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History of the Cup Series at Indianapolis Oval

VaselineJuly 20, 2024

0 4 minutes read

History of the Cup Series at Indianapolis Oval

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval on Sunday after a three-season hiatus for the Brickyard 400.

There have been good and bad experiences during the Cup Series’ 27 races at the IMS oval, and those experiences have helped shape the story of why oval-dependent NASCAR has switched to the street course at the world’s most recognizable oval track in 2021, and back again.

Here’s a quick summary of NASCAR’s history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

NASCAR debut at Indianapolis in 1994

NASCAR first approached the idea of holding a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1992 with a tire test. A year later, IMS and NASCAR announced the race date for the first weekend in August 1994.

Think of IMS and the Indianapolis 500 back then as motorsports’ version of Augusta National and the Masters in terms of exclusivity and exposure. The Masters takes place in early April, and that was the only major golf tournament at Augusta National all year. The Indianapolis 500 took place over a few weeks in May, and that’s all race fans across the country saw of IMS until the following year’s race.

The inaugural Brickyard 400 was a spectacle in modern NASCAR history. Eighty-six cars entered the race for 43 positions. Among others, 59-year-old AJ Foyt made the field, while Charlie Glotzbach failed to qualify in his last attempt at a Cup Series race.

Jeff Gordon, who moved from California to Indiana as a child to jump-start his fledgling racing career, won the inaugural race after a late-race duel with Ernie Irvan. Tom Higgins of the Charlotte Observer wrote in the next day’s edition that “there are predictions that (the Brickyard 400) will boost the popularity of Winston Cup racing.”

The 400 almost immediately became one of the crown jewels of the Cup schedule, and NASCAR’s popularity increased throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Until it folded.

Kissing the bricks is an Indy tradition, born from the Brickyard 400 and Dale Jarrett in 1996

The Brickyard 400 has had a long-lasting impact on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 in at least one respect.

After winning the 400 meters in 1996, Dale Jarrett and crew chief Todd Parrott led their Robert Yates Racing team to the brick start-finish line to kiss the bricks at the Brickyard.

The late Scott Brayton kissed the stones after taking pole for the 1995 Indy 500, but Jarrett, Parrott and the entire No. 88 Robert Yates Racing team sealed the tradition by kissing the stones after the race.

Kissing the rocks is now as synonymous with winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as drinking milk in victory lane.

Tire problems in 2008 were the low point of the Brickyard 400

NASCAR and Goodyear have never made a mistake as big as they did with the tire they brought to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008.

The track went rubber-free all weekend, leading to major tire wear during the 400. Several cars suffered blown tires and extensive damage during the race, forcing NASCAR to stagger the competition cautions and use extra sets of tires to complete the full 160 laps. NASCAR president Mike Helton even came to the ESPN broadcast booth to address the concerns.

The race, won by Jimmie Johnson, featured six competitive cautions for tire wear, with the longest green-flag run of 13 laps. Toward the end, the race pace had noticeably slowed as drivers went into survival mode.

“I don’t have to tell you that what happened on Sunday was a joke,” David Poole of The Charlotte Observer said in the July 28, 2008, issue of the paper as he began his race-day observations.

“The lamest spectacle in racing,” read the headline in the Indianapolis Star of July 28, 2008.

Race moves to IMS road circuit in 2021

In the 2010s, attendance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway declined significantly and the quality of racing also declined.

Still, it was notable in the fall of 2020 when NASCAR announced that the IMS race date would be at the track in 2021. The Cup and Xfinity Series held races at the IMS track from 2021 to 2023, and neither the track nor the races were a clear step forward. For one, the inaugural Cup track race had an issue with curbing through Turns 5 and 6, resulting in multiple issues and many wrecked race cars simply trying to race through the corners.

But it was also the most important oval racing series in the world, with a street circuit on the most important oval circuit in the world.

That has changed in 2024 and the Brickyard 400 is back.

NASCAR Indianapolis: Brickyard 400 Previous Winners

2020: Kevin Harvick
2019: Kevin Harvick
2018: Brad Keselowski
2017: Kasey Kahne
2016: Kyle Busch
2015: Kyle Busch
2014: Jeff Gordon
2013: Ryan Newman
2012: Jimmie Johnson
2011: Paul Menard
2010: Jamie McMurray
2009: Jimmie Johnson
2008: Jimmie Johnson
2007: Tony Stewart
2006: Jimmie Johnson
2005: Tony Stewart
2004: Jeff Gordon
2003: Kevin Harvick
2002: Bill Elliott
2001: Jeff Gordon
2000: Bobby Labonte
1999: Dale Jarrett
1998: Jeff Gordon
1997: Ricky Rudd
1996: Dale Jarrett
1995: Dale Earnhardt
1994: Jeff Gordon

NASCAR Cup Series Indianapolis race TV schedule, start time

Green flag time: Approximately 1:30pm CT on Sunday, July 21st
TV coverage: NBC (watch FREE on Fubo)
Radio: IMS Radio Network (102.5 FM in Nashville)
Streaming: FUBO (free trial available); NBC Sports app (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).

The Brickyard 400 will be televised nationally on NBC. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app and FUBO, which is offering a free trial to potential subscribers.

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VaselineJuly 20, 2024

0 4 minutes read