Time for NASCAR to show itself

Sunday's race at Indy won't be remembered for Jimmie Johnson winning it but for Juan Pablo Montoya losing it _ because of a penalty for speeding on pit road.

Many fans will question if Montoya was really speeding.  Those who are suspicious of NASCAR may never be convinced although series officials told a few of us after the race how much Montoya was over the speed limit (more on that in a moment).

The point is that credibility is key for NASCAR. Any officials for that matter. There needs to be transparency. By having to go on NASCAR's word that Monotya was indeed speeding and someone else wasn't creates questions of if NASCAR is playing favorites. The old joke is that if you tick off NASCAR, it's harder to get through inspection or they'll catch you on pit road for speeding.

Some might contend this happens all the time. Frankly, I don't carry a speed gun on pit road and couldn't tell you if it did but even if there is a little doubt in the back of one's mind -- especially competitors, that's dangerous for NASCAR.

Consider what Chad Knaus said after the race about this issue: "We've got timing and scoring that each one of you looks at as we're running around the race track. That's what we watch and base ourselves off throughtout the event. Once you hit pit road, we don't have any reference. We have mathematical equations based on the tire stagger, gear ratio, the pit road speed we have to work off of.

"I'm hoping that at some point we'll be able to see the pit road speeds published because that will allow us to work wtihin limits that we're comfortable with.''

We're about to enter into the second decade of 2000 and yet there isn't a willingness to make pit road speeds available or a way to do so can be troubling for some, especially when you watch racing on TV and can see how fast the car is going through the corners or elsewhere on the track.

Just the questions that NASCAR could randomly decide to penalize someone for speeding and not penalize someone even if they are over the speed limit is disconcerting and should play a role in persuading NASCAR to .finding a way for pit road speeds to be seen by all in real time or doing it now.

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On to the race:

# So, what was the deal with Juan Pablo Montoya's speeding penalty while in the lead with 36 laps to go?

Pit road speed is 55 mph. NASCAR allows a 4.99 mph allowance. Thus a driver could go 59.99 mph and NOT get penalilzed. There are eight timed zones on pit road. Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby, reading from a sheet of pit road speeds of cars during the race, said that Montoya went 60.06 mph in zone 2 and 60.11 mph in zone 4 before getting to his pit stall.

Montoya was over the limit. Thus the penalty.

Montoya vehemently disagreed over his radio to his team.  Here's some of what he said to his team:

"“Thank you NASCAR for screwing my day,’’ Montoya said in a measured tone on his radio.

Told to relax, Montoya fired back, his mood more agitated: “What do you want me to relax, dude? We had this in the bag, and they screw us because I … WAS … NOT … SPEEDING.’

“Dude, I guarantee you,’’ Montoya said on the radio to his team. “I swear on my children and my wife, I was not speeding.  It’s unfair.  It’s a rip-off. It’s absolutely a rip-off. You know what I mean? It’s incredible. I hope (NASCAR President) Mike Helton is listening to this because you should double-check what just happened because I got robbed.’’

Montoya never had a shot after the penalty, falling to 12th and finishing 11th. After the race he met with crew chief Brian Pattie and they privately talked in between the haulers in the cramped area outside the garage. Montoya then spoke to reporters and was calm but the disappoitnment was obvioius.

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# Oh yes, Jimmie Johnson won.

Yes, Johnson won for the third time in the last four years at the Brickyard. Having Montoya (who led 116 of the first 124 laps) out of the way because of the penalty was key. Still Johnson had to earn this win. He passed Mark Martin on the outside _ something that is very hard to do here _ with 24 laps to go off a restart. Then he held off Martin who charged at the end.

The win could be key because seven of the last 11 Brickyard winners have gone on to win the championship. What does Johnson think about that?

"It doesn't mean much to us in that respect,'' he said. "But I certainly hope that it makes people think and wonder and worry, espeically the guys in the garage area. That would be helpful for us. But this track is so difficult. We run on it once a year. The teams that are on top of their game end up successful here.''

Something to think about that with this win, car owner Rick  Hendrick has seven victories in 16 Brickyard races. That's almost 50 percent. That's amazing.

# What's up with Kyle Busch?

Busch had another tough day, blew a right front tire and crashed. He finished 38th and fell four spots to 14th in the points. He's outside the top 12 by 82 points. He has six races to get back into the Chase. He can do it but he can't afford too many problems. Still, it's hard to imagine Busch not making it even with the tough stretches he has. We'll see.

As for the blown right front tire, Goodyear's Greg Stucker said it was "self-inflicted.'' He said it was the team's setup that caused the issue.

# Tough weekend for Dale Jr.

First he's puking his guts out because of a stomach virus earlier this week and saying he's never felt that awful before. Then he's running well in Sunday's race before his engine blows and pukes oil all over part of the track and pit road. He finished 36th but car owner Rick Hendrick defended Dale Jr. afterward:

"The 88, I can tell you those guys are really working hard,'' he said. "And Junior is putting forth a ton of effort. I mean, I can see it. He and Lance (McGrew) are really working well together. It seems like if they get good momentum, something happens.

"I feel like those guys have turned the corner and really the chemistry is good. I'll tell you we're not happy with the way the car has run, but I am very happy with the chemistry and what's happening right now, It hink we're just getting very, very close.''

Hmmm, Maybe Lance's interim crew chief tag might be replace and he'll just be known as the crew chief for Earnhardt down the road.

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QUICK HITS

# Estimated attendance was 180,000. That's down 60,000 from last year but ties for the largest crowd of the season this year. The estimated attendance for the Daytona 500 also was 180,000.

# Goodyear had no tire problems today. Even so, Greg Stucker told me afterward that they'll plan on a tire test here next year just to keep abreast of the track as it ages.

# Greg Biffle moved into the top 12 in points with Busch falling out. Biffle is 11th.  Matt Kenseth is 12th in the points -- the last spot for the Chase. He leads 13th-place David Reutimann by 68 points with six races to go until the field is set.

# Jimmie Johnson won $448,001 for the victory. The smallest payout was 141,825 to 42nd-place finisher Dave Blaney.

# Kevin Harvick finished sixth. it's his best finish since placing fourth at Atlanta in March.

# Brian Vickers placed fifth. It's his third consecutive top-10 finish.

# Key time coming up for David Ragan's team. Chris Andrews who had been helping Ragan better communicate with the team's engineer and crew chief Jimmie Fennig is back to his main engineering duties after spending five races with the team. Key is how well the team works together. Ragan finished 24th.

# Roush Fenway Racing has told Jamie McMurray he's free to look at other organizations. McMurray's contract expires after this season and the team has looked at keeping him. But what's complicating things is that Roush must downsize from five teams to four after this year (the other team going to Yates Racing) to meet NASCAR's guidelines. Wtih DeWalt leaving Matt Kenseth's team, that hurts McMurray. Kenseth is higher on the pecking order at Roush (he's a former champion and has never missed the Chase). So, the sponsors they're courting want to be with Kenseth. Also, Roush used to sign drivers to contracts even if they didn't have the sponsorship to give them a fulltime deal. They're not going to do that now, so with looking to fill Kenseth's sponsorhsip needs, McMurray might have to look elsewhere for a ride in 2010.

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