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Tuesday, August 7  Fuel mileage hurt finish By Jason Leffler Special to ESPN.com Competing in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time was a good experience. It's enjoyable anytime I get to race at Indy because it's a pretty neat place. There's a lot of racing history there and I enjoy going back to the place I lived for three years. I have a lot of miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in IRL cars. I have done a lot of racing and tire testing at the track and have logged in more than 4,000 miles there. Last year I ran in the Indianapolis 500 and had a pretty good finish. I drove for Treadway/Penske and we qualified 17th and finished 17th so at least we were consistent. We had some trouble with pit stops which put us two laps down but overall it was a neat experience. Coming from an open-wheel background it was a dream to race in the Indianapolis 500. Every racer dreams about it; I was thrilled to have the chance to do it. Although I have a lot of experience at the speedway in IRL cars, driving a NASCAR Winston Cup car there is a lot different. I had to take my No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge on a different line around the track. When racing IRL cars you can hold it out further before you turn in the corner. You take a wider line around the track. IRL cars are also a whole lot faster than Winston Cup cars. Racing in the Brickyard 400 for the first time was a good experience. We qualified in 29th position due to track temperatures increasing toward the afternoon. At the beginning of the race we moved up pretty quick, but unfortunately later on we pushed our fuel mileage too far and I had to coast down pit road to refuel. We ended up in 26th which is better than where we qualified but I was looking forward to a top-15 finish. I feel a lot more confident for the 2002 Brickyard 400. Every time we visit a track for a second time, the No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge team always improves on our finishes. I'll be looking forward to next year and hopefully a top-10 at Indy. Drivers, crew chiefs and car owners involved in Dodge's return to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 2001 will provide weekly features to ESPN.com throughout the season.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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