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NASCAR 2012 Curtiss Shaver 400 Picks & Predictions
By ATSSportsline.com   

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (ATS Consultants) - The Sprint Cup Series heads to Indianapolis for the 20th Cup race of 2012. on Sunday,  July 29 at 1pmET for the Crown Royal 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Last year, Paul Menard won his first career Sprint Cup race and kissed the bricks at Indy.

Matt Kenseth 10-1

Matt Kenseth is the best Brickyard driver who never kissed the bricks. He’s come close to victory lane and has two runner-up finishes. Last season Kenseth finished 5th and was the second highest non-hyper mileage finisher behind Jeff Gordon. In last years race Kenseth had the second best average running position (6th) and the second best driver rating (119.1). He is the points leader coming into the race, and looks like a lock for the Chase, so he's "all in" to win at Indy. He'll look to be the second driver in the last three years to win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard. Jamie McMurray did it in 2010.

Tony Stewart 10-1

Tony Stewart has two wins at Indy and has finished in the top 8 in seven of the last eight races. Heading into Indy I think Tony Stewart will be a very popular expert pick. With the exception of Kentucky and New Hampshire no driver has been hotter than Tony Stewart since Pocono. Last year at Indy Tony Stewart had an eventful race. He hit the commitment cone (pass through penalty) and later in the race made contact with Kyle Busch on pit road. Even with all of these problems he still managed to finish sixth. His next two most recent Indy finishes are 5th and 3rd. Pocono is a similar track and earlier this year Tony Stewart finished 3rd. The series defending champ also appears to be safe for the Chase, and will go all out to win one of NASCAR's feature events.

Live Longshot

Juan Pablo Montoya 30-1

Juan Pablo Montoya is a former Indianapolis 500 winner and he’s come close to winning the Brickyard 400. In 2009 he started in 2nd, led 116 laps and finished 11th. His undoing was a late speeding penalty. In 2010 he won the pole, led 86 laps and finished 32nd. His problem was an untimely caution that got him back in the pack after he was dominating. He was then promptly swept up in a wreck. Last season Montoya had a top five car but with 30 laps to go he had a long pit stop and never advanced on the track. In his first race in a stock car at Indy Montoya started in 2nd and finished in 2nd. Qualifying is important at Indy and Montoya has a 5.0 average start.

2012 Crown Royal 400 Information

Race Date: Sunday, July 29

Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Start Time: 1pmET

Green Flag: Approx. 1:19PM ET

TV Coverage: ESPN

Radio Coverage: IMS Racing Network (Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

Track Type: 2.5 mile Quad oval 160 laps, 400 miles

Recent Winners

2011: Paul Menard
2010: Jamie McMurray
2009: Jimmie Johnson
2008: Jimmie Johnson
2007: Tony Stewart

Last year’s top 5

Paul Menard
Jeff Gordon
Jamie McMurray
Regan Smith
Matt Kenseth