Brickyard 400
The Brickyard 400 is a car race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup. It takes place early August or since the 2007 season in late July at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, instead. The race distance is 400 miles ( 644 km ), corresponding to 160 laps on the 2.5 -mile Superspeedway.
After the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 is the second most important race in terms of the amount of undistributed prize money, and one of the most prestigious.
History
Prehistory
The first concrete tests with NASCAR race car there was in September 1991 when AJ Foyt was for publicity shots for the Craftsman tool manufacturers on the Speedway. Foyt and Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it agreed to complete a few test laps in Foyts Winston Cup race car. Although this test was not planned, and no direct effect, he offered still room for speculation about the future.
On 22 and 23 June 1992 nine top teams of the Winston Cup were invited to a tire test tire manufacturer Goodyear to Indianapolis. Although there was no official statement on this, the test was still an unofficial compatibility test whether the race cars of NASCAR would be competitive for a race at the Speedway.
After the test began numerous alterations to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thus, the outer walls and fencing were replaced in order to intercept the impacts compared to IndyCar racing car significantly heavier touring car can. Also the pit lane was widened and the surface of the individual boxes replaced by concrete. A third major change was the removal of the apron, which was replaced by separate, separate from the track entrances and exits.
On April 14, 1993 announced Tony George and the then president of NASCAR, Bill France Jr., that on August 6, 1994, the first Brickyard 400 would be discharged. On 16 and 17 August of the same year, then followed by a large-scale test, which was attended by 35 NASCAR-T eams. This test was also attended NASCAR legend Richard Petty, who drove himself a few laps and then gave his car to the Speedway Museum.
Race
The inaugural race took place under the name Brickyard 400 as by Tony George and Bill France Jr. announces held on 6 August 1994. With a prize money of 613,000 U.S. dollars, it was the race with the highest so far distributed each in a single race win bonus. Winner of the inaugural tournament was Jeff Gordon, who graduated from 1994 until his second season in Winston Cup. A year later rain delayed the start of the race, who won the seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. With only one caution period for a total of four rounds, it was the race with the shortest interruption.
In the 1996 season the winner Dale Jarrett, the historic strip of the original bricks that made up the road, kissed after his victory at the start-finish line was. Since it is tradition that the winning driver and the winning team kiss this strip of bricks.
After Ricky Rudd in 1997 winning the Brickyard 400 secured, it was in 1998, Jeff Gordon, who became the first multiple winner. In the 1999 season, it did him Dale Jarrett same and repeated his victory of 1996. In the 2000 season the winner was Bobby Labonte and 2001 it was again Jeff Gordon, who stood on the podium and has now made it three wins in the Brickyard 400 import. It followed the victory of Bill Elliott in the 2002 season and during the 2003 season, before the last host as Brickyard 400 in the 2004 season, Jeff Gordon for the fourth time won the race by Kevin Harvick.
From 2005 to 2009 the insurance company Allstate was the main sponsor of the race, which was held during this period under the name Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. First winner was the " local hero " Tony Stewart, who as Hélio "Spiderman" Castroneves climbed up the catch fence at the start-finish line after his victory similar. In the 2006 season the winner Jimmie Johnson, who later won the championship was called. 2007 repeated Tony Stewart 's victory in 2005 against the second-place Juan Pablo Montoya, who became the first driver who has competed in all three major races at the Speedway: the Allstate 400, the Indianapolis 500 and the U.S. Grand Prix Formula 1 it is further worth noting that the race was postponed by one week forward to the 2007 season and since then no longer the beginning of August, but the end of July takes place.
The race of the 2008 season made for a tire debacle similar to that of Formula 1 in the 2005 season: Although the tires just average held five to six rounds in April 2008 tire tests by the manufacturer Goodyear, same tires were selected for the race, because it was assumed, would that, by increasing the rubber marks on the track during the race weekend to improve the problem or even solve itself. However, this expectation is not met, so that the tires had been largely resolved after about ten laps down to the carcass. As a result, NASCAR called the next five caused by incidents yellows six so-called "Competition Cautions " from where the drivers were able to change their tires for safety reasons. After the race distance of 160 laps, of which 52 were completed under yellow and the longest section was 13 laps without interruption, Jimmie Johnson won the second victory after 2006.
Winner
* 2004: 402.5 miles / 161 laps due to Green- White- Checkered