Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most hallowed grounds in auto racing. On July 27th, Nascar’s elite will visit the speedway for the 15th time, as one driver will etch his name into history books, and get the chance to kiss the bricks. Here are the likely contenders:

Toyota

Tony Stewart-

A native of Indiana, Tony Stewart has contended for the win at Indianapolis almost every time he’s raced there, especially since he finally claimed his first victory there in 2005. Last year he made a late pass on Kevin Harvick to claim his third win in three races there. He also has four straight finishes of 8th or better at the Brickyard, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he earned his first victory of 2008 here.

Kyle Busch-

With the simply amazing season he’s had so far this season, it’s hard to doubt that Kyle Busch will be one of the drivers to beat, but his statistics make just as strong of an arguement. In three races at Indianapolis, Busch has finished 10th, 7th and 4th. If that trend continues, he’ll be first when the cars come across the bricks for the final time.

Brian Vickers-

Vickers is a darkhorse pick out of the Toyota camp, but a likely contender nonetheless. In four career starts Vickers has managed a third place finish, but that’s not why he’s one of my picks, this team has improved so much over last year and the past couple of months have been one of the most consistent teams on the circuit, with a worst finish of 16th in the past seven races.

Honorable Mention- Denny Hamlin

Chevrolet

Jeff Gordon-

When you think of drivers who have success at Indianapolis in any form of racing, Gordon is one of the drivers that comes to mind. Gordon won the inaugural event here in 1994 and has gone on to win three more times, most recently in 2004. Gordon is still searching for his first win of 2008, and it could come here for the fifth time in his career.

Kevin Harvick-

Harvick has been consistent at Indianapolis, with only one finish worse than 11th in seven career starts. Harvick has kissed the bricks here before as well, winning at the Brickyard in 2003. He was a few laps from winning last year before being passed late in the race. Harvick will be one of the drivers to watch when the cars take the green on Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson-

Johnson is either really good at Indianapolis, or way off. In six career starts he has two top-10’s, but also three finishes of 36th or worse. Johnson has been able to find victory lane at Indianapolis in 2006. The fact that Johnson’s team has greatly improved their COT program since the beginning of this year makes them a threat to contend for the win.

Honorable Mention- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer

Ford

Matt Kenseth-

After struggling in his first two starts, Kenseth has been a front runner the past six races, with five top-10’s. Kenseth has finished second twice, and would like to finally win this year. If he could accomplish that, he would be the first Ford driver to win at Indianapolis since Dale Jarrett did in 1999.

Carl Edwards-

In three starts at Indianapolis, Edwards has finished in the top-10 once, with a worst finish of 18th. However Edwards’ team has been strong all year long with a COT program that has improved greatly over last year. If Edwards is given another strong car at Indy, he’ll likely be doing backflips after the race.

Honorable Mention- Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Travis Kvapil

Dodge

Kasey Kahne-

Kahne was stellar in his first two starts at Indianapolis, with a 4th and 2nd place finish. In his last two starts he’s been caught up in wrecks, but he’s had good cars. This year he’s been strong since his win in the All-Star Race, with cars that can contend almost every week, and that may be the case once again at the Brickyard.

Kurt Busch-

Busch has struggled most of the season, but has earned top-5’s in two of the past three races. He’s also been consistent at Indianapolis, with five finishes of 12th or better in seven career starts. If Busch can avoid the bad luck that has plagued him for most of the season he may have a good run at the Brickyard.

Honorable Mention- Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr.