A Yard of Bricks: A lifetime of glory

Before NASCAR’s meteoric rise to the top of American motorsports, one race at one track could define a racers career: the Indianapolis 500.

To be able to cross the yard of bricks at the finish line of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway to win brought  tears of joy to many a grown man.

Until 1992 however Indy was the exclusive playground of open wheel racers. It was that year that stock cars began to test on the 2.5-mile surface. In August of 1994 NASCAR staged their first event here. In the 15 races since NASCAR has grown to become America’s most watched motorsport while open wheel racing has lost most of its popularity. 

While NASCAR has grown in the decade and a half since the first race, one thing still remains the same; winning a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway still means as much as it did in 1994.

“I think it is still important for motorsports, important for NASCAR,” said Jeff Gordon an Indiana native who won that first race in 1994 and has added three more since. “But just for me personally, I just love going and competing there with the history and knowing me going there as a kid, going to the museum and doing different things. Just walking around that track, thinking what a dream it would be to someday race there. Now, getting the chance to do it is fantastic.”

Despite its history and meaning though, in the larger picture the Brickyard 400 is one of 36 races used to help determine the season ending champion. The race pays the same amount of points as any of the other races on the circuit.

“More than most race tracks, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is about the team," said Gordon. "It's about good communication prior to the race in setting up the car. It's about the pit crew being solid throughout the race.”

And it’s about the driver knowing the nuances of the track, something Gordon has learned to do over the years.

"The first couple laps around the track you always use too much brake," said Gordon. "The straightaways are really long and you build up a lot of speed. You have this tunnel vision, and all you see is wall and grandstands. The corner appears to be extremely tight and extremely narrow - and it is.

"You always snap out of the gas way too early and use too much brake because the corner is intimidating at first. But you realize the track can handle more than that and the car can handle more than that.  After a few laps, you get back into the groove and regain a level of comfort."

"There is no other track like this, and it has four unique corners," said Gordon, who is second in point standings, 175 behind leader Tony Stewart. "Actually, I think it has eight unique corners.

"The entry into each of the four corners is different, and I look at the exit of each as a different corner, as well. Exit speed is important, especially leading onto the long straightaways."

Stewart, who has two NASCAR victories here, is one of the few divers who can compare the differences in racing an open wheel car as opposed to a stock car at Indy.

"In an Indy car you just don't lift -- if the car's right,” Stewart said.  “But in a stock car, even if it's right, you've got to lift and you've got to brake for at least two of the corners. With the other two corners, you just lift, basically. It's a challenging track in a Cup car. It's a challenging track in an Indy car too, but if you can get it right in an Indy car then you can run it wide-open around there, and that's one less variable you've got to worry about when it comes to getting around the racetrack."

Tires were a major issue in last year's race. And that concern has worried many, but not the drivers. Goodyear has had several tire tests at Indy to get ready for this year's race.

"Am I concerned about the tires?” Stewart said. “Not at all. I came up here for two days. I can promise you they have put a full-court press on making sure we don't have the issues that we had last year. I've gained a lot of respect for Goodyear over just the process of working on the tire for Indianapolis and the dedication that they've shown to making sure that that doesn't happen again.”

Despite the fact that NASCAR has raced here 15 times, the glory of crossing that yard of bricks on the final lap to win is still as big a deal as it was in 1994 for NASCAR drivers and for the generations of open wheel racers before that.

"Growing up in Indiana and every year watching the Indy 500 and the whole month of May leading up to it, a race at the Brickyard is more than just a regular points race,” Stewart said. “It's always been a big race to all of the Cup drivers, but then when you grow up in Indiana, it just makes it that much more important."

For Gordon, the win would mean not only the championship points, but it would earn him a chance to duplicate a tradition started by NASCAR.

"That special, gritty kiss with the bricks that we all want," Gordon said.

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