by Larry McReynolds

What's so strange about that is that I was a part of the very first time NASCAR went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in 1992 — Bill France Jr., Les Richter and other people from NASCAR arranged what they called a Goodyear tire test, but it was really a chance to try and test the waters to see how things worked out and how the reaction was going to be. They took, I think, nine teams; we ran at Michigan on Sunday in June, then we headed down to Indy for testing on Monday for a two-day test.

You know, even after our race debut at the 2.5-miler in 1994, it took several years before we really found a comfort level. For a while there, people were still raising an eyebrow because "Stock cars didn't belong there."

But now, we go there and everybody accepts us. It's cool.

I think the Brickyard 400 is a race that the fans look forward to, as do the teams and drivers. Even though Daytona International Speedway is certainly a place where everybody wants to win — especially the Daytona 500 — Indianapolis Motor Speedway doesn't rank too far behind. There's two races a year that people remember you for a long time if you win them: The Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400

I've run second and third a few times in that race. That first time there in 1994 with Ernie Irvan and the No. 28 car, we were leading with about 15, 16 laps to go when we cut a right front tire and then of course Jeff Gordon went on to win it. I've never had an opportunity to kiss those bricks, I came close, but that's gotta be a neat, neat feeling to say you were a winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Another thing to remember, IMS used to be a racetrack that pretty much lay dormant except for the Month of May leading into the IndyCar Series' running of the Indianapolis 500. But now, like many other venues, it has become a racetrack with a lot of different races — we used to have things like IROC and Formula One at the Speedway and now this year we are continuing with stock cars but introducing MotoGP. Back in the 1990s, the speedway was smart enough to realize that NASCAR is growing and that we better get in the ship with them because the ship was ready to leave.

No sleep till Homestead

The good thing is, before we make our way out there, these boys finally got a break from competition.

It's hard to believe we race from Valentine's Day to Thanksgiving and only get three off weekends. Because of that, I'm sure that even though most teams tested they also gave their road guys some time off. Remember folks, these ladies and gentlemen who are part of the road crews are out there for 38 weeks as well as all the test sessions that go on. Hopefully a lot of them got a break during the week off.

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I know from my time at Richard Childress Racing that we all worked hard to give our guys this week off or if nothing else a three- or four-day weekend to enjoy their families and themselves before they get back at it for the 17-week stretch run.

There's a lot of different agendas for these next seven weeks before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. You've got the top three or four teams — Nos. 18, 88, 31 and 99 — that are probably pretty safe and locked in for the Chase even though nobody is mathematically locked into the postseason yet. This group is mostly focused on winning races, because if they do they get bonus points at the start of the Chase. Just remember, Kyle Busch already has 70 bonus points — which is 50 more than his closest competition. That's a pretty good chunk of an advantage to start with and he's not done yet, I'm sure.

Behind them, you've got that group of guys who — for argument's sake — I'll say are from fifth to 15th in the standings. Those 11 teams will be fighting with everything they have to secure one of the final seven spots for the title battle. It feels like it keeps flipping and flopping every week, and I don't think it's going to stop so it'll be one of the biggest battles to make the Chase since this format was created in 2004. This one will not be settled until the checkered flag waves at Richmond International Raceway in seven weeks.

Further back, the storylines are no less compelling. You've got teams battling for a spot in the Top 35 in the owner's standings — particularly that No. 84 Red Bull team with AJ Allmendinger.

In between, you've got guys like Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler, Bobby Labonte and a host of others whose plans are sent for 2009 and now they are working on getting all of their bad luck behind them and have a performance improvement before the year ends so that they can feel like they have momentum going into next season.

There's a lot of different agendas and different scenarios as we dive into these final 17 races.

Stay with us here at FOXSports.com and tune into SPEED TV, we'll have all the bases covered for you.

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FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.