The sanctioning body commissioned several experts to look into Earnhardt's accident after it found a broken seatbelt inside the famed black Chevrolet. The panel of experts, some reportedly not familiar to stock car racing, have spent several months looking into what happened before, during and after Earnhardt's car veered right in the fourth turn and slammed head-on into the wall.

According to sources from within NASCAR, the sanctioning body doesn't want to release the report in conjunction with a race. So it's likely it will be released at the CNN Center in Atlanta two days following the race at Brooklyn, Mich., and four days before the race at Bristol, Tenn.

Earnhardt's crash has been treated like no other in the sport's history. What makes it different, according to NASCAR president Mike Helton, is the broken seatbelt.

Since then, Bill Simpson, who manufactured the belts inside Earnhardt's car, has resigned as the president of his own company. He has steadfastly denied his seatbelt malfunctioned.

HEAVY TRAFFIC: Although the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had staged the Indianapolis 500 82 times and the Brickyard 400 seven times before Sunday's race, the traffic heading into the legendary raceway caught local officials by surprise.

The grandstands were opened at 9 a.m. - more than 5 1/2 hours before the race - and traffic was stopped for nearly six miles on nearby Interstate 465 at 7

Said one local television traffic reporter, ''I haven't seen traffic this bad since everyone evacuated town on 'Independence Day.' What we're seeing here is unprecedented.''

Nearly 300,000 fans eventually made it to the Brickyard for the race. It's not the biggest crowd of the year, since the raceway doesn't sell infield tickets like it does for the Indianapolis 500. That assures the Indy 500 of nearly 400,000 fans - the largest in gathering of sports fans in the world.

BRACK TO NASCAR: Current CART IndyCar points leader Kenny Brack is receptive to driving fulltime on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

After competing Saturday in the International Race of Champions, the Swedish driver said he wouldn't mind driving a stock car in the future.

''Sure I'm interested in NASCAR in the future,'' he said. ''But right now, I'm focused on the CART championship.''

If Brack maintains his lead in the CART series, he will become the only man two win championships in both IndyCar circuits. He won a title in the Indy Racing League before moving over to rival CART to drive for Bobby Rahal.

Although CART's popularity has been severely damaged since its split with IRL, Brack said he's committed to driving for Rahal in 2002. After that, all of his options are open.

When Brack won the IRL championship, he did it with car owner A.J. Foyt. He's already been linked with Foyt's Winston Cup team if he indeed makes the switch.

THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: Dale Jarrett was surprised to hear the car Ricky Rudd drove in Sunday's race was the same car he drove to a victory in the 1999 Brickyard 400.

When Rudd's crew chief, Michael McSwaim, heard Jarrett wasn't taking the race-proven car, he moved it to his side of the Robert Yates Racing shop and had it outfitted for Rudd.

Although they're teammates, it's unusual for drivers to exchange cars - especially cars with a winning past.

PIT STOPS: When Jeff Gordon turned 30 on Saturday, he said he's looking forward to being treated like ''and adult.'' His crew, however, still think of him as a playful youngster. They gave their driver a remote control monster truck as a birthday present. ... Speaking of Gordon, he will be part of an athletes-only Who Wants to be a Millionaire on Sept. 10. The show was taped recently and he apparently lost on the $125,000 question concerning pop star Billy Joel. ... Gordon, who was second in the point standings two races ago, now lead Dale Jarrett by 160 points heading into next Sunday's road course race at Watkins Glen, N.Y. Ricky Rudd is third in the standings, 179 points in arrears, while Sterling Marlin is fourth, 323 behind, and Wallace is fifth, 324 back.