Indianapolis Motor Speedway race summary

STEWART WINS ALLSTATE 400 AT THE BRICKYARD FOR SECOND TIME

INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, July 29, 2007 -- Tony Stewart passed Kevin Harvick with nine laps remaining and pulled away to win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 29 at his beloved home track, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Stewart beat runner-up 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya by 2.982 seconds and averaged 117.379 mph for his second victory in this marquee NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event in the last three years.

Stewart also won in 2005.

Four-time Allstate 400 at the Brickyard champion Jeff Gordon placed third. Kyle Busch and pole sitter Reed Sorenson finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

"This one I'm going to remember a lot more of it, for sure, afterward," Stewart said. "But no, it is still like a dream. The first one was great, but there was so much going around it, being the first one. Both races were special. Neither of the wins outweighs the other win."

Stewart, from nearby Columbus, Ind., finished an intense duel with 2003 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Harvick on Lap 151. Harvick passed Stewart for the lead in Turn 1 on a restart on Lap 141. Stewart stalked Harvick for the next 10 laps, finally passing him in the short chute between Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 151.

Harvick pulled alongside Stewart in Turn 3 on that lap, with their Chevrolets touching. But Stewart pulled away on the main straightaway in his Home Depot Chevrolet and never trailed thereafter. Harvick faded to seventh.

Stewart earned $488,111 for the victory. He led seven times for 65 laps.

Montoya made history immediately after "Desperate Housewives" actor James Denton waved the green flag to start the race, as he became the first driver in IMS history to compete in three major events at the track. In 2000, he won in his only Indianapolis 500 start. He started in six Formula One United States Grands Prix and his first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday.

He ran among the leaders during the entire event and passed Harvick for second on Lap 157 of the 160-lap race.

"At the start, I was just happy to run in the top five," Montoya said. "That was the idea, stay in the top five, try to make the car better every stop. And we kept working on it."

Seven of the nine caution periods in the race occurred in the first half of the 160-lap event, with six triggered by accidents on the 2.5-mile oval.

One of the drivers eliminated in an accident on Lap 62 was 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson. It was his second accident of the day, as he was involved in an eight-car wreck on Lap 46 triggered by a collision between he and Jamie McMurray.

After repeated pit stops for repairs, Johnson's Lowe's Chevrolet careened into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 3, with flames trailing from the rear. Johnson scurried from the car and was unhurt.

While Indiana native Stewart and former Indiana resident Gordon finished first and third, other Hoosier racers didn't fare as well.

South Bend's David Stremme and Ryan Newman finished 26th and 42nd, respectively. Newman's day ended after a Lap 21 accident. Tony Raines, from LaPorte, finished 41st after a Lap 40 incident that also involved Kasey Kahne and IMS veteran Robby Gordon.

-credit: ims