Hollywood was not the only world to mourn the loss of actor Paul Newman, 83, who passed away Saturday from cancer. The world of auto racing also grieved when it learned of Newman's passing. Newman, a champion sports car driver, was also a successful co-owner of the Newman/Haas/Lanigan IndyCar race team.

Tony George, chief executive officer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder and CEO of the Indy Racing league, issued the following statement on Newman's passing.

"On behalf of my mother Mari Human George and the entire Hulman-George family at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Series, our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and loved ones of Paul Newman.

``To all his fans world-wide and those close to him in our racing community, we share a deep sense of loss, but cherish the many fond memories we will forever carry with us."

Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy 500 winner and co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing, issued the following statement on behalf of his team.

``We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Newman,'' Rahal said. ``He was a man of great courage, determination and integrity and gave a lot not only to the world of auto racing, but to the world around us. His generosity knew no bounds and his work with helping children as well as what he achieved with aiding the environment will prove to help people for many years to come.”

“I had the pleasure of driving for Mr. Newman in 1981 and I was richer for the experience. He was a man of class and he was also deservedly very highly regarded for his driving skills. The world is a poorer place today for his passing.”

Tony Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and IRL IndyCar Series champ, also expressed his sadness over the loss.

“Paul Newman was a phenomenal individual who made a profound impact throughout his life,'' Stewart said. ``His acting skills are well-known, but equally impressive was his desire to give back and help those who just didn’t get the same shake out of life that we did.

“I got to know him through our time helping build Victory Junction Gang Camp and during my handful of races in the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. We connected as racers, but Paul’s ideas of what we should do for charity is what really resonated with me the most.

“He set the bar, not only with his giving, but in how he gave. Whether it was through his own line of food products – Newman’s Own – or his work in helping create the Hole in the Wall Camps, Paul did it right, and he did it with class. He’ll be terribly missed.”

LOUDON, N.H. --- Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Dish Network Turbo HD Ford fielded by Roush Fenway Racing, yesterday snapped a 33-race winless drought by winning Sunday's Sylvania 300, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

Biffle, whose last victory came last September at Kansas Speedway, recorded his 13th Sprint Cup victory of his career after he passed Jimmie Johnson in Turn 3 for the lead with 11 laps remaining. Biffle never relinquished the lead, holding off the two-time and defending Sprint Cup champ to climb six spots to third in the championship points.

``I can't describe it,'' Biffle said. ``I needed a lot of help to get here and all these guys behind me and the engine department, everybody has just given me so much help and support. All of my friends and family at home just kept telling us we could do it.''

Biffle said he held back the reins as long as he could, conserving his brakes and fuel, before making an unbridled gallop to the finish.

``That's what my plan was inside the car -- close us up to Jimmie Johnson and get me a shot at him,'' Biffle said. ``I was a little better than him on that short run. He was a little bit loose and I knew it.''

Carl Edwards, Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing teammate who finished third, wound up vaulting into a first-place tie with Johnson in the championship after points leader finished 34th, 12 laps down.

``Man, I feel like we won this thing just because of how terrible we were in practice,'' Edwards said. ``For us to finish this well and to finish tied [for first] in the points is a good day for us.''

The Top Five:

1. Greg Biffle
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jeff Burton
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

LOUDON, N.H. -- The Sylvania 300 was red-flagged with 70 laps to go when a five-car melee in Turns 3 and 4 induced the race's fifth caution period.

Rookie driver Chad McCumbee sparked the accident when he spun in Turn 3 and collected the car of Matt Kenseth, the No. 12 seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, sending the Roush Fenway Racing driver hard into the wall. David Gilliland hit Kenseth's car on the driver's side and then was hit from behind by Brian Vickers' car.

Casey Mears, who had never recorded a DNF in his 11 previous starts at NHMS, recorded his first when he flattened the nose of his No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet.

The cars have just re-started their engines and are now rolling on the track, meaning will be going green soon.

The order with 230 laps complete:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Greg Biffle
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jeff Burton
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Dish Network Turbo HD Ford fielded by Roush Fenway Racing, led Jimmie Johnson by about a half-second with 100 laps to go in Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The top five:

1. Greg Biffle
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jeff Burton
5. Carl Edwards

LOUDON -- Riding aboard a blue motorcoach dubbed ``The Straight Talk Express,'' Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, arrived New Hampshire Motor Speedway, accompanied by his wife, Cindy, and Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and his wife, Shonda.

NASCAR president Mike Helton introduced Sen. McCain at the driver/crew chief meeting, where he addressed the assembled group of drivers set to drive in today's Sylvania 300 and thanked them for their support of the military, saying, ``You're heroes to them.''

Sen. McCain, whose candidacy was given a huge boost when he won the New Hampshire primary in January, returned to the Granite State no doubt to canvass the NASCAR vote at today's race, where he was scheduled to be introduced during pre-race ceremonies.

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff

Too bad track officials didn't have a Secret Service detachment to police the wild pit-road donnybrook that erupted between the crews of Toyota drivers Todd Bodine and David Starr, who was rammed from behind by Bodine on the cool-down lap and then acosted by one of Bodine's crew members as he attempted to climb out of his truck, igniting a wild melee.

Todd Bodine's crew chief Mike Hillman Jr., center, talks with officials following a fight after the NASCAR New Hampshire 200 Truck Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Saturday. (Globe Staff Photo/Matthew J. Lee)

The altercation stemmed from an on-track incident on Lap 195 of the 200-lap Camping World RV Rental 200, won by Chevy driver Ron Hornaday, when Starr's truck slid up into Bodine's as they entered Turn 2, causing it to spin out.

"Well, in [Turns] 3 and 4 the lap before I could see it looked like the 30 [Bodine] was real loose and I knew those guys were racing hard,'' said rookie Brian Scott, who witnessed the whole thing unfold from behind the wheel of his Chevy Silverado. "The 11 [Starr] was inside of 'em and it looked like, honestly, they both had loose-handling, just-not-right trucks. They went into the first corner and ... I mean, I didn't see anything that looked real intentional or real like, shocking, to me.

"It looked like one slid into the other and one got loose and they made contact.''

More contact, in the form of thrown punches, was made afterward on pit-road between Bodine's crew and Starr's, which twice had to be separated.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp indicated the matter would be reviewed and penalties would likely be meted out later in the week.

LOUDON, N.H. -- Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, will be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday to attend the Sylvania 300, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

No word if McCain will be on hand to support rookie driver Michael McDowell, of Glendale, Ariz., the only driver in the 43-car field from McCain's home state.

McCain will return to the Granite State were his candidacy was given a huge boost -- if not revived -- when he won the primary here.

* * *

Clint Bowyer, winner of last year's Sylvania 300, looks to be a pretty strong contender to win Sunday's race. Bowyer, who was the last man to make the 12-man cut at last Sunday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, was fast in all three practice sessions, turning a fast lap of 130.273 miles per hour during Friday's session.

Bowyer, who won last year's Sylvania 300 pole, likely would've had a chance to contend for the pole were it not for the fact Friday's qualifying session was rained out.

"It is a lot of fun to roll back in here as part of the Chase," said Bowyer, who will start the Chase as the No. 5 seed, 70 points behind top-seeded Kyle Busch (5,080), who was awarded the pole position after the 43-car grid was set based upon the 2008 owner points.

"It is a confidence builder to just be a part of this Chase," Bowyer said. "Getting things started back almost on square one. Obviously, we are 70 points behind the leader, but that is a heck of a lot less than I was. Really looking forward to getting this thing started off right. It all starts right here. This is a very important weekend for us and I really feel like, with our race team, once we get the ball rolling, the sky is the limit. I think we have proved that last year."

* * *

Eddie MacDonald was a repeat winner at NHMS after winning Saturday's Camping World Series East race with a stirring last-lap pass of runner-up Steve Park. MacDonald, a native of Rowley, Mass., recorded his second career triumph at NHMS after winning the Camping World Series event at the 1.058-mile oval in June . . . Ted Christopher, of Plainville, Conn., won Saturday's NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour even, which was interrupted by three red-flag periods and temporarily halted with 38 laps remaining to allow for the Craftsman Truck Series race to be run in its entirety.

RICHMOND -- Despite being seeded third behind top-seeded Kyle Busch and second-seeded Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson yesterday proved he was still a force to be reckoned with as the two-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.

Johnson, looking to become the first driver since Cale Yarborough (1976, 1977, 1978) to win three consecutive NASCAR crowns, won the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. The race, which marks the cut-off in determining the 12-man field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, was originally scheduled for Saturday night but postponed on Friday because of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Of course, that in no way put a damper on Johnson's day.

``You know, [we are] very, very happy with the performance today,'' said Johnson, who won for the fourth time this season, third time in the last seven races, and for the second race in a row after staving off runner-up Tony Stewart, who engaged Johnson in a stirring side-by-side duel over the last 10 laps of this 400-lap race. ``Great, great fight throughout the entire day.''

Stewart, who led four times for 23 laps including with 10 to go, surrendered the lead to Johnson with nine to go and was never able to get past him.

``That's probably one of the greatest races I think I've ever had here at Richmond racing there with Jimmie like that,'' Stewart said. ``But we came up short.''

Clint Bowyer, who entered the 26th and final race of the regular season 12th in the points, managed to clinch the 12th and final spot in the Chase by finishing 12 in Sunday's race. Bowyer, winner of last year's Sylvania 300, will enter the first race of the Chase Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the fifth seed.

``Just making the Chase is a big deal,'' said Bowyer, who staved off Kasey Kahne, 13th in the points, and David Ragan, 14th, for the last Chase spot. ``We've been struggling and there have been a lot of things going on in our organization and our team in particular, and everybody stuck together.''

The Chase Field

Seed, Driver, Starting Chase Points

1. Kyle Busch 5,080 points
2. Carl Edwards 5,050
3. Jimmie Johnson 5,040
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5,010
5. Clint Bowyer 5,010
6. Denny Hamlin 5,010
7. Jeff Burton 5,010
8. Tony Stewart 5,000
9. Greg Biffle 5,000
10. Jeff Gordon 5,000
11. Kevin Harvick 5,000
12. Matt Kenseth 5,000

NASCAR Notables
J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, said yesterday that Joey Logano, the 18-year-old wunderkind from Middletown, Conn., who will be Tony Stewart's heir apparent in the No. 20 Home Depot-sponsored Toyota next season, will likely make his Cup debut in the No. 02 Home Depot car at NHMS this week, barring any inclement weather, which spoiled his much-anticipated Cup debut this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. ``We're still trying to work out a contingency plan, but that's what we're hoping,'' Gibbs said. Logano was expected to drive for Hall of Fame Racing at NHMS, but Gibbs indicated that talks were underway to make the No. 96 available for Logano, who has no standing in the owner points, as a precaution in the event rain cancelled qualifying. Logano wasn't totally shut out from racing this weekend. He competed in the Emerson 250 Nationwide Series race and finished seventh after starting on the pole . . . During the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 post-race press conference Carl Edwards jokingly pointed out Jimmie Johnson's celebrity guest, Nick Lachey, or the artist formerly known as Mr. Jessica Simpson, as the reason Johnson was able to win Sunday's race. ``Sometimes during driver run-arounds during the track, you get people [who] flash their t-shirts up at you,'' Edwards said, ``and I noticed that Jimmie brought his buddy, Nick Lachey this week and that was the only bare chest I saw this run around. That was his strategy and it worked. It had me distracted, some hairy chests, and I didn't need that before the race started. So Jimmie was working magic from all angles.'' . . . This will be the first time in Chase history that Stewart and Jeff Gordon, past champions both, qualified without recording a single victory in the first 26 races . . . Austin Dillon, a Camping World Series East rookie and grandson of Sprint Cup car owner Richard Childress, made his Nationwide Series debut in Sunday night's Emerson 250 at Richmond. He finished 26th . . Chasers Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, and Edwards along with non-Chasers David Ragan and David Reutimann pulled double duty Sunday, driving in both the Chevy 400 Sprint Cup race and Emerson 250 Nationwide Series event. Edwards won the race ahead of runner-up Scott Wimmer while Bowyer, the Nationwide Series points leader, finished third.

LOUDON, N.H. _ L.J. Place of Concord, N.H., wondered what she had done wrong when she looked in the rearview mirror of her mid-size SUV and saw the flashing blue lights of a New Hampshire State Police cruiser tracking her down. Actually, Place was pulled over Monday afternoon near Exit 15 on Interstate 93 North not for what she did wrong, but what she did right: namely, observe the state's recently amended ``Move Over Law,'' which calls for oncoming motorists to give a wide berth to stationary law enforcement or emergency vehicles displaying red, blue or amber warning lights.

As part of an effort to promote the new safety initiative, New Hampshire Motor Speedway officials enlisted the aid of NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer, winner of last year's Sylvania 300 who made his Winner's Circle appearance here by riding with State Police trooper Abbott Presby and surprising lucky motorists on I-93 with $7,000 worth of tickets to the Sept. 14 Sprint Cup event at NHMS, which will serve as the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

``It was fun,'' said Bowyer, who arrived the Granite State on the heels of a solid seventh-place finish in the Sharpie 500 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowyer's effort at Bristol vaulted the Richard Childress Racing driver into sole possession of 12th place after he entered the race in a two-way tie for 13th with Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan, who now trails Bowyer by 12 points.

``On our first one, we pulled up on a guy who was a rock hauler and had a Peterbilt with an Earnhardt decal on the back window, so you can't beat that,'' Bowyer said. ``I think they're excited. Obviously, the biggest thing when they get pulled over and get a ticket, it's a ticket to a big race and it's not attached to a big fine that puts a frown on their face. So, they're left with a smile on their face.''

``Oh, this is fantastic,'' Place said after Bowyer emerged from the state police cruiser to present her with four tickets to the Sylvania 300. ``I thought I was in trouble. I thought I couldn't have been going too fast, because I pulled over like I'm supposed to.''

Place, who works for New Hampshire's Department of Transportation along with her husband, Terry, couldn't believe her good fortune. ``My husband turns 40 this weekend and this is his present,'' she said.

*****
The reason Bowyer was in New Hampshire Monday afternoon was because it was where he recorded the first Sprint Cup victory of his career in last year's Sylvania 300.

``Oh, it was huge,'' said Bowyer, who qualified for his inaugural Chase by landing the 12th and final spot in the field and wound up third in the final standings.

``I knew we had gotten close so many times before then and everybody had been saying, `It's your turn, it's your turn.' But to finally see all that play out and to win it in dominant fashion that day, meant a lot to me as a race car driver.''

Bowyer, who leads the Nationwide Series by 122 points over Brad Keselowski, won last year's Sylvania 300 from the pole position after leading 222 laps to capture a $259,175 payday. ``To get my first win, and to do it in the first race of the Chase in my first time being in the Chase, it just got us started off on the right foot, so it meant a lot,'' he said.

*****

Joey Logano, the 18-year-old wunderkind driver from Middletown, Conn., was introduced yesterday as Tony Stewart's heir apparent next season in the No. 20 Toyota sponsored by Home Depot during a press conference yesterday at Joe Gibbs Racing's shops in Huntersville, N.C. Logano, who won the 2007 Busch East Series champion as a developmental driver for JGR, made his Nationwide Series debut for Gibbs Racing May 31 at Dover, Del., and won his first Nationwide race at Kentucky in just his third series start. Logano will be paired with Stewart's old crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, of Berlin, Conn. ``I couldn't be more excited to be here today and jump into this No. 20 car _ it's been a dream come true,'' said Logano, who will make his Cup debut in the No. 02 Home Depot car next Satursday night at Richmond International Raceway. ``I've always been watching this car and watching Greg Zip and all the guys working [on it], and Tony working on the thing. I couldn't be more excited to get in a car like this, representing Home Depot with over 300,000 associates. I couldn't really ask for anything better.'' . . . Fenway Sports Group, which last February purchased a 50-percent stake in Roush Racing and rebranded it as Roush Fenway Racing, yesterday announced the appointment of Brian Corcoran, who served for the last six years as NASCAR's managing director, corporate marketing, as FSG's executive vice president, business Development & motorsports. Corcoran will oversee day-to-day operations for FSG's NASCAR division, which includes Roush Fenway Racing and Yates Racing. ``FSG is committed to growing Roush Fenway Racing and making it the top team on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit,'' said FSG president Mike Dee in a statement. ``Brian's proven track record of success in building relationships with corporate partners in auto racing makes him the perfect person to help us recruit new sponsors and maintain our competitive edge.''

Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, lashed out at the Indy Racing League for omitting his track in Loudon, N.H., from the 2009 IndyCar Series schedule, calling the league's decision, ``a slap in the face to our chairman Bruton Smith [of Speedway Motorsports Inc.] and to our company who have been very supportive of the Indy Racing League since its inception, and to Bob Bahre, who was the first [track owner] to agree to go with them when they split off.''

Last month, Gappens indicated there was strong interest among IRL officials to bring an open-wheel race back to New England and reported that Eddie Gossage, president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway, had been engaged on SMI's behalf in licensing negotiations with the IRL, which unified in January with the now defunct Champ Car World Series and absorbed some of its events.

``I sat it a meeting and watched Bruton ask them for a race here [at NHMS], which they seemed extremely interested in doing, pending scheduling conflicts with Japan,'' Gappens said in a released statement. ``In addition, in that same meeting, they asked him to host the series finale in Las Vegas, which he agreed to and even offered the speedway and financial support to do it this year. Having attended that meeting in early June, it's hard to believe that neither is on the new schedule.''

Gappens said the track conducted a survey on its website, polling its fans on the possible return of IndyCar racing to New Hampshire, and that ``80 percent of our fans said they wanted to see this exciting form of motorsports return.

``That's a strong endorsement,'' Gappens said. ``I don't understand the decision not to include our facility on next year's schedule.''

Gappens indicated the feedback that had been conveyed to him on the IRL's decision was that
the league, which currently has 17 races on its schedule, didn't want to add an additional race to the schedule because of the added cost it meant to its teams.

``However, I would think that an additional purse and the strength of adding the seventh largest media market in the country would offset those costs and concerns,'' Gappens said. ``I think this market and facility have a lot to offer the team and series sponsors.

``I thought that Eddie Gossage, who on behalf of Speedway Motorsports, made an excellent proposal to the league, which included Las Vegas and New Hampshire,'' Gappens continued. ``I don't want to burn any bridges, but I am upset to be excluded.

``I am a big fan of open-wheel racing, strongly admire what the Hulman-George family has done for this sport and promise that we would have worked hard to promote a race in this market. They know they would get an excellent effort from our team here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. History has proven that this venue provided exciting races. Now, we'll see what happens down the road.''

INDIANAPOLIS --- Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard with an unbridled run over the last 10 laps to the start-finish line after having to carefully negotiate the first 150 laps because of tire wear concerns.

Johnson, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, won for the second time in his last three starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and became the second driver in the 15th anniversary of this race to win from the pole position.

Johnson surged to the lead when he pitted under caution for a competition yellow on Lap 150 and emerged first from the pits with runner-up Carl Edwards in tow. Edwards gave chase but wound up finishing 0.333 seconds astern. Denny Hamlin finished third while Elliott Sadler was fourth. Jeff Gordon, a four-time Brickyard winner and Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, was fifth.

INDIANAPOLIS --- Denny Hamlin surged to the lead of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and built up a buffer of 1.6 seconds over Jimmie Johnson when the race's 10 caution was unfurled for a Competition Yellow.

Hamlin was first out of the pits and followed out by Jeff Burton and A.J. Allmendinger.

NASCAR has just announced it will call its next Competition Yellow on Lap 150, with 10 to go.

With 20 to go, however, the running order:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Jeff Burton
3. Elliott Sadler
4. A.J. Allmendinger
5. Tony Stewart.

INDIANAPOLIS --- Elliott Sadler was listed as the leader with 103 laps complete in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Sadler, who had been running sixth behind race leader Jimmie Johnson, was first out of the pits after the field came in for a Competition Yellow, which one press room wag suggested should be renamed ``Lack-of-Competition Yellow.''

Funny. Very funny.

Even funnier, still, was the looming prospect of the field having to switch from Indy tires, which have been pulverized by the fabled Brickyard's abrasive surface, to Pocono tires, which offered a softer tread compound and imported from Pocono at 11 p.m. Saturday night.

Asked about the prospect of making a late-race switch to a tire that has never been run here, Tony Stewart told ABC's Dale Jarrett, ``If we have to go to it, not sure how it's going to affect the balance of the car, but I think NASCAR's doing a good job of trying to make the best of a not-so-ideal situation.''

Running order after 108 complete:

1. Jeff Burton
2. A.J. Allmendinger
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Elliott Sadler
5. Greg Biffle

INDIANAPOLIS --- Amid ongoing issues with tire wear, pole sitter Jimmie Johnson managed to control the lead at the halfway point of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Because of concerns about tire wear, NASCAR officials implemented five competition yellows in the first 80 laps of the race.

Johnson, however, brushed the wall exiting Turn 2 on Lap 81 when the fifth competition yellow was unfurled.

Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of race tire sales, indicated that tire wear had not improved and that it might be necessary to go to its backup plan of giving teams an additional allotment of tires.

The running order after 84 laps:

1. Michael McDowell
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Carl Edwards
4. Greg Biffle
5. Jamie McMurray

INDIANAPOLIS --- As feared, tire wear has become a growing concern.

It was particularly acute on Lap 46 when Mark Martin pitted for the second time under green-flag conditions to change tires. Tony Stewart then radioed his pits that he had a right rear problem, Carl Edwards reported a flat right rear tire, and Matt Kenseth brought out the fourth caution period when his right rear tire exploded and shredded his right rear quarter panel, causing his No. 17 car to spin out on the backstretch.

The running order after 52 laps:

1. Kyle Busch
2. A.J. Allmendinger
3. Jeff Burton
4. Elliott Sadler
5. Martin Truex Jr.

INDIANAPOLIS --- We're underway here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads after 20 laps.

Pole sitter Jimmie Johnson led 15 laps, then handed the point to Earnhardt, who stayed out when a competiton caution was unfurled on Lap 14. When the race resumed, Earnhardt's tires were worn to the nub, enabling Jeff Gordon to surge to the lead on Lap 24.

Earnhardt, as a result, took a precipitous drop to 38th after 28 laps.

Because of concerns about tire wear, NASCAR officials agreed to implement several competition cautions, the first of which was supposed to be unfurled on Lap 10. However, Michael Waltrip beat everyone to the punch when he induced the first caution period of the race on Lap 4 when he spun in Turn 1 and got clipped by Paul Menard's car.

The first competition yellow was then switched to Lap 14, but Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch brought out the yellow on that lap when they spun in Turn 2, knocking Busch out of the race.

Juan Pablo Montoya brought out the third yellow for debris when his right rear tire blew out. Kyle Busch came charging out of pit road first to take the lead when the race was restarted on Lap 34.

The running order:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Greg Biffle
5. Carl Edwards

INDIANAPOLIS --- Greetings from the fabled Brickyard. We're about an hour away from the start of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where pole sitter Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin will start on the front row of this 160-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and already there's a bit of news to report.

Earlier this morning, NASCAR officials along with officials from the Speedway and Goodyear Tire met with the media to discuss their contingency for a tire wear issue that developed during Saturday's final two practice sessions.

While NASCAR officials were pleased to see some improvement in wear from Saturday's first practice, when teams were reporting that tires were getting worn down to the cords after five laps, to the second, when tires were lasting for at least 11 laps, they announced the implementation of a competition yellow on lap 10 to evaluate tire wear.

``We have been through this before, but one of the things that has changed is we've got a new car,'' said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition. ``And as everybody understands, the car loads the right-side tires different than what we've run over the last 15 or 20 years. We had a chance to tire-test here [at Indy]. And when you come to a tire test and you only have two or three cars, it's difficult to rubber-in the race track.''

Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of race tire sales, indicated the tire manufacturer imported overnight some 800 tires from Pocono, Pa., as a precaution in the event teams went through their allotment of Indy tires.

``The reason we chose to bring the Pocono tire here is that it's the closest thing we have to our Indy tire,'' Stucker said. ``We used to actually run the same tire between here and Pocono, but the surfaces are different enough now that we run a slightly different tire.''

Stucker said the last time Goodyear enacted a backup plan such as this and actually had to go to its backup tire was in 1994 at Dover, Del. Stucker said three drivers _ Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers _ participated in an Indy tire test in April.

``It's one of the more abrasive surfaces we run on,'' Stucker said. ``There is no question about that. The nature of the surface is very heavy on wear early on. Then when it does take rubber, it takes a lot of rubber. You have to prepare for the end result, which is a fully rubbered-in racetrack.''

******
Kyle Busch completed a busy weekend by driving in yesterday's Sprint Cup race. Friday he started 12th and finished 8th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis and Saturday night won the Nationwide Series event at ORP, leading 197 out of 200 laps. This after NASCAR enacted an engine rules change in the Nationwide Series last Tuesday that, in effect, took away 10-15 horsepower from Toyota power plants.

``It’s just been a tremendous year for us,'' said Busch, who recorded his sixth win in the Nationwide Series, which enabled him to set a single-season record for combined victories (15) in NASCAR's three touring series. ``The opportunity that I’ve had a Joe Gibbs Racing and all the guys there. Everybody in the Nationwide shop and the Cup shop as a whole and Toyota has really stepped it up this year.

``We’ve really come ready to play,'' Busch added. ``We wanted to come out here and get a little sweet revenge on everybody. It turned out that way and worked out in our favor, fortunately for us. For me it’s been a dream season all around and we’re still running and still able to win races so that’s been the greatest fact.''

Although he was clearly chagrined with NASCAR and its decision to reduce Toyota's horsepower on the Nationwide Series, Lee White, president of Toyota Racing Development USA, said he was pleased to see Busch uphold the Toyota banner, but credited the driver, crew chief Dave Rogers, and their Joe Gibbs Racing team for the result.

``The reality is, and Dave Rogers said it very well, is that [NASCAR] has kicked a sleeping dog at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everybody over there feels upset, they feel singled-out, and disadvantaged.''

White said the horsepower restriction, while not an issue in Saturday night's race, would likely hurt Toyota at the 1-1/2-mile tracks.

``Last year, Hendrick won more than half of the Cup races, and, again, that was OK,'' White said. ``It's hard for me to say [Toyota's success] is the reason. When you look at [NASCAR's decision], that doesn't compute. It's because we won too much _ too soon.''

INDIANAPOLIS -- Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson captured the pole position for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chervorlet, toured the 2-1/2-mile rectangular oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 181.763 miles per hour to earn his first career pole in seven starts at the fabled Brickyard.

``All in all, I was really impressed with the car,'' said Johnson, who won at the Brickyard two years ago. ``Takes a little bit to get used to this track and remember the reference points and where to be. And we only ran six or seven laps yesterday, and things were working well. Woke up this morning, and drove probably 50 laps this morning in my mind, mentally to make sure I hit my marks.

``Rolled out there and got two of the four corners right and got the pole,'' Johnson added. ``I had a great car. I did make some mistakes on my lap. This track sucks you into doing things that you regret.''

Mark Martin, the 49-year-old driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet fielded by Dale Earnhardt Inc., qualified second fastest (181.393) after predicting seven weeks ago at Pocono, Pa., that he would win this race.

``When I made that statement, I didn't feel like Babe Ruth pointing at where he was going to knock it out,'' Martin said. ``Maybe it was, but I didn't mean it that way. But I did mean that we were going to come here and be strong. I feel like no matter what happens, I can half-way save face on that because we were top 10 in both practices and we qualified second. So, I think that prediction is coming true.''

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A year ago, Kyle Busch lost a photo finish to Jamie McMurray in NASCAR's mid-summer classic. But the driver of No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota won the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway when he beat Carl Edwards to the race's 11th and final caution.

Busch, led Edwards through Turn 1 on the white-flag-lap of a green-white-checkered finish when Michael Waltrip, Travis Kvapil, J.J. Yeley, Sam Hornish Jr., and Dave Blaney got together behind the leaders, ending the race.

Because he led Edwards when the field was frozen, Busch was escorted into Victory Lane at Daytona for the first time in his career.

``Man, I can't believe that we're here right now,'' said Busch, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader who won for the sixth time this season, and second in a restrictor-plate race after his triumph at Talladega. ``We didn't have the best car tonight, but these guys never gave up and we never gave up on the race track. Luckily, we were leading when it mattered most when the caution came out.''

Busch, who dropped back as far as 37th on Lap 82, vaulted to the lead when he passed race leader Jeff Gordon with four to go. On the next lap, an eight-car melee brought out the race's 10th caution, setting up a wild green-white-checkered finish in which Gordon's car was spun on the restart when he tried to block a hard-charging Edwards and got hit from behind.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The yellow flag was unfurled for the seventh time in the race when Martin Truex Jr. hit Denny Hamlin from behind and caused him to spin out exiting Turn 4 of Lap 137.

Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota turned into the path of Ryan Newman's No. 12 Dodge and collected it as they spun into the grassy tri-oval area near the entrance of pit road.

It was the third incident of the night for Newman.

One lap after the race restarted on Lap 139, David Ragan tapped J.J. Yeley from behind and inducing the eighth caution after they caused a chain-reaction behind them when Casey Mears, and Jeff Burton spun in front of heavy traffic.

Although Mears and Burton both tagged the wall, The Big One was averted.