Wrecks galore turn Brickyard into demolition derby

INDIANAPIOLIS -- It's fitting an insurance company sponsored Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It would have taken a battalion of adjusters to assess the number of damaged racecars sitting in the garage area.

The 14th running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was a crashfest slowed by caution flags for a number of multicar wrecks that knocked out a variety of pre-race contenders.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of several drivers whose days end early. (AP)

Among those who ended his day on the back of a tow truck was defending race winner Jimmie Johnson, who was caught up in an early incident on Lap 45 when he made contact with Jamie McMurray. Robby Gordon, Scott Riggs, Bill Elliott, J.J. Yeley, Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards were also swept up in the melee before it was over and Johnson's Chevrolet limped into the pits with left front damage.

But after his crew made repairs, Johnson was able to rejoin the field only a lap down with hopes of repeating last year's comeback when he made up a lost lap early before going on to win his first at the Brickyard.

Unfortunately for Johnson, history would not repeat itself.

On Lap 62, Johnson blew a tire from rubbing on his damaged fender, sending the 2006 series champion hard into the Turn 3 wall in a ball of flames.

"The flames had me nervous there inside the car and I lost some eyelashes and the side of my face got pretty hot," said Johnson, who was credited with a 39th-place finish. "Unfortunately I had a situation early in the race when Hamlin slide inside and got into (Matt) Kenseth and we all got caught up in a wreck and damaged the car."

"It's feast or famine here for us," added Johnson, who has finished 36th, 28th and 39th in three of his six career Indianapolis starts.

Ryan Newman knows all about famine at Indianapolis. The Indiana native has struggled at the Brickyard throughout his career and added another disappointing day to his resume.

After taking the green flag from the third-starting spot in his Penske Racing Dodge, Newman's day ended only twenty laps later when he made contact with David Stremme and crashed hard into the wall.

"It's unfortunate," a dejected Newman said as he surveyed his damaged car. "I just got hit in the left quarter panel. Stremme tried sticking it underneath me when he shouldn't have and spun us around. We took a pretty good lick into the wall and ended our day."

The incident was a major blow to Newman's championship hopes as his 42nd-place finish dropped him further out of the top 12 in the point standings and a spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"It's devastating in more ways than one," Newman said.