Jimmie Johnson has won three times at Indy - but he also has three DNF's negotiating a Sprint Cup car round the challenging Indy car track. (Photo: Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Stewart has seen Indianapolis both ways, competing in NASCAR's Brickyard 400 (which he has won twice) and the Indianapolis 500.

"In an Indy car you just don't lift ... if the car's right," said Stewart. "But in a stock car, even if it's right, you've got to lift and you've got to brake for at least two of the corners. With the other two corners, you just lift, basically.

"It's a challenging track in a Cup car. It's a challenging track in an Indy car, too, but if you can get it right in an Indy car, then you can run it wide-open around there, and that's one less variable you've got to worry about when it comes to getting around the racetrack."

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ON THE FENCE--Speed (cable/satellite channel) analyst Larry McReynolds had an all-inclusive reaction to NASCAR's actions regarding Carl Edwards.

"... I would have been surprised if NASCAR did anything and surprised if they didn't do anything," he said in a quote circulated by the network.

In other words, McReynolds was bound to be surprised.

Edwards, who by all accounts wrecked Brad Keselowski's car intentionally in the Nationwide Series race on July 17 at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway, received a deduction of 60 (Nationwide) points and a $25,000 fine. Keselowski and he were both placed on "probation" (in NASCAR's three major series) until year's end.

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SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?-- NASCAR has announced a "multi-truck qualifying procedure" for the July 31 race at Pocono Raceway in the Camping World Truck Series.

The qualifying order will be the reverse of practice speeds, meaning the fastest truck will qualify last. The trucks will then be released from pit road in 25-second increments, meaning that more than one truck will be qualifying at the same time.

The rules will, obviously, have the effect of speeding up the qualifying process.

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THINGS CHANGE--Bobby Labonte, who left the TRG Motorsports team in June, will rejoin it for four races later in the year.

Labonte, the 2000 Winston (now Sprint) Cup champion, will compete in the No. 71 again at Pocono, Michigan, Atlanta and Texas.

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NUMBER FITS THE CRIME--Interesting, by the way that Edwards' penalty involved 60 points.

Edwards drives No. 60 in the Nationwide Series.