Kissing the Bricks - The Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 Race Primer
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It’s a venue that revolutionized NASCAR and brought a cult sensation to the forefront of North American motorsports.
Opened in August 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground - a home for winners and champions.
Since its inception in 1994, seven of the Brickyard 400’s 10 winners are former Sprint Cup Series champions. The other three are Kevin Harvick, Ricky Rudd and Jamie McMurray. Harvick is a perennial championship contender, Rudd has 23 career victories and McMurray has a penchant for winning marquee races.
Winning the Brickyard has never been easy as the track punishes those who take her for granted. Juan Pablo Montoya is the latest victim, failing to win after dominating on three different occasions.
In 1997, Ricky Rudd gambled on fuel and drove the final 46 laps without a pit stop to visit victory lane. The strongest cars were driven by Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin and they all lost after having to stop for fuel.
Indianapolis picks her own champions.
The most likely contenders can be found after the jump.
Juan Pablo Montoya has seen the Indianapolis from every angle imaginable. He’s the only driver to race in all three of the Speedway’s marquee events (NASCAR, F1 and the Indianapolis 500) and he’s the winner of the 2000 Indianapolis 500.
His first Brickyard appearance came in 2007 where he had the dominant car but was bested by a late-charging Tony Stewart, who won his second-ever 400. The past two seasons saw Montoya lead a combined 202 laps but suffered a pit road speeding penalty and late race crash in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Indianapolis is Montoya’s Daytona 500 and he’s hoping that he’s not Indy’s Dale Earnhardt.
If Montoya is going to break through, he will have to do it on pit road. Last year’s race saw him leading at the final caution when former crew chief Brian Pattie cost the Colombian eight spots with a devastating four-tire pit stop. He never recovered the track position and crashed out with 16 laps to go.
Team owner Chip Ganassi made the call before this year’s Brickyard to give Montoya fresh perspective and a new crew chief in Jim Pohlman. It could be a race winning and Chase making call for Montoya, who stands 17th in points.
Montoya again enters as the favorite.
In four Indianapolis starts, Montoya has one top five, one top ten and a single pole. His average finish is 21st but has a series-best average running position of 8.6. His driver rating is 105.3, third-best in the Sprint Cup Series.
Tony Stewart is Indianapolis’ hometown hero and shining star.
After failing to win the Indianapolis 500 from 1996 to 2001, Stewart finally accomplished a lifelong dream by visiting the pagoda’s victory lane in the 2005 Brickyard 400. He repeated the feat again in 2007.
He’s been a contender at the Speedway each year since his NASCAR arrival in 1999. In 12 Brickyard starts, Stewart has two wins, six top fives, eight top 10s and one pole. He averages an eighth-place finish and averages a running position of 11.5.
Smoke’s Indy driver rating is 106.4, second-best in the Sprint Cup Series.
Jeff Gordon is from Vallejo, Calif. but will always have a home in Indianapolis.
Growing up in nearby Pittsboro, Gordon was always destined to race at Indianapolis. He was the original crown jewel of the upstart Indy Racing League. That was before NASCAR snatched him away and that responsibility was placed on Stewart.
Despite choosing NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports, history has a way of course-correcting itself. The Speedway opened up for NASCAR in 1994 and it was none other than Gordon who won the inaugural Brickyard 400 - the second of what now stands at 84 Cup Series victories.
Gordon has won a record four Brickyard 400s with his last one coming in 2004. Gordon and new crew chief Alan Gustafson’s livelihood has come on flat tracks in 2011 and Indianapolis should be no different.
In 18 Brickyard 400 starts Gordon has four wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s and three poles. He averages an 9th place finish and averages a running position of 14.3, 12th-best in the Series.
His driver rating is 93.3, 10th-best in the Sprint Cup Series.
The Brickyard 400 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, IN airs at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday and will be televised nationally on ESPN. Race threads will be posted for all three touring series events on Saturday and Sunday. We hope to see you there!
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