Momentum is not something Dale Earnhardt Jr. brings to the Brickyard. Junior has fallen from third to 11th in the championship standings in only two races  -- finishing last at both New Hampshire (engine) and Pocono (wreck).

And it was a crash that resulted in Junior placing last a year ago at Indy, so he would seem to be do for a change in his luck.

My darkhorse is Casey Mears, who is looking to better his best Brickyard result of sixth last year. Doing well at this track would be special for Mears, whose uncle Rick captured four Indianapolis 500 victories.

Keys to success at Indianapolis
The track surface at Indianapolis is abrasive, and track position means a whole lot at this venue. Every move a driver or a team makes -- whether on the track or in the pits -- is done with track position in mind.

Indianapolis is a tough track to drive because there is only one real groove that being down low. On some tracks if a driver's car doesn't handle well in the fastest groove, he can search around until he finds a different line to run, but that's not often the case at Indianapolis.

This track is also unique in that it is shaped like a rectangle, with two long straightaways connected by a pair of short chutes at both ends.

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With four very tight corners, there won't be much side-by-side racing in the turns, which further reduces the chances to pass while emphasizing the importance of track position.

The driver that can get low going into the corner will be the fastest car coming out of the turn and down the stretch.

Pit stops will see some drivers changing two tires instead of four because a crew can put on two tires in eight or nine seconds while the fastest change of four tires is around 13 seconds -- and gaining four seconds at Indy can seem like gaining an eternity.

But don't look for any two-tire stops until later in the race when a good deal of rubber has been put down on the track, making it less abrasive and opening the door for some strategic decisions regarding how many tires to change on a pit stop.

Also pit road at Indianapolis is narrow, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a top car have its chances of winning the race eliminated because of it getting caught up in an accident on pit road.

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