1994 Brickyard 400
Second-year driver, 23-year-old Jeff Gordon, who once lived in nearby Pittsboro, was cheered on by the hometown crowd to a popular win.[2][3][4] It was his second career NASCAR Winston Cup win and thrust the young Gordon, the future hall of famer, into superstardom.While the event was looked on with enormous anticipation and significant media attention, the traditional nature of the Indianapolis 500 and the Speedway was a concern to ownership, some from the Indycar community, and some fans.[6][7] Despite some mild complaints, the event was considered a huge success and a financial cash cow—it ultimately bankrolled the formation of the Indy Racing League.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.[18] In order to attract more entries, the initial Brickyard 400 was concurrently included in the NASCAR Winston West schedule.On June 22–23, 1992, nine top NASCAR Winston Cup series teams were invited to Indy to participate in a Goodyear tire test.[25] At noon on Tuesday, recently retired NASCAR legend Richard Petty took four fast laps by himself and then donated his car to the Speedway museum.[26] Later on Tuesday, during a session of "drafting practice," a full complement of over 30 cars took to the track, to simulate race condition.Only a handful of drivers in the field had actually driven at Ontario before it closed (1980), and none of them felt they held any sort of measurable experience advantage.[27][28] Ford teams tested in late June,[29] with Sterling Marlin leading the first week with a lap at 170 miles per hour (270 km/h).[30][31] In early July, Davy Jones turned a lap at 168.659 miles per hour (271.430 km/h),[32] but would later wreck his primary car.Four incidents occurred, crashes by Joe Nemechek, Robert Pressley, Tim Steele, and Dale Jarrett brushed the wall.Wally Dallenbach Jr. driving for Petty Enterprises, who drew 84th out of the 85 cars in line, pulled in when he felt something was wrong with the engine and ended the day with no speed.Bailey closed out time trials, gaining over 8 mph from his previous speed, but still fell far short of making the starting lineup.A trio of brothers - Geoff, Brett, and Todd Bodine made the field, a feat that had only been accomplished once in the history of the Indy 500.Popular Indianapolis 500 fixture Jim Nabors was invited to sing the national anthem, accompanied by the Indiana State University Marching Sycamores.Elmo Langley drove the Chevrolet Monte Carlo pace car, and Doyle Ford served as flagman.Besides the former champions who qualified for the race (Earnhardt, Wallace, Elliott, Waltrip, and Labonte), those in attendance included Richard Petty, Rex White, Buck Baker, Ned Jarrett, and Benny Parsons.After the final practice session Friday evening, polesitter Rick Mast, as well as Ernie Irvan and Brett Bodine, were among the teams that changed the engines in their cars.As they headed into turn three, Jeff Gordon looked inside of Earnhardt for second place, and Geoff Bodine attempted to draft behind him.In turn four, Earnhardt drifted high and brushed the outside wall, which allowed Mast to stay ahead and lead the first lap.Dale Earnhardt attempted to charge through the field and managed to lead laps during a sequence of green-flag pit stops.After the crash, Geoff suggested Brett spun him out on purpose, attributing the move to "family problems" between the brothers.Gordon held off challenge and won the Inaugural Brickyard 400, his second career NASCAR Winston Cup victory.Bodine's second place came six days after Scott Goodyear had delivered King Racing their first Indy car victory at Michigan.Chris Economaki sat in as a booth analyst during the pre-race, then as a roving reporter conducting interviews, and covering the garage area and hospital during the race.USAC historian Donald Davidson and author Greg Fielden were guests in the pre-race coverage, offering historical commentary.Buddy Baker served as the driver analyst during qualifying coverage on Thursday and Friday (as Jarrett had commitments with ESPN).The chief announcer Tom Carnegie was joined by Jim Phillippe and David Calabro, but John Totten did not participate.
1994 NASCAR Winston Cup SeriesIndianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, IndianaPole positionRick MastJeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsNetworkBob JenkinsBenny ParsonsNASCARstock carIndianapolis 500Harvest ClassicPittsborohall of famertraditional natureIndycarcash cowIndy Racing LeagueA. J. FoytDanny SullivanWinston Cup1995 Brickyard 4001996 Brickyard 400Robert Yates Racingrace meetCraftsman toolsTony GeorgeBill France Jr.Brickyard 400Daytona 500Jimmy SpencerDieHard 500TalladegaErnie IrvanDale EarnhardtMark MartinRusty WallaceKen SchraderGoodyearHoosierGeoff BodineNASCAR Winston WestMike ChaseMiller Genuine Draft 400Michigan International SpeedwayDale Earnhardt'sBill ElliottJunior JohnsonChevroletMorgan-McClure MotorsportsPontiacPenske RacingKyle PettySABCO RacingRicky RuddDarrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsRichard Childress RacingRoush RacingDavey AllisonMichiganChampion Spark Plug 400Bobby LabonteKenny WallaceRichard PettySpeedway museumJohn AndrettiSpeedWeekOntario Motor Speedwaydriven at OntarioGreg SacksTriStar MotorsportsBill Davis RacingGeoff Bodine RacingBobby HillinDonlavey RacingDerrike CopeCale Yarborough MotorsportsSterling MarlinDavy JonesScott GaylordDelma CowartPrecision Products RacingHershel McGriffMorgan–McClure MotorsportsTerry LabonteGeoff BrabhamKranefuss-Haas RacingJeff BurtonStavola Brothers RacingStan FoxRich BickleMelling RacingRudd Performance MotorsportsJunior Johnson & AssociatesTim SteeleBobby Allison MotorsportsKerry TeagueLinro MotorsportsHagan RacingLake SpeedBud Moore EngineeringTed MusgraveDale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingLoy Allen Jr.Tri-Star MotorsportsRandy LaJoieMorgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingHut StricklinTravis Carter MotorsportsBrett BodineKing RacingSteve GrissomDiamond Ridge MotorsportsMichael WaltripBahari RacingWard BurtonA.G. Dillard MotorsportsDick TrickleHarry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsBob Brevak