| Name | Brickyard 400 |
|---|
| Logo | 2010B Logo.png |
|---|
| Venue | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
|---|
| First race | 1994 |
|---|
| Distance | 400 miles (643.737 km) |
|---|
| Laps | 160 |
|---|
| Previous names | Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (2005-2009) |
|---|
The
Brickyard 400 is an annual 400-mile (644 km)
NASCAR Sprint Cup points race held at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway in
Speedway, Indiana. The event, when first held in
1994, marked the first race other than the
Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1916. Since the inaugural race, the Brickyard 400 has become NASCAR's most-attended event, drawing an estimated crowd of more than 250,000 fans annually. It also has become NASCAR's second highest paying race in dollars (behind the
Daytona 500).
The term "Brickyard" is in reference to the nickname historically used for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1910. The course was paved in brick in 1909, and a one-yard strip of brick remains exposed at the start/finish line. From 2005-2009, the race was known as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, under a naming rights arrangement with Allstate Insurance.
Race origins
Early tests
In 1954, a 24-hour stock car endurance record run was conducted by
Tony Bettenhausen,
Pat O'Connor, and
Bill Taylor. They drove a stock
Chrysler to an average speed of approximately .
In 1956, Ford attempted a 24-hour stock car record with drivers Johnny Mantz, Chuck Stevenson, and Chuck Davis. Though some records were set, the team failed to break the 24-hour record, and was forced to quit after the 18 hour mark.
On November 20, 1961, Nichels Engineering prepared a 1962 Pontiac Catalina Coupe and 1962 Pontiac Enforcer for an attempt at the one-lap, , and 24-hour world stock car speed and endurance records at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two Nichels Engineering driving teams consisted of Rodger Ward, Paul Goldsmith, Len Sutton from USAC and Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly and Marvin Panch from NASCAR. Roberts set a one-lap record at , and the NASCAR team set the record of . Both teams shattered the previous 24-hour records, running 2,586.878 miles (107.787 mph) and 2,576.241 miles (107.343 mph) respectively.
In 1970, Pete Hamilton drove a Camaro stock car at the Speedway for a test run. Around 1979-1980, A. J. Foyt also reportedly tested his Winston Cup stock car around the Speedway for a few unofficial test laps.
Recent tests
In September 1991,
A. J. Foyt filmed a commercial for
Craftsman tools at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While filming in the garage area, Foyt, and Speedway president
Tony George decided to take Foyt's
NASCAR Winston Cup car for a few laps around the track. Foyt was the first driver to do so, and later on, George himself took a few laps. The event was not planned, and had no implications, but caused some interest and speculation for the future.
In March 1992, IROC drivers Dave Marcis and Dick Trickle were invited to test at the Speedway. Trickle reportedly ran a lap hand–timed at . At the time, the Speedway was considering hosting an IROC event during the month of May during activities leading up the Indianapolis 500. The second weekend of qualifying was becoming less-popular with fans, and an additional event was an idea to boost attendance. The test was considered successful, but several improvements would have to be made to the track before it was safe for the IROC cars to race there. After much consideration, it was determined that it would not be economically feasible to hold the IROC race. Plans for that event were put on hold.
On June 22-23, 1992, nine top NASCAR Winston Cup series teams were invited to Indy to participate in a Goodyear tire test. Over the weekend, the teams had raced in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Although no official announcements were made, it was in fact an unofficial compatibility test to see if stock cars would be competitive at the circuit. An estimated 10,000 spectators watched a rather exciting two days of history in the making. A. J. Foyt took a few laps around the track in Dale Earnhardt's car on the second day.
Following the test, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway started an extensive improvement project. The outside retaining wall and catch fence were replaced. The new wall and fence were decidedly stronger, and could support the 3,500 pound NASCAR stock cars. The pit area was widened, and the individual pit stalls were replaced in concrete. This was done to better support the pneumatic jacks used by the Indy cars, and to handle the refuel spillage of gasoline from the NASCAR machines. The largest project, however, involved the removal of the track apron, and the construction of the new warm-up lane, similar to that built at Nazareth Speedway in 1987.
On April 14, 1993 Speedway President Tony George, and the president of NASCAR, Bill France, Jr. jointly announced the Inaugural Brickyard 400 would be held Saturday August 6, 1994. A new race logo was also unveiled.
Later that same year, on August 16-17, thirty-five NASCAR teams took part in an open test at the Speedway. It was held as the teams returned from the second race at Michigan, the Champion Spark Plug 400. The top 35 teams in NASCAR points received invitations. Hosting the test in August mimicked the weather conditions expected for the race in 1994. Several thousand spectators attended, and many announcements were made. Recently retired NASCAR legend Richard Petty took a few fast laps by himself, and then donated his car to the Speedway museum.
During the summer of 1994, leading up to the race, private testing sessions conducted by the manufacturers (Ford and GM) were held.
Television and radio
ABC
From
1994 to 2000 the race was broadcast live on
ABC Sports. ABC had televised the
Indianapolis 500 since 1965.
ESPN carried live coverage of qualifying. The race was scheduled for the first Saturday in August, at 12:15 p.m. EST (1:15 p.m. EDT). Saturday was chosen for the running of the race to allow for Sunday as a rain date. In 1995, rain delayed the start until 4:25 EST (5:25 EDT). ABC had already signed off, and made the decision to air the race via tape delay on
ESPN the following day. In the greater Indianapolis area, the race was shown tape delay that night at 7 p.m. on
WRTV. The 1995 race ran until 7:03 p.m. EST (8:03 p.m. EDT), which is believed to be the latest cars have ever run at the circuit.
NBC
From 2001-2006, the race was broadcast on
NBC, as part of a new eight-year,
$2.4-billion television deal involving
FOX/
FX and
NBC/
TNT. The race was moved from Saturday to Sunday, and the start time was moved to 1:45 p.m. EST (2:45 p.m. EDT). In 2006, Indiana began observing Daylight Saving Time, and the race was scheduled for 2:45 pm EDT.
ESPN
From 2007-2014, under the terms of a new $4.48-billion contract, television rights will be held by
ESPN. The race swapped dates with the
Pennsylvania 500, and effectively moved up one weekend. The change was made so that
ESPN/
ABC could kickoff their NASCAR coverage with the more-attractive telecast. The move to cable drew some mild controversy after thirteen years of having been on network television. The starting time was slightly earlier than in the past, at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
In 2009 and 2010, the race was advertised on ESPN as Brickyard 400 presented by Golden Corral. The different name is due to a standing policy by the network since 2007 to not use the race's title sponsor on-air unless an advertising premium is paid to the network (though television commercials from Allstate did air during breaks).
Radio
All races have been broadcast on radio through the
IMS Radio Network. From 1994-1999,
Mike Joy anchored the broadcast. From 2000-2003,
Mike King served as chief announcer. In 2004,
PRN began co-producing the race. Doug Rice joined King as co-anchor. In 2007,
Bob Jenkins replaced King as co-anchor with Rice.
In 2008, the radio network crew was split, due to coverage of the Edmonton Indy a day earlier. Mike King covered the Edmonton race, while Jenkins remained at the Brickyard with Doug Rice. In 2009, the Edmonton race was moved to the same day. King covered the Edmonton race on the radio, while Jenkins covered the race for Versus. As a result, Chris Denari took over as Brickyard co-anchor with Doug Rice.
Race details
Scheduling
For its first running in 1994, the race was scheduled for a Saturday afternoon timeslot, at 12:15 p.m. EST (1:15 p.m. EDT). Since the race was not being held on a holiday weekend, track officials decided that a built-in rain date was necessary. Scheduling the race for Saturday allowed Sunday as a make-up date in case of rain.
In 1994, practice and pole qualifying was held Thursday. Practice, second round qualifying, and "Happy Hour" final practice was scheduled for Friday. In addition, during the first year, a special "pacing" practice was held where the field followed behind the pace car to measure pit road speed.
Starting in 1995, an additional practice session was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Pole qualifying was still held Thursday, and second round qualifying was held Friday. This schedule continued through 2000.
Starting in 1998, an IROC event was situated in the schedule. IROC practice would be held Friday, and the IROC race would be held Saturday.
Starting in 2001, the race was moved to Sunday. In addition, NASCAR eliminated second-round qualification. The schedule was compressed such that practice was held Friday, and the single pole qualifying round was held Saturday. "Happy hour" final practice was also held Saturday. This scheule differed from typical NASCAR weekend schedules, which normally saw practice and pole qualification on Fridays. Moving the pole qualification to Saturday allowed for a larger audience, and also opened the schedule up for the Kroger 200 held at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Race recaps
1994: The first running of the Brickyard 400 in 1994 saw the largest crowd to date to witness a NASCAR event, and the single largest race purse to date.
Rick Mast won the pole position, and became the first stock car driver to lead a lap at Indy. Young second-year driver
Jeff Gordon took the lead late in the race after
Ernie Irvan suffered a flat tire. Gordon drove on to a historic win in NASCAR's debut at the Brickyard. In an effort to attract more entries, the event was concurrently included on the
NASCAR Winston West schedule. No Winston West competitors qualified on speed, but point leader
Mike Chase made the field via a Winston West provisional. Gordon's inaugural Brickyard 400 winning car (nicknames "Booger") is on display at the
Hendrick Motorsports museum.
1995: Second-round qualification was rained out on Friday, and only a short "happy hour" practice followed. On Saturday, rain delayed the start of the race until late in the afternoon. Dale Earnhardt cruised to victory, in a race that was slowed only once for four laps under yellow.
1996: Dale Jarrett and his Robert Yates Racing crew began the tradition of the winning driver and crew kissing the row of bricks at the start-finish line., which has carried over to the Indianapolis 500. The race saw several blown tires after the speedway removed some rumble strips from the apron of the corners; Kyle Petty was injured when he blew a tire, slammed the wall off Turn Four, and was T-boned by Sterling Marlin. Jarrett became the first driver to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.
1997: Ricky Rudd gambles on fuel and drives the final 46 laps without a pit stop to take the victory. Contenders Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, and Mark Martin lose after being forced to pit in the final laps.
1998: Jeff Gordon became the first repeat winner, holding off Mark Martin for the win. Dale Jarrett dominated the second 100 miles of the race but lost his chance near the halfway point when he ran out of fuel, and coasted back to the pits; he lost four laps but made them up due to numerous cautions. Gordon's victory was the first in the Winston No Bull 5 program.
1999: Late in the race, Dale Jarrett leads, but fourth-place Bobby Labonte is the only car in the top 5 that can go the distance without pitting for fuel. A caution comes out with 17 laps to go, allowing the leaders to pit, foiling Labonte's chances to steal the win. Jarrett becomes the second two-time winner, and erases his heartbreak from 1998.
2000: Rusty Wallace leads 114 laps, and is leading late when Bobby Labonte charges down the back stretch. Labonte takes the lead at the stripe, and pulls away for the win. The race is slowed by only two cautions for 7 laps.
2001: With 25 laps to go, Jeff Gordon passes Sterling Marlin on a restart, and pulls away for the win. Gordon becomes the first three-time winner of the Brickyard 400.
2002: Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer, locked in a burgeoning feud dating from the Food City 500, collided on Lap 36 and Busch hit the turn 3 wall. Veteran Bill Elliott added the Brickyard to his long resume, and Rusty Wallace finished second for the third time.
2003: With 16 laps to go, Kevin Harvick used lap traffic to get by Matt Kenseth on a restart. A huge pileup occurred in turn three, and Harvick held off over the final ten laps to become the first polesitter to win the Brickyard 400.
2004: For the first time in Sprint Cup series history, the Green-white-checker finish rule caused a race to be extended, in this case for one additional lap. On the extra lap, Mark Martin suffered a flat tire and Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered engine failure as Jeff Gordon retained the lead on his way to his fourth Brickyard win.
2005: Hometown favorite Tony Stewart won his first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and climbed the catch fence to celebrate, in the same fashion as Hélio Castroneves.
2006: After suffering a blown front left tire early in the race that caused some fender damage, Jimmie Johnson passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. with six laps left to win at Indy for the first time, and became only the second driver to win both the Daytona 500, and Brickyard 400 in the same year. The other was Dale Jarrett in 1996.
2007: Juan Pablo Montoya became the first (and, to date, only) driver to race in all three of the major events hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500, Allstate 400, and the U.S. Grand Prix. Montoya, a rookie in the Sprint Cup series, finished second to Tony Stewart. Stewart's 2007 winning car is owned and on rotating display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
2008: The Car of Tomorrow was used at the race for the first time. The Goodyear tires suffered bad wear patterns, causing blowouts in some cases after only 10 laps of green-flag racing. Lengthy competition cautions were put out at roughly 10-lap intervals for teams to change tires. However, Jimmie Johnson managed to tame the field and tire problems by winning for the second time in his career at Indy.
2009: Former Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya dominated most of the race, leading 116 laps. However, with 35 laps to go, Montoya was penalized for speeding in the pits. The infraction left Jimmie Johnson holding off polesitter Mark Martin for the victory. Johnson became the second three-time winner, and the first back–to–back winner of the 400.
2010: Former Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya dominated most of the race for the second year in a row, leading 86 laps. However, Montoya gave up the lead when he took four tires in a late pit stop. He restarted the race in 7th with 18 laps to go and was never able to recover. Montoya crashed with 16 laps to go. Before the caution came out, Kevin Harvick had passed race leader Jamie McMurray for the lead. On the final restart of the race McMurray passed Harvick to go on to win the 400. He became the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season, joining Dale Jarrett (1996) and Jimmie Johnson (2006). McMurray's win also gave car owner Chip Ganassi a Daytona 500 win, Indianapolis 500 win and Brickyard 400 win in the same season, the first owner to do so.
Past winners
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!
Year!!
Date!!
Driver (wins)!!
Car Make!!
Winner's Prize(USD)!!
DistanceLaps/Miles(Km)!!
Average Speed(mph)!!
Race Time!!
Team
|-
!colspan=9|
Brickyard 400
|-
|
1994 || August 6 ||
Jeff Gordon ||
Chevrolet ||$613,000||160 / 400 (643.737)||131.932||3:01:51||
Hendrick Motorsports
|-
|
1995 || August 5 ||
Dale Earnhardt ||
Chevrolet ||$565,600||160 / 400 (643.737)||155.218||2:34:38||
Richard Childress Racing
|-
|
1996 || August 3 ||
Dale Jarrett ||
Ford ||$564,035||160 / 400 (643.737)||139.508||2:52:02||
Robert Yates Racing
|-
|
1997 || August 2 ||
Ricky Rudd ||
Ford ||$571,000||160 / 400 (643.737)||130.828||3:03:28||
Rudd Performance Motorsports
|-
|
1998 || August 1 ||
Jeff Gordon (2) ||
Chevrolet ||$1,637,625
*||160 / 400 (643.737)||126.770||3:09:19||
Hendrick Motorsports
|-
|
1999 || August 7 ||
Dale Jarrett (2) ||
Ford ||$712,240||160 / 400 (643.737)||148.288||2:41:57||
Robert Yates Racing
|-
|
2000 || August 5 ||
Bobby Labonte ||
Pontiac ||$831,225||160 / 400 (643.737)||155.918||2:33:56||
Joe Gibbs Racing
|-
|
2001 || August 5 ||
Jeff Gordon (3) ||
Chevrolet ||$428,452 ||160 / 400 (643.737)||130.790||3:03:30||
Hendrick Motorsports
|-
|
2002 || August 4 ||
Bill Elliott ||
Dodge ||$449,056||160 / 400 (643.737)||125.033||3:11:57||
Evernham Motorsports
|-
|
2003 || August 3 ||
Kevin Harvick ||
Chevrolet ||$418,253||160 / 400 (643.737)||134.548||2:58:22||
Richard Childress Racing
|-
|
2004 || August 8 ||
Jeff Gordon (4) ||
Chevrolet ||$518,053||161 / 402.5 (647.76)
* ||115.037||3:29:56||
Hendrick Motorsports
|-
!colspan=9|
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
|-
|
2005 || August 7 ||
Tony Stewart ||
Chevrolet ||$554,661||160 / 400 (643.737)||118.782||3:22:03||
Joe Gibbs Racing
|-
|
2006 || August 6 ||
Jimmie Johnson ||
Chevrolet ||$452,861||160 / 400 (643.737)||137.182||2:54:57||
Hendrick Motorsports
|-
|
2007 || July 29 ||
Tony Stewart (2) ||
Chevrolet ||$463,111
* ||160 / 400 (643.737)||117.379||3:24:28||
Joe Gibbs Racing
|-
|
2008 || July 27||
Jimmie Johnson (2) ||
Chevrolet ||$509,236 ||160 / 400 (643.737)||115.117||3:28:29||
Hendrick Motorsports
|-
|
2009 || July 26||
Jimmie Johnson (3) ||
Chevrolet ||$448,001||160 / 400 (643.737)||145.882||2:44:31||
Hendrick Motorsports
|-
!colspan=9|
Brickyard 400
|-
|
2010 || July 25 ||
Jamie McMurray ||
Chevrolet ||$438,877 ||160 / 400 (643.737)||136.054 ||2:56:24 ||
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
|-
|
2011 || July 31 || || || $ || 160 / 400 (643.737)|| || ||
|}
1998: Includes Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus which Jeff Gordon was eligible to win.
2004: 402.5 miles / 161 laps due to a Green-white-checker finish. This was the first time a NASCAR Sprint Cup race used the Green-white-checker format to finish a race.
2007: Net total includes $25,000 subtracted for use of an obscenity in ESPN post-race interview. Stewart was also fined the prerequisite 25 points per NASCAR policy for language.
Pole winners
1994 Rick Mast – 172.414 mph – Richard Jackson Ford
1995 Jeff Gordon – 172.536 mph – Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
1996 Jeff Gordon – 176.419 mph – Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
1997 Ernie Irvan – 177.736 mph – Yates Ford
1998 Ernie Irvan – 179.394 mph – MB2 Motorsports Pontiac
1999 Jeff Gordon – 179.612 mph – Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2000 Ricky Rudd – 181.068 mph – Robert Yates Racing Ford
*Brett Bodine – 181.072 mph (fastest qualifier; second–round qualifier) – Brett Bodine Racing Ford
2001 Jimmy Spencer – 179.666 mph – Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford
2002 Tony Stewart – 182.960 mph – Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac
2003 Kevin Harvick – 184.343 mph – Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
2004 Casey Mears – 186.293 mph (one–lap stock car track record) – Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
2005 Elliott Sadler – 184.116 mph – Robert Yates Racing Ford
2006 Jeff Burton – 182.778 mph – Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
2007 Reed Sorensen – 184.207 mph – Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
2008 Jimmie Johnson – 181.763 mph – Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2009 Mark Martin – 182.054 mph – Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2010 Juan Pablo Montoya - 182.278 mph - Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Statistics
Multiple victories
Four drivers have won the Brickyard 400 more than once, accounting for 11 wins out of 17 races held.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Records
(As of 7/25/10)
* from minimum 5 starts.
Manufacturers
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Manufacturer
!Wins
|-
|1
|
Chevrolet
|12
|-
|2
|
Ford
|3
|-
|3
|
Pontiac
|1
|-
|3
|
Dodge
|1
|}
Daytona 500 & Brickyard 400
Three drivers have won the
Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same season.
1996 Dale Jarrett
2006 Jimmie Johnson
2010 Jamie McMurray
Four other drivers (Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, and Kevin Harvick) have won both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in their respective careers, albeit not in the same season.
In 2010, car owner Chip Ganassi's teams won the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and Brickyard 400.
Three drivers (Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson) have completed a career grand slam with the addition of the Brickyard 400, for a "Grand Slam +1."
Sprint Cup champions
The winner of the Brickyard 400 has notably gone on to win the
NASCAR Sprint Cup championship the same season eight times out of 16 runnings from 1994-2009.
1998 Jeff Gordon
1999 Dale Jarrett
2000 Bobby Labonte
2001 Jeff Gordon
2005 Tony Stewart
2006 Jimmie Johnson
2008 Jimmie Johnson
2009 Jimmie Johnson
Sources
1994 Brickyard 400 Official Program
External links
Brickyard 400 - Official site
Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Forum - Site for fans to post views, opinions, and comments.
NASCAR Commentators Crews and Networks
Brickyard 400 on television
Brickyard 400 shoots a brick
Hit The Bricks: Record Low Rating For Brickyard 400
References
Category:NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races
