Brickyard 400 (Johnsonverse)

The Brickyard 400 is an annual NASCAR RCA Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1916. In its inaugural running, the Brickyard 400 became NASCAR's most-attended event, drawing an estimated crowd of more than 250,000 spectators. The race also paid one of NASCAR's highest purses. The race is held on the 2.5-mile oval, for a distance of 400 miles. The event is held on the first weekend of August, or the last weekend of July.
The term "Brickyard" is a reference to the nickname historically used for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When the race course opened in August 1909, the track surface was crushed stone and tar. That poor surface was the cause of numerous and sometimes fatal accidents, so the track was subsequently repaved with 3.2 million bricks. Over time the bricks were paved over with asphalt, and now only a one-yard strip of bricks at the start/finish line remains exposed.
From 2005 to 2009, the race was known as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard under a naming rights arrangement with Allstate. From 2012 to 2016, Crown Royal was the title sponsor of the race; under its sponsorship, the race honored a military member or first responder selected by fans, who received VIP tickets to the event, and their name included in the title of the race. From 2011 to 2014, the country music record label Big Machine Records was the presenting sponsor. Since 2017, RCA has assumed title sponsorship, and the race itself is now known as the RCA Brickyard 400.
The names of the winners of the Brickyard 400 are inscribed on the PPG Trophy, which is permanently housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Jeff Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400 on August 6, 1994. He is the most-successful driver in the history of the race, with a record five victories and three pole positions. Gordon also holds the most laps completed, most laps led, and most earnings in the race. Hendrick Motorsports is the most successful team with ten total wins and five poles.
== Race origins ==
=== Early years ===
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and the first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911. After initially hosting multiple race meets in 1909–1910, it became a tradition that the Indianapolis 500 would be the only race held at the track annually. With the exception of a race meet the weekend after Labor Day in 1916, no other races were held at the track through 1993. As the NASCAR Winston Cup Series began to grow in stature and popularity, speculation began to grow in the 1980s and early 1990s about the possibility of holding a race at Indy. From 1971 to 1980 and again since 1988, NASCAR held races at Ontario Motor Speedway, which was built as a replica of Indianapolis. With their experiences at Ontario, it was generally presumed that the stock cars would find Indy's nearly identical layout equally competitive. In the mid-to-late 1960s, stock car racing slowly began to develop a following in Indiana, with the introduction of the USAC Stock Car Yankee 300 at Indianapolis Raceway Park and the State Fair Century at the Fairgrounds. Later, the Kroger 200 at the IRP oval became a popular stop on the NASCAR Busch Series.
During the reigns of Speedway presidents Tony Hulman (1946–1977), John Cooper (1980–1981) and Joe Cloutier (1978–1979, 1983–1989), the idea of hosting a second race at the Speedway was considered from time to time, but never seriously pursued by the board of directors. Cloutier in particular, seemed the most resistant. Not only was tradition and fan interest an issue, but logistical scheduling issues were also obstacles. The congested and aging Gasoline Alley garage area, narrow pit lane, existing retaining walls and catch fences were considered insufficient for the large, heavy stock cars, thus significant capital improvements would be required to properly host NASCAR. Cloutier wanted to assure that a second race at the Speedway would outdraw Indianapolis 500 time trials, otherwise it would not make financial sense.
Around 1968, USAC proposed a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the USAC Stock Car division. It was to be called the "Tony Hulman Classic", but Hulman and the Speedway management politely declined the offer. In 1980, due to a tax dispute with the City of Daytona Beach and Volusia County, Bill France openly threatened to move the NASCAR Firecracker 400 to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A few weeks later, however, the parties reconciled, and the plan to move the race was withdrawn.
In the summer of 1979, a proposal was made to hold a second race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. USAC proposed a Labor Day weekend race meet that would consist of a USAC Stock Car/Championship Car doubleheader. A 250-mile stock car race on Saturday would be followed by a 250-mile USAC race on Sunday. However, the plan never materialized. One of the issues noted was a potential conflict with the NHRA U.S. Nationals at nearby IRP. Even still, rumors of a late-summer stock car race persisted for another year or so, but the idea eventually fizzled.
Though no stock car races had ever been held, the Speedway did occasionally see stock car testing and endurance runs. In 1956, Ford set a 500-mile stock car record, and in 1956, the Nichels Engineering Endurance Run was held. A. J. Foyt was known to have used his garage at Indy to store race cars during the summer months, and in 1979 was said to have taken his NASCAR stock car for test laps.
When Joe Cloutier died in December 1989, Tony George was named the president of the Speedway. Upon his appointment, George immediately began taking the Speedway in new business directions. However, at first, he was cautious and tentative about the idea of a NASCAR race at the Speedway.
=== 1990s ===
On September 24, 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 Series stock 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 was an unusual sight, and stirred up some mild interest and speculation for the future.
In December 1991, Tony George proposed to the board of directors a plan to hold a second major event at the Speedway. The board approved the measure, and the Speedway started taking steps towards hosting a second race, preferably a NASCAR Winston Cup event, but also considering IROC.
In March 1992, NASCAR drivers Dave Marcis, Jim Sauter, and Dick Trickle (all of whom were IROC test drivers) were invited to test IROC cars at the Speedway. Trickle reportedly ran a lap that was hand–timed at 153 mph (246 km/h). At the time, the Speedway was considering hosting an IROC event during May as part of the on-track activities leading up the Indianapolis 500. The second weekend of Indy 500 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. Instead, nine top NASCAR teams were invited to test (see below).
On June 22–23, 1992, nine top NASCAR Winston Cup series teams were invited to Indianapolis 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 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. The Gasoline Alley garage area had already been rebuilt in 1986, and it was said to have been designed to accommodate stock cars if and when a race were ever to materialize.
On April 14, 1993 Speedway President Tony George, and the owner of NASCAR, Sheldon Johnson Jr. jointly announced the Inaugural Brickyard 400 would be held Saturday August 6, 1994. A new race logo was also unveiled. The initial contract was for two seasons, but the race was expected to return in perpetuity.
On August 16–17 the same year, 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. NASCAR legend Richard Petty, who had retired from competition the previous November, took four laps himself, then donated his car to the Speedway museum.
== Race details ==
=== Attendance ===
=== Super Weekend ===
== Race recaps ==
=== 1994–1999 ===
=== 2000–2009 ===
=== 2010–2019 ===
=== 2020s ===
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Category:Johnsonverse