HAPPY HARVICK
HANDLES BRICKYARD
Indianapolis, IN: Kevin Harvick broke a track record to win the pole for the 10th running of the Brickyard 400. But, he could only stay up front for the first 17 laps. It wasn't until lap 146 that he took back the lead and kept a hold of it to the checkered flag. It was a victory Kevin had looked forward to since he had gotten an autograph from famous Indy driver, Rick Mears.
Matt Kenseth did not feel optimistic about his chances for winning this race. He started 17th and worked hard throughout the day. At one point he worried he may be overheating due to an early scrape when John Andretti spun in the #81 Kraft Chevrolet. He had also been forced to pit when pit road was closed because of Dale Jarrett's crash, or he would have run out of gas.
The #17 Smirnoff Ice Triple Black Ford was finally able to take the lead during a round of green flag pit stops. While Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick tried to outsmart each other on their pit strategies, Matt stayed out front knowing he would need to pit eventually. But, he caught a break when a caution came out with 20 laps remaining. Crew Chief Robbie Reiser made a decision to take just 2 tires and gas. Matt came out 3rd behind Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick who did not pit. He was able to pass Jamie McMurray with Kevin Harvick to finish 2nd in the race. He now has a commanding lead in Championship points.
By far the biggest disappointment of the day belonged to Tony Stewart. The powerful #20 Home Depot Chevrolet took charge on lap 27. Tony soon left the field behind. But all of Tony's determination could not make his wish for a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway come true. Though he led for 60 laps, the car developed a push in the final laps and he was forced to pit an additional time. He finished a dismal 12th.
There was a very scary incident that occurred on lap 38 when Dale Jarrett came into his pit stall. He had to slow down from 160 mph to 55 then, stop immediately as he had the first pit stall. Unfortunately, his brakes locked up and the #88 UPS Ford spun around. DJ's jackman, John Bryan, was struck as he was leaping over the wall. Luckily, he suffered only minor injuries and hopes to return to his duties this month. John had been involved in another pit road accident at Homestead when he was on the crew for Ricky Rudd. That accident resulted in the head gear now required for all "over the wall" pit crewmen. This may have prevented serious injury to John today.
Another late wreck occurred when Kurt Busch in the #97 Rubbermaid Ford struck the rear of Terry Labonte. The #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet was lifted off all four wheels by the #40 Coors Light Dodge of Sterling Marlin and #25 UAW Delphi Chevrolet of Joe Nemechek . Other cars involved were the #01 U.S. Army card with Mike Skinner driving, the #21 Motorcraft Ford of Ricky Rudd and #48 Lowes Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson.
Top 10 finishers included Jamie McMurray, 3rd in the #42 Havoline Dodge, 4th to Jeff Gordon driving
the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, 5th to Bill Elliott with the #9 Dodge Dealers Dodge, 6th to Robby Gordon in
the #31 Cingular Chevrolet, 7th to Kurt Busch, an impressive 8th place finish for Jimmy Spencer in the
#7 Sirius Satellite Dodge, 9th to Mark Martin in the #6 Viagra Ford and 10th to Rusty Wallace in the
#2 Miller Lite Dodge.
Article by S. Kipple
8/03/03
Links
Website designed and maintained
by CSP
Media
original content (c)2002-2003 Dawn Church
Visit http://www.Virtual411.com
"Your Place" in cyberspace
Statements within are the opinions of their authors and do not
necessarily reflect the opinion of CSP Media and their affiliates.