Busch at this point. Busch is right about Spencer being in the wrong. Intent can't be proved, and NASCAR officials should not be expected to suddenly morph into 'The Amazing Kreskin'. Still, a trip to the penalty box for at least one lap should had been in order at this point. As far as Bristol was concerned, Busch�s bump was after being bumped himself, and that was late in the race for the win � so that�s acceptable. But then again, it was Busch who punted Robbie Gordon at the Winston � then was dumb enough to admit doing it so he and others would have a chance at leader Ryan Newman in the waning laps. Just as I said back then � what comes around eventually goes around.

Elliott gets a four-tire (scuffs) stop in 14.5, Junior 14.8, Newman 17.0 � with Bill winning the race off pit road. Robbie Gordon is hung out to dry on the restart, losing several positions. Matt Kenseth�s team is excelling once again on pit road and is now in the top five. Elliott grabs the lead for the first time, and actually puts a little distance on Stewart. Yet another hard crash on Lap 52, with Geoff Bodine getting both the outside and inside retaining walls. Virtually the entire field pits again, with many taking on fuel only, including J. Gordon, Stewart, and Elliott. The restart features a drag-race on the backstretch between teammates Robbie Gordon and Kevin Harvick. Those two seem to be magnetically attracted today. Matt Kenseth is now up to third while Dave Blaney (who started 33rd) is also moving into the top ten. Jimmy Spencer makes an unscheduled pit stop thinking that he has a tire going down (it was not). That would put Spencer down a lap that he would never regain, as Bill Elliott would dominate most restarts the rest of the way. Caution #4 for debris on lap 68, everyone pits again � Elliott 14.5, Martin 16.0, Kenseth 18.6. Restart order is Stewart, R. Gordon, Marlin, and Dave Blaney. Bill Elliott restarts in fifth, but wastes no time getting back to the front. Jeremy Mayfield�s engine expires on Lap 80, leading to an extended yellow to dry up the oil. Most pit with the exception of Elliott, Stewart, R. Gordon, Newman, Todd Bodine and Ricky Craven. Those six would restart in front. A couple of nice three-wide passes in the mid-field on the restart by Jeff Gordon, and Ward Burton respectively. Meanwhile Bill Elliott is simply hauling, while Robbie Gordon gets Stewart for second on Lap 95. Yet another driver side impact brings out the yellow, this time by Casey Atwood (backed off as Dale Jr passed, and was punted by Rudd) Elliott shining on pit road as well with a 14.2 (no adjustments), R. Gordon loses ground with a 17.1, Jarrett 17.3 J. Gordon takes on fuel only. Marlin stays out to lead a lap, but has dropped a valve and will not be a factor the rest of the day. That is not a good development as 2nd place driver Mark Martin is running up front. Should this hold Martin would be very close to Marlin in the point standings at days end.

Jeff Gordon doesn�t pit and restarts up front, but Dale Jarrett passes him soon after (going sideways in the process). Gordon would go on to lose several positions with the old tires. Meanwhile Johnny Benson heads for the garage. Ricky Craven loses eight positions, with the possibility of a tire going down. Elliot Sadler shreds a tire to bring out Caution #7. Dale Jarrett has put himself in a position to win, but those hopes are evaporated when Jarrett leaves the pits after a two tire stop with the catch can still on the #88. Replays would show a crew member (apparently thinking this was a four-tire stop) falling face first trying to grab the can in vain. The ensuing penalty relegates DJ at the end of the longest line, in this case 23rd. Sterling Marlin also gets in the back of Jerry Nadeau on pit road, which also holds up Jimmie Johnson for a few seconds. Stewart, Martin, and Dale Jr. restart first, with Tony grabbing the lead going around the annoying lapped machine of Jimmy Spencer. Elliott has restarted in fifth with four fresh tires, but ahead of him is Rusty Wallace (who started 35th) who grabs the race lead from Stewart with 23 laps to go. Elliott continues his charge, and Stewart himself even motions for him to go by on Lap 139. Dale Jr., who has been straggling near the rear of the field, battles his way up to 22nd, but suddenly loses eight positions for an unspecified reason. Mark Martin has suddenly developed mechanical problems and has dropped back to 16th, to an eventual finish of 29th � Sterling dodges (no pun attended) another bullet. As the laps dwindle down under 15, aero push is actually making things exciting as Bill Elliott�s machine actually looks human in trying to overtake the #2 of Wallace. However Bill finally gets Wallace with 12 to go, while Todd Bodine and Elliot Sadler take their cars to the garage and Matt Kenseth moves up to third. No one is catching Awesome Bill now except for alleged debris on the racetrack, which brings out one final caution with 8 laps to go. Only the cars running near the end of the lead lap pit at this point. Restart with four laps to go, and Elliott takes out the suspense immediately with a great jump. On the other side of the ledger Tony Stewart, who has been a top five car all day, inexplicably struggles and would finish 12th � while Stewart takes the checkered flag.

TONY'S ABOUT READY TO RAIL THAT PHOTOGRAPHER (LOWER LEFT)

Now while Bill Elliott celebrates his second straight victory, let�s go down to the garage to get a word with Tony Stewart, who�s just climbed out of his car, to find out what went wrong in the waning laps. Oh, wait a minute, Tony�s slugging away at a photographer!!!!! How interesting � we are talking about someone who technically is part of the media, as evidenced by his commentary the previous night at the Busch race. In fact Tony is exceptional at that, if NBC/TNT could just throw him enough millions to quit racing in lieu of the broadcast booth. Just don�t try to interview him when things don�t go his way. After last year�s Brickyard race he got into it with a TV reporter. So there�s your annual Tony Stewart meltdown, although he did give a bonus performance for the Canadian fans a few weeks back. I�m sure Bill Weber will smooth things out and throw a couple softballs Tony�s way in next weeks pre-race show.

Wallace does hang on to second, followed by Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Gordon. The best story of the day, overshadowed by other events, has to be Steve Park running by far his best race of the season to finish seventh. Robbie Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Jarrett round out the top ten. Nice recovery by DJ in the closing laps, so the pit road mishap was not too costly � it wasn�t like anyone was going to run down the #9 anyway.

Tony Stewart checks in at 12th, Ricky Rudd 18th, Dale Jr. 22th, Sterling Marlin 27th, Mark Martin 28th, Jeff Burton 29th, Ward Burton 30th (last car on lead lap), Jimmy Spencer a decrepit 31st, Ricky Craven 33rd, Todd Bodine 34th, Johnny Benson 37th, and Kurt Busch 41st. Veteran Ted Musgrave came away with a solid 21st place finish in his first start of the year, and 300th lifetime.

Sterling Marlin remains the teflon man � and still leads by 93 points over Jimmie Johnson. They are followed by Mark Martin (-109), Jeff Gordon (-125), Rusty Wallace (-171) and Bill Elliott (-210). Feel free to join the points race Bill, no one else seems to want it. Kurt Busch was the big loser of the week, dropping from 5th to 10th, but is still only 286 points in arrears. Busch, owner Jack Rosch, Jimmy Spencer, and owner Chip Ganassi have been ordered to meet with NASCAR officials before either driver is allowed on the track next weekend. Would you love to be a fly on the wall during that meeting�

GARAGE NOTES

Now for the lasting edition of the exclusive KAC rankings, points ranking and movement since last KAC ranking in parenthesis...

1. (6) Elliott (+7), 2. (1) Marlin (-1), 3. (7) Stewart (+1), 4. (3) Martin (+1), 5. (4) J. Gordon (-2), 6. (2) Johnson (-4), 7. (10) Busch (+2), 8. (8) Rudd (-2), 9. (9) Kenseth (-2), 10. (12) Newman, 11. (25) Harvick (+7), 12. (5) Wallace (+1), 13. (11) Jarrett (-2), 14. (14) J. Burton, 15. (17) Dale Jr. (-3), 16. (15) Craven (-1), 17. (13) Waltrip (-1), 18. (16) T. LaBonte (NR), 19. (18) B. LaBonte, 20. (20) Blaney (-3)

Why not give it to Bill, who is as hot as any driver has been in quite a long time, and is on a Harry Gant-like late career run. Quite a charge for someone who until just a few weeks ago was just considered a solid veteran who occasionally contends. Many newer fans don�t recall his earlier days in the mid to late �80�s where Bill was the driver to beat on a weekly basis. The other lasting impression on Bill�s career is his perennial selection as the sport�s �Most Popular Driver�. Quite an honor considering the popularity of Darrell Waltrip and the Earnhardt�s over the years � although DW and Dale Sr. did have their detractors over the years. My long term prognosis for Bill is to do decent at Watkins Glen, possibly dominate at Michigan, and then cool down in the demolition portion of the schedule that follows. Another scenario that would cool down Elliot in a hurry is if NASCAR were to bust the team on something, as they did with Jimmie Johnson a few weeks back. Still, this three week run has to go down as one of the years best stories.

Here are some fascinating stats. 71 different drivers have taken the green flag in NASCAR races this year � 72 if you include Carl Long, who participated in the Winston Open back in May. However, only 31 drivers have started every race this year. The list of those who have missed races include Johnny Benson and Steve Park (injuries), Joe Nemechek and Todd Bodine (lost sponsorship), Kevin Harvick (one race suspension), Jimmy Spencer (didn�t qualify for Daytona and couldn�t get a provisional on 2001 owners points), and Jerry Nadeau (was replaced in the #25). Even more amazing is the parity, 21 drivers have finished either first or second in a race this year, that accounts for over half of the regular drivers. Also, preceding Elliott�s repeat win, ten different drivers had won the previous ten races. That list includes Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Rudd, Michael Waltrip, Kevin Harvick, Ward Burton, and Elliott. And then there are those who have not won during that span, a list that includes Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Bobby LaBonte, Sterling Marlin, Jeff Burton and Ricky Craven � among others. This just illustrates the raw number the drivers capable of winning on any given week.

Ricky Rudd is still expected to announce taking his services, along with the #28 and Halvoline sponsorship � over to Chip Ganassi for the 2003 season, which would also turn the #28 from a Ford to a Dodge. A shocking new development though has Rudd retiring after the �03 season, with Tony Stewart leaving the #20 for the #28 in 2004. That would be news to both Home Depot and Joe Gibbs Racing, who are said to be contracted with Stewart through �04. Also, Petty Enterprises is expected to announce the signing of open-wheel star Christian Fittipaldi to run selected Cup, Busch, and ARCA series events in 2003. That would make the Brazilian NASCAR�s only foreign born driver, with the exception of Canadian Ron Fellows, who exclusively runs road races. Also, changes are imminent for the October restrictor-plate race in Talladega, in hopes of avoiding �The Big One� for once. NASCAR is asking 12-15 drivers to take part in experiments aimed at creating a lower-downforce, lower drag setup that would have cars gaining speed on the straightaways, and force drivers to lift off in the corners. The new package would make the cars handling a bigger factor. Another scenario has the gas tanks being reduced from 22 to 13 gallons for that race, in hopes of more frequent pit stops allowing the field to spread out. Do not expect that, that would still leave 25-30 laps after a restart before cars would be forced to pit, plenty of time for bunched up cars to get together. Not to mention many drivers tend to team up to pit together under green.

The main combatants for the Busch Series title, Greg Biffle and Jason Keller, participated in a classic duel in the waning laps Saturday at Indianapolis Raceway Park, with Biffle edging out Keller for his fourth win since June 1. That also gives Biffle an 82 point lead over Keller. The Truck Series race is very wild, with only 108 points separating the top eight drivers. Finally, Kevin Harvick finished fifth in the final IROC race, but more importantly, won the season title out of the eleven drivers who finished out that series.

WATKINS GLEN PREVIEW

This week marks the second and final road course event of the season. I still haven't figured out which bankrupt telecommunications firm has ponied up for this year's event, so NBC will just refer to it as 'NASCAR Cup Racing from Watkins Glen' - close enough. Click here for a recap of the Sears Point event that was in the Week 17 article, which saw a lot of the �young guns� prove their worth on the road circuits. It is worth noting that this event will be run in the rain, if necessary. Should that occur the likes of Boris Said and Ron Fellows become very formable. Drivers to watch are as follows�

Jeff Gordon � It is amazing how he is still listed as the favorite week after week in so many sportsbooks. Although come to think of it, no other driver has stepped forward to inherit �the driver to beat� mantle on a weekly basis. But on a road course, the #24 is truly the driver to beat, and you can�t quibble against someone who has won this event four years out of five. So don�t get concerned about his Sears Point breakdown, if the car holds up, he is a 50-50 proposition to win.

Mark Martin � Once upon a time, the #6 was the car to beat, as Martin won three consecutive events from 1993-95. More recently, Martin earned runner-up finishes in 1998 and 2000.

Tony Stewart � Has yet to crack the top five here, which only means he�s due. Has to be considered a possible #2 favorite on road course, also was the Sears Point polesitter, if you need him.

Ricky Rudd � Always a road force, and the 1988 and 1990 winner here, along with a fourth last year to go along with his Sears Point win.

Jeff Burton � A big-time Burton track, but then again that was said about him at Las Vegas and New Hampshire, fact is, it has not been a good year for the #99. Still, Jeff gets attention for his third in 2000 along with a second last year.

Robby Gordon � To reset the story one more time, the #31 appeared headed for possible victory last year WHEN THE TELEMETRY DATA USED FOR THE NETWORK TELECAST CAUGHT FIRE!!!!! There is enough out there to ruin a race team�s day WIHOUT THAT!!!!! There appears to be no lingering effects from the motocross mishap, so he should be good to go, and Gordon finished fourth in 2000.

Bill Elliott � Can�t go too long without considering Bill at his current torid pace. No career road wins at the two current sites, but is always a solid road driver with a strong possibility for another top ten.

Jerry Nadeau � Had Sears Point in his hip pocket until the final laps, and finished fifth here in 1999.

Kurt Busch � Earned his road racing merit badge at Sears Point with a car that was arguably the best, and hung around the top five all day, finishing fourth. Expect similar results here.

Ryan Newman � Finished with a top ten at Sears Point and cut his teeth on road courses during his open wheel days coming up, so do not discount the #12.

Jimmie Johnson � Had the least success of the young guns at Sonoma, but still had a nice top-15 going until the rear broke late. Of a bigger concern is that JJ maybe hitting the wall in his first full Cup campaign.

Kevin Harvick � Qualified and finished 11th here last year, Harvick�s recent surge began at Sonoma where he placed 14th, which at the time was considered a huge day for the #29.

Rusty Wallace � A great road course driver going back to the days when the circuit was still holding events in Riverside (1987). Top fives here in both 1998 and �99.

Dale Jarrett � Also a pair of top fives in 1998-99, but wound up in the Turn 1 kitty litter twice last year.

Matt Kenseth � Has never had a strong road run, but was in the top five early in Sonoma before the rear gear went.

Sterling Marlin � Road courses seem to be his week spot and Sonoma was no exception being first out of the event. Goal for the #40 is a top fifteen, which is very possible with the pit crew warriors being put on NFL Training Camp type regimens.

SLEEPERS

Terry LaBonte � Still one of the better road racers out there, which he reminded us of with a third at Sears Point.

Jeremy Mayfield � Just to prove that coming from deep in the field is possible here, Mayfield finished third last year coming from provisional land (39th)

John Andretti � A 14th here in �01 along with a tenth at Sears Point in June, along with Nadeau, it should be a decent day for Petty Enterprises.

Kyle Petty � Speaking of which, Kyle does have a win here (1992), so if you want to take him at 200-1 odds be my guest.

Jeff Green � Another one of the drivers who benefited at Sears Point by taking no tires late, and came away with a top five. This could be another venue where he sneaks up.

Steve Park � When we look back, will surviving the horrific Pocono wreck serve as a turning point for Steve??? He got his first cup victory here back in 2000.

CHECKERS OR WRECKERS

Ron Fellows � Don�t be surprised when he wins one of these things, finished second in 1999.

Boris Said � Much of his income comes in the form of his road race driving school, whose alums include many of the regular cup drivers. Finished eighth here last year.

Look for the top ten to come out as follows�

1. J. Gordon, 2. Martin, 3. Stewart, 4. Rudd, 5. Elliott, 6. Wallace, 7. J. Burton, 8. R. Gordon, 9. Nadeau, 10. Busch

The NASCARODDS line is currently as follows...

J. Gordon 3-1, Stewart 4-1, Rudd 9-2, B. LaBonte 5-1, Martin 6-1, Rusty 7-1, J. Burton 8-1, Harvick 9-1, Elliott 10-1, Jarrett 11-1, R. Gordon 12-1, Marlin 13-1, Nadeau 14-1, Park 15-1, Busch 16-1, Johnson 17-1, Mayfield 18-1, Newman 19-1, Kenseth 20-1, Dale Jr. 22-1, Andretti 24-1, Benson 26-1, T. Bodine 28-1, T. LaBonte 30-1, Skinner 32-1, Watrip 34-1, Schrader 36-1, E. Sadler 38-1, Blaney 40-1, Craven 42-1, W. Burton 44-1, J. Green 46-1, Hamilton 48-1, Nemechek 50-1, Spencer 55-1, Petty 60-1, Atwood 65-1, Stricklin 70-1, B. Bodine 75-1

ANDY HOUSTON AWARD

Mike Wallace in all likelihood has blown his latest audition by winning this weeks award from the caboose, both qualifying and finishing 43rd. That is the second award of the year for team owner A.J. Foyt, who is not amused, and is auditioning road racers for this weekend. No announcements have been made on who may try their luck in the #14 Pontiac beyond that.