The Second Biggest Race of The Year

As Kyle Petty told me last Saturday, the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis is the second big race of the NASCAR season. Only the Daytona 500 (the Super Bowl of NASCAR) beats it.

Unfortunately, Petty won't be in his car this week as Terry Labonte will drive it for one more weekend. Labonte will likely make the show because of his past championship provisional. I hate that for Petty because I know he really wanted to be in this race.

As for who to expect to be near the front, I can't help but write Kyle Busch. We'll see this Sunday if the week off cooled him down. Of course, teammate Tony Stewart knows how to get around the Brickyard and don't be surprised to see Kevin Harvick make his way to the front. I don't really think I need to write it, but Jeff Gordon is also a favorite at this track. He's only won the race four times.

The winner of this race seems to always be a driver who is in contention for the cup championship. So really, anyone in the top 10 is probably going to be somewhere near the top.