| | Well, the back-to-school sales are in full swing. You can't pick up a newspaper, listen to the radio or, yes, even watch TV without somebody giving you the full story that now is the best time to get the best deal on the stuff that the young kids, and the not so young kids, need to be fully-stocked for the next nine months.
Pens, pencils, notepads, notebooks. At least that's what it was when I was in school -- back before electricity. Now I guess back-to-school sales mean the best deals on laptops, palm-readers (or what ever they are), calculators, and of course, a cell phone, so you can have a pizza delivered instead of having to eat that cafeteria food.
|  | | Rusty Wallace says passing at Indy is tougher than at any other Winston Cup track. |
Fortunately, the modern student can zip to the mega-mall, pick up everything he or she needs and still have time to grab a smoothie in the food court. Yes, a student should be totally prepared before being shipped, I mean sent, back-to-school.
You know what, it's the same story for the teams in the Winston Cup series as they prepare Saturday's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
These teams need to be ready as well, because after just two races in 34 days, it's back-to-school, or, more accurately, back-to-the-track for a three-month marathon that will determine not only who the final challengers will be for the championship, but perhaps who the actual champion will be at the end of the 2000 season.
There is a Winston Cup race each of the next 12 weekends. The semester begins with the Brickyard 400, and there is an exam each weekend through the race at Rockingham on Oct 22. Then, after a one-week break from class, the final exams will be held at Phoenix, Homestead and Atlanta.
12 straight weeks ... 15 races in 16 weeks ... And sometimes we wonder why crew chiefs get a little cranky over the next few months.
The run to Thanksgiving gets the green flag Saturday afternoon at Indianapolis, the 20th race of the season. I believe the Brickyard 400 is a big race for several reasons.
Leading up to the race, you'll hear drivers, and some of those cranky crew chiefs say that this is "just another race that pays the same points as Martinsville." First of all, you should never compare Indianapolis and Martinsville in the same sentence. But, anyone that believes the Brickyard is just one of the 34 stops on the circuit is cheating themselves of an opportunity to really absorb the history and heroes of a legendary place and an ageless track.
Indianapolis IS big. The winner is remembered forever, his name etched into a trophy and into time, alongside many of the most famous names in motorsports.
Oh, and the race pays a ton!
Last year, Dale Jarrett received $712,240 for winning the Brickyard 400. Darrell Waltrip finished 42nd in the 43-car field and took home the least amount of money, $80,910. That was more than fourth place paid at Pocono the week before, and more than everybody except race winner Jeff Gordon got the following week at Watkins Glen!
Because of the powerball-sized dollars sponsors are willing to dump into the sport, the purse winnings are not a big factor every week. The purse IS a big factor this week.
And it's more than the money, it's the momentum. You win here, you get the feeling you can win anywhere. For the guys at the top, a win at Indy ignites the fuse for the explosive championship battle. For anyone else, a win at Indy is a heart-stopping, career-making moment.
"It is always nice to come back here and race," said Dale Jarrett, the defending race winner and a two-time winner at Indy. "A lot of things have changed (in preparation for the Formula One race). The look of the place has changed, but the race track hasn't changed, and it is still very special for us to have the chance to be able to race our stock cars here."
And that's the key, you have to be able to race at Indianapolis.
"It's a handling racetrack, and obviously you need a lot of horsepower," said Jarrett. "I think that's why Robert Yates' teams have always done well here. But you have to be able to get through the corners to utilize that horsepower that you have.
"We work awful hard to get our cars to go through the corners as fast as we can to use the two long straightaways that we have. That is the key to this place. If you can do that, you can have a good day. Trying to use good strategy and stay out in front is very important because no matter how good a car you have it is difficult to pass."
"Passing is about as difficult at Indy as any place we go and if you're going to pass, you'd better have the horsepower to get the job done," said Rusty Wallace, the winner last time out at Pocono. "Larry Wallace and the guys at Penske Engines have done an unbelievable job giving us what we need this season. With the qualifying effort we've been having, with the horsepower we've enjoyed, and hopefully with some good pit strategy come race day, we're looking to have the total package at Indy.
"We're confident we'll qualify well and we're looking to be race-strong, too."
Jarrrett is a two-time winner at Indianapolis. Wallace had a great test there prior to Pocono and is enjoying his first multiple-win season (Bristol and Pocono) since 1996. Both drivers stress the one thing everyone knows -- with the aerodynamic make-up of a Winston Cup car and a long, flat track -- passing at Indy is tough.
"If you get behind a car, you lose all your downforce on the front end of the race car and you can't hardly pass cars," said Wallace.
"So even if you put four tires on and think you're going to have better tires than everybody else, you get hurt so badly in aerodynamics that it really doesn't show up.
That's where all the big-time importance with pit strategy comes into play and hopefully Robin (Pemberton, crew chief) and our team will make the best decisions on race day."
Power, passing, and pit strategy. Not exactly the three "R's" but to get a passing grade at Indy, you'll need to score well in all three of these subjects.
| |
ALSO SEE
Furr: Brickyard bridges NASCAR's two worlds
McReynolds: Brickyard full of memories already
Jarrett aims for repeat with potent Brickyard setup
Stewart filled with confidence, comfort entering Brickyard 400
Pruett excited about new Indy experience
Schrader's seen Indy's finish line, but not Victory Lane
Brickyard 400 Breakdown
Ask Bill Weber
|
