Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

NASCAR race infobox
Name=Allstate 400 at The Brickyard
Logo=2008brickbig.jpg
Img_size=125px
Venue=Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sponsor=Allstate
First race=1994
Distance=400 miles (644 km)
Laps=160
Previous names=Brickyard 400 (1994-2004)
The Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, introduced as the Brickyard 400 in 1994, is an annual 400-mile (644 km) NASCAR Sprint Cup points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The event, when first held in 1994, marked the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1916. Since the inaugural race, the Allstate 400 has become NASCAR's most-attended event, drawing an estimated crowd of more than 250,000 fans annually. It also has become NASCAR's second highest paying race in dollars (behind the Daytona 500).

The term "Brickyard" is in reference to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's nickname. The course was paved in brick in 1909, and they remain under the asphalt pavement to this day.

Race origins

Early tests

In 1954, a 24-hour stock car endurance record run was conducted by Tony Bettenhausen, Pat O'Connor, and Bill Taylor. The drove a stock Chrysler to an average speed of approximately 89 mph.

In 1956, Ford attempted a 24-hour stock car record with drivers Johnny Mantz, Chuck Stevenson, and Chuck Davis. Though some records were set, the team failed to break the 24-hour record, and was forced to quit after the 18 hour mark.

On November 20, 1961, Nichels Engineering prepared a 1962 Pontiac Catalina Coupe and 1962 Pontiac Enforcer for a attempt at the one-lap, 500-mile, and 24-hour world stock car speed and endurance records at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two Nichels Engineering driving teams consisted of Rodger Ward, Paul Goldsmith, Len Sutton from USAC and Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly and Marvin Panch from NASCAR. Roberts set a one-lap record at 122.132 mph, and the NASCAR team set the 500-mile record of 113.292 mph. Both teams shattered the previous 24-hour records, running 2,586.878 miles (107.787 mph) and 2,576.241 miles (107.343 mph) respectively. [ [http://www.post-trib.com/sports/1069633,nichels.article Nichels Engineering shattered speed and endurance records at Indianapolis] ]

In 1970, Pete Hamilton drove a Camaro stock car at the Speedway for a test run. Around 1979-1980, A. J. Foyt also reportedly tested his Winston Cup stock car around the Speedway for a few unofficial test laps.

Recent tests

In September 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 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 caused some interest and speculation for the future.

In March 1992, IROC drivers Dave Marcis and Dick Trickle were invited to test at the Speedway. Trickle reportedly ran a lap hand-timed at 162.799 mph. At the time, the Speedway was considering hosting an IROC event during the month of May during activities leading up the Indianapolis 500. The second weekend of qualifying was becoming less-popular with fans, and an additional event was an idea to boost attedance. 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.

On June 22-23, 1992, nine top NASCAR Winston Cup series teams were invited to Indy 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 specators watched a rather exciting 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 catchfence 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.

On April 14, 1993, Speedway President Tony George, and the president of NASCAR, Bill France, Jr. jointly announced the Inaugural Brickyard 400 would be held Saturday August 6th, 1994. A new race logo was also unveiled. Later that same year, on August 16-17, thirty-five NASCAR teams took part in an open test at the Speedway. Several thousand spectators attended, and many announcements were made. Recently retired NASCAR legend Richard Petty took a few fast laps by himself, and then donated his car to the Speedway museum.

Television and radio

ABC

From 1994 to 2000 the race was broadcast live on ABC Sports. ABC had televised the Indianapolis 500 since 1965. ESPN carried live coverage of qualifying. The race was scheduled for the first Saturday in August, at 12:15 p.m. EST (1:15 p.m. EDT). Saturday was chosen for the running of the race to allow for Sunday as a rain date. In 1995, rain delayed the start until 4:25 EST (5:25 EDT). ABC had already signed off, and made the decision to air the race via tape delay on ESPN the following day. In the greater Indianapolis area, the race was shown tape delay that night at 7 p.m. on WRTV. The 1995 race ran until 7:03 p.m. EST (8:03 p.m. EDT), which is believed to be the latest cars have ever run at the circuit.

NBC

From 2001-2006, the race was broadcast on NBC, as part of a new eight-year $2.4 billion television deal involving FOX/FX and NBC/TNT. The race was moved from Saturday to Sunday, and the start time was moved to 1:45 p.m. EST (2:45 p.m. EDT). In 2006, Indiana began observing Daylight Saving Time, and the race was scheduled for 2:45 pm EDT.

ESPN

From 2007-2014, under the terms of a new $4.48 billion contract, television rights will be held by ESPN. The race swapped dates with the Pennsylvania 500, and effectively moved up one weekend. The change was made so that ESPN/ABC could kickoff their NASCAR coverage with the more attractive telecast. The move to cable drew some mild controversy after thirteen years of having been on network television. The starting time was slightly earlier than in the past, at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

Radio

All races have been broadcast on radio through the IMS Radio Network. From 1994-1999, Mike Joy anchored the broadcast. From 2000-2003, Mike King served as chief announcer. In 2004, PRN began co-producing the race. Doug Rice joined King as co-anchor. In 2007, Bob Jenkins replaced King as co-anchor with Rice.

elected race history

1994: The first running of the Brickyard 400 in 1994 saw the largest crowd to-date to witness a NASCAR event, and the single-largest race purse to-date. Rick Mast won the pole position. Young second-year driver Jeff Gordon took the lead late in the race after Ernie Irvan suffered a flat tire. Gordon drove on to a historic win in NASCAR's debut at the Brickyard.

1995: Second-round qualifying was rained out on Friday, and only a short "Happy Hour" practice followed. On Saturday, rain delayed the start of the race until late in the afternoon. Dale Earnhardt cruised to victory, in a race that was slowed only once for four laps under yellow.

1996: Dale Jarrett and his Robert Yates Racing crew began the tradition of the winning driver and crew kissing the row of bricks at the start-finish line. [http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/opinion/08/10/indy_kiss/index.html] , which has carried over to the Indianapolis 500.

1998: Jeff Gordon became the first repeat winner, holding off Mark Martin for the win.

2005: Hometown favorite Tony Stewart won his first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and climbed the catchfence to celebrate, in the same fashion as Helio Castroneves.

2007: Juan Pablo Montoya became the first (and to date is the only) driver to race in all three of the major events hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: The Allstate 400, Indianapolis 500 (where he won in his first and only attempt in 2000) and the Formula One United States Grand Prix (6 times from 2001-2006). Montoya, a rookie in the Sprint Cup series, finished second to Tony Stewart.

2008: The Car of Tomorrow was used at the race for the first time. The Goodyear tires suffered bad wear patterns, causing blowouts in some cases after only 10 laps of green flag racing. Lengthly competition cautions were put out at roughly 10-lap intervals for teams to change tires. However, Jimmie Johnson managed to tame the field and tire problems by winning for the 2nd time in his career. Johnson's win didn't come easy as he had to fend off Carl Edwards in the closing laps.

Past winners

ources

*"1994 Brickyard 400 Official Program"

External links

* [http://www.allstate400atthebrickyard.com Allstate 400 at the Brickyard - Official site]
* [http://www.indystar.com Indianapolis Star]
* [http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.net Indianapolis Motor Speedway Forum] - Site for fans to post views, opinions, and comments.

References