Jimmie Johnson wins at The Brickyard

Edging out Mark Martin on the race's final restart, Jimmie Johnson was able to hold off a continuous challenge by Mark Martin to win the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.
The two teammates were followed across the finish line by Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers to round out the Top 5.

NASCAR and Mayfield continue battle

The ongoing battle between suspended NASCAR driver and former team owner Jeremy Mayfield has escalated into a full-scale war over the past week, as NASCAR accused Mayfield of failing another drug test and Mayfield countering that he has 15 test showing he is clean.
If anyone had doubts before about whether or not Mayfield used methamphetamine, now they must really be confused. Claiming that NASCAR has spiked his urine samples, Mayfield is accusing NASCAR of trying to do whatever it can to essentially save face in the ongoing fight. On Monday, Mayfield’s attorneys filed a pleading in federal court proclaiming that NASCAR has failed to prove its case against the driver. Mayfield also claims that he has independent drug tests of his own — that show he is clean. That test was taken on July 6, the same day he took a test ordered by NASCAR. NASCAR’s test came back positive for methamphetamine but the test Mayfield took at LabCorp and subsequent and previous tests taken at LabCorp, show no signs of methamphetamine, according to Mayfield’s attorneys.
I don’t know who to believe in this but I can tell you one thing for sure, if NASCAR falsified Mayfield’s test this could doom the sport. Now, why would they do such a thing? It goes back to an old saying that many of you may have heard before in another context. First, NASCAR is never wrong. Second, if NASCAR is wrong then refer to the previous comment.
NASCAR hates to be proven wrong and they hate even more to be challenged in a public manner. NASCAR is all about secrets. Even the rulebook is a secret to the fans, which I still don’t understand because it is rather boring.
Since I began covering NASCAR, I have heard horror stories from those who have been around a while. There is even a book — albeit short — that I am reading that highlights some of NASCAR’s seedier moments.
For those who are interested, the title is, “The Dirt Under the Asphalt.” As I stated, it is short but it’s told by someone who has been around NASCAR for decades. It’s a good read and you can get it online.
As for this Mayfield fiasco, I don’t think we will hear the end of this anytime soon and there is no doubt in my mind that it will only get uglier as we move forward.
In other news, we are now getting reports that Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart will be married. NOT REALLY! But we are getting reports that Stewart’s race shop at Stewart-Haas Racing wasn’t the only NASCAR powerhouse she visited a week, or so, ago. Apparently, she stopped by to see the folks at Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress and even to Michael Waltrip Inc. This past week she was asked if she was interested in F1 — the answer, “No.” That may be the case but she sure is spending a lot of time in the stock car world. Maybe we will see her suit up next year and muscle a 3,500-pound stock car around the track. By the way, Patrick was just named the 3rd most popular female sports star in history. Wow. I just thought she was hot. She’s popular too, go figure.
And let’s hear it for Hershel McGriff. The 81-year-old former NASCAR Sprint (Winston) Cup Series driver qualified for a Camping World West race last week and finished 13th. It was a good run for McGriff and he broke his own record from 2002 as being the oldest driver to compete in a NASCAR event.
Finally, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, President and CEO Joie Chitwood announced earlier this week that he was stepping down from his position. The move will take affect in August and has him focusing his attention on his new job as vice president of business operations for the International Speedway Corporation.

Mark Martin gets the pole at Indy

Mark Martin was the fastest in the delayed Sprint Cup qualifying effort on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Martin's time around the 2.5-mile historic track was 49.436 seconds, equating to a speed of 182.054 mph. That was more than a mile per hour faster than runner-up Juan Pablo Montoya. It may not see like much but in NASCAR-speak, it's a ton. If he has as much luck in the race as he did in qualifying Martin could be on his way to his fifth win of the season.
A worthy note heading into today's race, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who qualified 3rd fastest, is battling a stomach virus and said he has been vomiting and running fever. To combat the illness, he has been taking IV fluids at the care center and believes he will be okay at race time. Just in case, he has Brad Kesolowski on stand-by.