Brickyard 400

Brickyard 400

NASCAR Cup Series
Venue	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Location	Speedway, Indiana, United States
Corporate sponsor	Big Machine Records
First race	1994 (1994)
Distance	400 mi (643.738 km)
Laps	160 Stages 1/2: 50 each Final stage: 60
Previous names	Brickyard 400 (1994–2004, 2010, 2024-present) Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (2005–2009) Brickyard 400 presented by BigMachineRecords.com (2011) Crown Royal presents the Your Hero's Name Here 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com (2012–2014) Crown Royal presents the Your Hero's Name Here 400 at the Brickyard (2015–2016) Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 (2017) Big Machine Vodka 400 (2018–2019) Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records (2020)
Most wins (driver)	Jeff Gordon (5)
Most wins (team)	Hendrick Motorsports (11)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Chevrolet (18)
Circuit information
Surface	Asphalt
Length	2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Turns	4

The Brickyard 400 (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG) is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1916. In its inaugural running, the Brickyard 400 became NASCAR's most-attended event, drawing an estimated crowd of more than 250,000 spectators. The race also paid one of NASCAR's highest purses. From 1994 to 2020, the race was held on the 2.5-mile oval, for a distance of 400 miles. The race was put on hiatus for three years (2021–2023) in favor of the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard which was run on a combined road course and run a distance of 200-mile (321.869 km). The event returned to the oval for the 2024 season.^[1]

The term "Brickyard" is a reference to the nickname historically used for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When the race course opened in August 1909, the track surface was crushed stone and tar. That poor surface was the cause of numerous and sometimes fatal accidents, so the track was subsequently repaved with 3.2 million bricks. Over time the bricks were paved over with asphalt, and now only a one-yard strip of bricks at the start/finish line remains exposed.

From 1994 to 2017, the event was held on the first weekend of August, or the last weekend of July. For 2018 and 2019, after schedule realignments, NASCAR moved the race from its traditional summer date to be the last race of the regular season on the weekend after Labor Day. In 2020 only, it was held on Independence Day weekend. In 2021, the event was moved back to late-July/early-August and moved to the Grand Prix road course rather than the full oval. The layout utilized was a newer modified layout of the circuit previously used for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix, and currently used for the IndyCar Grand Prix.

From 2005 to 2009, the race was known as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard under a naming rights arrangement with Allstate.^[2] From 2012 to 2016, Crown Royal was the title sponsor of the race; under its sponsorship, the race honored a military member or first responder selected by fans, who received VIP tickets to the event, and their name included in the title of the race.^[3][4][5][6] From 2011 to 2014, the country music record label Big Machine Records was the presenting sponsor, and it became the title sponsor beginning in 2017. After co-branding the event with Big Machine-signed artist Brantley Gilbert in 2017, subsequent races have had Big Machine's Big Machine Vodka,^[7] as the sponsor. The 2020 race was known as the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard. When the race moved to the road course for 2021, Verizon assumed naming rights.^[8]

The names of the winners of the Brickyard 400 are inscribed on the PPG Trophy, which is permanently housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Jeff Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400 on August 6, 1994. He is the most-successful driver in the history of the race, with a record five victories and three pole positions. Gordon also holds the most laps completed, most laps led, and most earnings in the race. Hendrick Motorsports was the most successful team with 11 total wins and five poles.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and the first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911. After initially hosting multiple race meets in 1909–1910, it became a tradition that the Indianapolis 500 would be the only race held at the track annually. With the exception of a race meet the weekend after Labor Day in 1916, no other races were held at the track through 1993. As the NASCAR Winston Cup Series began to grow in stature and popularity, speculation began to grow in the 1980s and early 1990s about the possibility of holding a race at Indy. From 1971 to 1980, NASCAR held races at Ontario Motor Speedway, which was built as a replica of Indianapolis. With their experiences at Ontario, it was generally presumed that the stock cars would find Indy's nearly identical layout equally competitive. In the mid-to-late 1960s, stock car racing slowly began to develop a following in Indiana, with the introduction of the USAC Stock Car Yankee 300 at Indianapolis Raceway Park and the State Fair Century at the Fairgrounds.^[9][10][11] Later, the Kroger 200 at the IRP oval became a popular stop on the NASCAR Busch Series.

During the reigns of Speedway presidents Tony Hulman (1946–1977), John Cooper (1980–1981) and Joe Cloutier (1978–1979, 1983–1989), the idea of hosting a second race at the Speedway was considered from time to time,^[12][13] but never seriously pursued by the board of directors. Cooper had talks with NASCAR,^[14] but Cloutier in particular, seemed the most resistant.^[15] Not only was tradition and fan interest an issue, but logistical scheduling issues were also obstacles. The congested and aging Gasoline Alley garage area, narrow pit lane, existing retaining walls and catch fences were considered insufficient for the large, heavy stock cars, thus significant capital improvements would be required to properly host NASCAR.^[13] Cloutier wanted to assure that a second race at the Speedway would outdraw Indianapolis 500 time trials, otherwise it would not make financial sense.^[15]

Around 1968, USAC proposed a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the USAC Stock Car division.^[16] It was to be called the "Tony Hulman Classic", but Hulman and the Speedway management politely declined the offer. In 1980, due to a tax dispute with the City of Daytona Beach and Volusia County, Bill France openly threatened to move the NASCAR Firecracker 400 to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.^[17] A few weeks later, however, the parties reconciled, and the plan to move the race was withdrawn.^[18]

In the summer of 1979, during the first USAC/CART Split, a proposal was made to hold a second race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After the Ontario 500 switched alliances mid-season to become a CART series race, USAC proposed a Labor Day weekend race meet that would consist of a USAC Stock Car/Championship Car doubleheader. A 250-mile stock car race on Saturday would be followed by a 250-mile Indycar race on Sunday.^[12][19] However, the plan never materialized. One of the issues noted was a potential conflict with the NHRA U.S. Nationals at nearby IRP.^[20] Even still, rumors of a late-summer stock car race persisted for another year or so.^[21][22][23] Speculation grew after Ontario Motor Speedway closed and opened up a date on the NASCAR schedule.^[24][25] In early 1982, then-Speedway president John Cooper was said to have made a 'hand-shake' deal with Bill France for a race, but it was vetoed by Mary F. Hulman.^[26] Cooper subsequently resigned, saying the details had never really been ironed out, and talks about a stock car race at Indy cooled for the next several years.^[14]

Though no stock car races had ever been held, the Speedway did occasionally see stock car testing and endurance runs. In 1956, Ford set a 500-mile stock car record,^[27] and in 1956, the Nichels Engineering Endurance Run was held. A. J. Foyt was known to have used his garage at Indy to store race cars during the summer months, and in 1979 was said to have taken his NASCAR stock car for test laps.^[28]

When Joe Cloutier died in December 1989, Tony George was named the president of the Speedway. Upon his appointment, George immediately began taking the Speedway in new business directions. However, at first, he was cautious and tentative about the idea of a NASCAR race at the Speedway.^[29]

On September 24, 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 Series stock car for a few laps around the track.^[30] 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 was an unusual sight, and stirred up some mild interest and speculation for the future.

In December 1991, Tony George proposed to the board of directors a plan to hold a second major event at the Speedway. The board approved the measure, and the Speedway started taking steps towards hosting a second race, preferably a NASCAR Winston Cup event, but also considering IROC.

In March 1992, NASCAR drivers Dave Marcis, Jim Sauter, and Dick Trickle (all of whom were IROC test drivers) were invited to test IROC cars at the Speedway.^[31] Trickle reportedly ran a lap that was hand–timed at 153 mph (246 km/h). At the time, the Speedway was considering hosting an IROC event during May as part of the on-track activities leading up the Indianapolis 500. The second weekend of Indy 500 qualifying was becoming less-popular with fans, and an additional event was an idea to boost attendance. 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. Instead, nine top NASCAR teams were invited to test (see below).

On June 22–23, 1992, nine top NASCAR Winston Cup series teams were invited to Indianapolis to participate in a Goodyear tire test.^[32][33] 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 spectators watched 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.^[34]

Following the test, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway started an extensive improvement project. The outside retaining wall and catch fence 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. The Gasoline Alley garage area had already been rebuilt in 1986, and it was said to have been designed to accommodate stock cars if and when a race were ever to materialize.^[35][36]

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 6, 1994. A new race logo was also unveiled. The initial contract was for two seasons, but the race was expected to return in perpetuity.

On August 16–17 the same year, thirty-five NASCAR teams took part in an open test at the Speedway. It was held as the teams returned from the second race at Michigan, the Champion Spark Plug 400. The top 35 teams in NASCAR points received invitations. Hosting the test in August mimicked the weather conditions expected for the race in 1994. Several thousand spectators attended, and many announcements were made. NASCAR legend Richard Petty, who had retired from competition the previous November, took four laps himself, then donated his car to the Speedway museum.^[37]

For its first running in 1994, the race was slated for a Saturday afternoon at 1:15 pm EDT, on August 6. At the time the first weekend of August was open on the NASCAR schedule. Since the race was not being held on a holiday weekend, track officials decided to observe Sunday as a makeup date in case of rain on Saturday. In 1994, practice and pole qualifying was held on Thursday. Practice, second round qualifying, and "Happy Hour" final practice were scheduled for Friday. In addition, during the first year, a special "pacing" practice was held where the field followed behind the pace car to measure pit road speed.

Starting in 1995, an additional practice session was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Pole qualifying was still held Thursday, and second round qualifying was held Friday. This schedule continued through 2000.

From 1998 to 2003, an IROC event was situated in the schedule. The IROC race would be held the day before the Brickyard 400.

Starting in 2001, the race was moved to Sunday. In addition, NASCAR eliminated second-round qualification. The schedule was compressed so practice was held Friday, and the single pole qualifying round was held Saturday. "Happy hour" final practice was also held Saturday. This schedule differed from typical NASCAR weekend schedules, which normally saw practice and pole qualification on Fridays. Moving the pole qualification to Saturday allowed for a potential larger audience, and also opened the schedule up for the Kroger 200 held at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park.

In 2007, coinciding with ESPN taking over NASCAR television rights, the race swapped dates with Pocono. The Brickyard 400 moved to the last weekend in July, and Pocono to the first weekend in August.

At the onset, the Brickyard 400 saw some of the largest crowds in NASCAR history. The first running in 1994 saw a sold-out record crowd of over 250,000 spectators. Track officials claimed to have received requests for tickets three to four times what they could fulfill, and had to resort to a lottery system to distribute tickets.^[38][39] In an effort to prevent the Brickyard 400 from upstaging the Indianapolis 500 in gate attendance, some bleacher seating was removed for the 400, and infield general admission was not offered for the first several years. In addition, some infield bleachers were dismantled and infield grass mound seating was closed off to spectators for the first couple of years for safety reasons. It was determined that the inside fences and guardrails that existed at the time were not sufficiently robust for the 3,500-pound stock cars.^[40] In 1996, a new concrete wall and catch fence was built along the inside of the backstretch, and the grass mounds were reopened to spectators.

After a tire controversy at the 2008 race, subsequent attendance began to sharply decline at the 400. Other factors that have been cited include poor sightlines compared to other NASCAR tracks, the overall lack of competition, and uncomfortably hot summer temperatures in July/August. In addition, following the change from a track-organized television contract (1994–2000) to a centralized NASCAR television package (since 2001), the local television blackout the Speedway imposed was lifted. The track has long been criticized for being poorly-suited for stock cars prompting some fans to choose other tracks. The subsequent addition of new races within a 160-mile radius, spaced only weeks apart at Chicagoland and Kentucky, gave fans other options. The 2016 race saw fewer than 50,000 people in attendance, leaving nearly 200,000 empty seats.^[41] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was held without spectators.

In 2012, the Brickyard 400 became part of Super Weekend at the Brickyard, consisting of four days of racing on both the oval and the road course. The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (formerly Grand Am) utilized the road course on Friday for the Brickyard Grand Prix along with the Brickyard Sports Car Challenge for the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series. The NASCAR Xfinity Series left IRP and moved to Indy for the Indiana 250. The Brickyard 400 continued to headline on Sunday.

After low attendance, the road course races were removed from the schedule after 2014. By 2016, with races only on the oval for the Xfinity and Cup Series, the "Super Weekend" moniker was dropped.

NASCAR realigned the three Midwestern races for the 2018 schedule, so that Chicagoland and Kentucky would be held two weeks apart in July, while Indianapolis moved to September, on a date historically known for the Harvest Auto Racing Classic in 1916. Distanced on the calendar from the other nearby races, and serving as the important final race before the NASCAR playoffs, race organizers looked for a boost in attendance. The expectations are that it will be conducted in cooler weather, and with the crowning of the regular season champion, and the last chance for prospective drivers to make the 16-driver playoff field, there is anticipation for renewed interest in the event. In 2018, however, rain moved through the area, completely washing out practice and qualifying, and postponed the race until Monday. Roughly 15,000-20,000 spectators were in attendance for Monday. The 400 also brought along a brand-new race, the Bryan Clauson Classic, a United States Auto Club Midget Car Championship event, on a new dirt track built in the infield near Turn 3.

The events expanded the 400 to a five-day event, with the Midgets racing on Wednesday and Thursday before the Friday-Sunday events of the NASCAR series. The Bryan Clauson Classic features two events, the 25-lap Stoops Pursuit and the 39-lap Driven2SaveLives BC39. The 2018 race featured a field of 118 cars. The Pursuit features all heat race winners and the drivers with the most passing points among non-winners in a 25-lap race where drivers must pass other cars or be eliminated at the end of each of the first four segments. After four five-lap segments, the remaining drivers will participate in a five-lap race for the win. The 39-lap Clauson event, named for an organ donor charity in Clauson's memory, features heat races and last-chance races similar to the Chili Bowl in its format. Those with the most passing points advance to the feature, while others must race their way in through preliminary night races.

In 2020, the Brickyard 400 was scheduled for Independence Day weekend, part of substantial changes to the NASCAR calendar. After only two seasons as the final race of the NASCAR regular season, the race will move back to mid-summer. The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway took the slot as the final race before the NASCAR playoffs.^[42] The Brickyard 400 took the July 4 weekend slot the Coke Zero 400 traditionally utilized since 1959, which originally was designed to have been a USAC Indycar race at Daytona but was cancelled after the death of George Amick in a 100-mile Indycar race at Daytona earlier in the year.^[43][44][45]

Due to scheduling changes for its season resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the IndyCar Series announced that it would move its GMR Grand Prix — a road course race normally held prior to the 500 — to the Brickyard 400 weekend. It will join the Xfinity Series race (which will also move to the road course for the 2020 season) as part of a rare double-header on July 4.^[46][47] Tony Stewart envisioned the theoretical possibility of pulling quadruple duty for the Clauson Classic, IndyCar, and NASCAR events in the same weekend.^[47] However, the pandemic caused the Clauson Classic to be cancelled.

Starting in 2021, IMS dropped the race in favor of using the road course configuration of the speedway for NASCAR events. As a result, the July 4 weekend spot it held was occupied by Road America and the race was changed to the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.^[48]

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, and became the first stock car driver to lead a lap at Indy. 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 Indy. In an effort to attract more entries, the event was concurrently included on the NASCAR Winston West schedule. No Winston West competitors qualified on speed, but point leader Mike Chase made the field via a Winston West provisional. Gordon's inaugural Brickyard 400 winning car (nicknamed "Booger"^[49]) is on display at the Hendrick Motorsports museum.^[50]

1995: Second-round qualification 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. Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett battled close over the final 20 laps for second, with Wallace holding off the challenge.

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,^[51] which has carried over to the Indianapolis 500. The race saw several blown tires after the speedway removed some rumble strips from the apron of the corners; Kyle Petty was injured when he blew a tire, slammed into the outside and inside wall off turn four, and was T-boned by Sterling Marlin. Johnny Benson led the most laps (70), but faded to 8th at the finish. Jarrett became the first driver to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year. After injuries suffered at Talladega, defending race winner Dale Earnhardt was relieved by Mike Skinner on lap 7, who drove to a 15th-place finish.

1997: In the final twenty laps, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, and Mark Martin held the top three spots, but none of the three would be able to make it to the finish without one final pit stop for fuel. Jeff Burton and Ricky Rudd also were close on fuel. On lap 145, Robby Gordon brushed the wall, and Burton ran over debris. Burton was forced to pit under green, but as he was finishing his stop, the caution came out. Burton flew out of the pits to beat the leaders, and for a moment it appeared he was in the cat bird's seat with four fresh tires, and would be the leader after all other drivers cycled through their stops. However, he was penalized for speeding while exiting the pit lane, and dropped to 15th. Ricky Rudd was among a few drivers who stayed out, and his gamble put him in the lead. Rudd drove the final 46 laps without a pit stop to take the victory, and is to-date, the only owner/driver ever to win the Brickyard 400.

1998: Jeff Gordon became the first repeat winner, holding off Mark Martin for the win. Dale Jarrett dominated the second 100 miles of the race but lost his chance near the halfway point when he ran out of fuel, and coasted back to the pits; he lost four laps but made them up due to numerous cautions. Gordon's victory was the first in the Winston No Bull 5 program.

1999: Late in the race, Dale Jarrett leads, but fourth-place Bobby Labonte is the only car in the top five that can go the distance without pitting for fuel. A caution comes out with 17 laps to go, allowing the leaders to pit, foiling Labonte's chances to steal the win. As the leaders pitted, in an unexpected move, Dale Jarrett took on only two tires. Jeff Burton saw this and pulled away after taking only two tires. His pit crew, however, had already tried to loosen the lug nuts on the left side. Jarrett led the rest of the way, becomes the second two-time winner, and erases his heartbreak from 1998.

2000: Rusty Wallace led 114 laps, and was leading late in the race when Bobby Labonte charged down the backstretch. Labonte took the lead at the stripe, and pulled away for the win. The race was slowed by only 2 cautions for 7 laps.

2001: With 25 laps to go, Jeff Gordon passed Sterling Marlin on a restart, and pulled away for the win. Gordon became the first 3-time winner of the Brickyard 400.

2002: Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer, locked in a burgeoning feud dating back to Bristol, collided on lap 36. Busch hit the turn 3 wall. Veteran Bill Elliott added the Brickyard to his long resume, and Rusty Wallace finished second for the third time.

2003: With 16 laps to go, Kevin Harvick used lap traffic to get by Matt Kenseth on a restart. A huge pileup occurred in turn three, and Harvick held off over the final ten laps to become the first driver to win the race from the pole position.

2004: For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, the Green-white-checkered finish rule caused a race to be extended, in this case for one additional lap. On the extra lap, Casey Mears blew a tire, Ricky Rudd hit the wall, then Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered tire failures. Jeff Gordon retained the lead to become the first four-time winner of the Brickyard. Gordon joined A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., and Rick Mears as four-time winners at Indianapolis.

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

2006: After suffering a blown front left tire early in the race that caused some fender damage, Jimmie Johnson passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. with six laps left to win at Indy for the first time and became only the second driver to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year. The first was Dale Jarrett in 1996.

2007: Juan Pablo Montoya became the first (and, to date, only) driver to race in all three of the major events hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500, Brickyard 400, and the U.S.G.P.). Montoya, a rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series, finished second to Tony Stewart. Stewart's 2007 winning car is owned and on rotating display at the Speedway museum.

2008: The Car of Tomorrow was used at Indy for the first time. The Goodyear tires suffered bad wear patterns, causing blowouts in some cases after only ten laps of green-flag racing. Lengthy competition cautions were put out at roughly 10-lap intervals for teams to change tires, which caused controversy and angered fans and media. Jimmie Johnson managed to tame the tire problems by winning for the second time in his career at Indy, holding off a mild challenge from Carl Edwards.

2009: Former Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya dominated most of the race, leading 116 laps. However, with 35 laps to go, Montoya was penalized (not without protest and a heated rant) for speeding in the pits. The infraction left Jimmie Johnson holding off polesitter Mark Martin for the victory. Johnson became the second three-time winner, and the first back–to–back winner of the Brickyard 400.

2010: 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya dominated most of the race for the second year in a row, leading a total of 86 laps. However, he gave up the lead when he took 4 tires in a late pit stop. He would restart 7th with 18 laps to go and was unable to recover. Montoya crashed with 16 to go and before the caution came out, Kevin Harvick had passed Jamie McMurray for the lead. On the final restart, McMurray passed Harvick to go on to win the 400. This made him become the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 during the same season, following Dale Jarrett in 1996 and Jimmie Johnson in 2006. McMurray's win also gave his team owner Chip Ganassi wins in the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500, and the Brickyard 400 all in the same season, making him the first team owner to do so.

2011: The final caution came out on lap 121 with Brad Keselowski out in front. With 39 laps to go, it would be difficult for the leaders to make it to the finish on fuel if they pit under the yellow. Since race laps at Indy are in the 51-second range, and a pit stop (including entering and exiting the pit lane) takes upwards of 40–45 seconds, green flag pits stops are not necessarily discouraged, unlike other circuits. Among the drivers who pitted on lap 123 was Paul Menard. After the green came back out, Jeff Gordon pitted on lap 134. As the leaders shuffled through their final pit stops, Menard took over the lead on lap 145. Meanwhile, Gordon, with two new tires, dramatically began charging through the field and was quickly in the top ten before moving up to 2nd position on lap 158. With now less than two laps to go, Menard stretched his fuel and held off Gordon on the last lap to score his first career Cup victory. Menard is the only driver to-date to have scored his first career Cup Series win at the Brickyard.

2012: The final caution came out on lap 130 with Jimmie Johnson leading. Over the final 20 laps, Johnson held off Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle to tie Jeff Gordon with four Brickyard 400 victories. Along with Gordon in NASCAR, Johnson also joined A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., and Rick Mears as the only 4-time winners in the entire history of Indianapolis

2013: During his final pit stop, Jimmie Johnson took on four tires when a lug nut broke loose. His stop lasted 17.4 seconds. Ryan Newman pitted a lap later. Aware of Johnson's struggles, Newman took on two tires. Newman emerged with a 7-second lead over Johnson with 16 laps to go. Johnson closed to within 2 seconds, but fell short as Newman held on for the victory.

2014: The race was served as its last air with ESPN, With 17 laps to go, Jeff Gordon passed Kasey Kahne on a restart on the outside of turn one to take the lead for the final time. Twenty years after winning the inaugural Brickyard 400, Gordon won the race for a record 5th time.^[52]

2015: The race was first aired on NBCSN. Kyle Busch won his first Brickyard 400, holding off Joey Logano in a green–white–checkered finish. Busch swept the weekend, winning also the Xfinity race on Saturday. Attention for the weekend was focused heavily on a new "high-drag" aerodynamic rules package implemented to improve competition. Jeff Gordon, racing for the final time at the Brickyard, was involved in a spin on lap 50, brushed the wall, and placed 42nd. With Logano's second place, Team Penske – still winless in the Brickyard 400 – finished 2nd for the fourth time.

2016: Jeff Gordon came from retirement to fill in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was recovering from a concussion, Kyle Busch won his second Brickyard 400, holding off the field in overtime and also winning the Xfinity race for a second year in a row.

2017: In the first Brickyard 400 to include stage racing, the first two stages were dominated by Kyle Busch. However, he was involved in an accident with Martin Truex Jr. on lap 111 following a restart that took out both cars. During the final stage, darkness began to become a factor following a red flag for rain early in the race, and two additional red flags for cleaning up following multiple wrecks. It appeared that Trevor Bayne, who was gambling on fuel mileage, was headed for his second career Cup Series win; but a caution came out at lap 150 that foiled his plan. Kasey Kahne had just pitted for fresh tires and fuel moments before the caution came out, and used that to take the lead after everyone else pitted. Kahne was able to stay in front for the first attempt at a restart finish, but was overtaken by Brad Keselowski on the second of these restarts. The caution came out again for Bayne and others crashing on the frontstretch. This brought another restart, but with Keselowski as the control car and Kahne second. Kahne amazingly managed to outrun Keselowski into the first corner and down the backstretch, and took the victory in overtime for his first win since 2014 when the caution came out yet again, this time for Denny Hamlin spinning into the wall, but as they had crossed the overtime line at the end of the straight, the race was finalized under yellow. This was the tenth victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the Brickyard 400. The race was the longest running event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the 1913 Indianapolis 500 due to rain delays, red flags, and crashes that causes the lengthening of the race.

2018: Rain washed out all practice and qualifying, postponing the race until Monday. Points leader Kyle Busch started on the pole, and the field of forty cars took the green flag without having turned a single practice lap. On fresher tires, Brad Keselowski passed second place Clint Bowyer on a restart with three laps to go. With less than two laps to go Keselowski caught Denny Hamlin, going side by side down the backstretch and into turn three. Keselowski took the lead coming off of turn four, and won the first Brickyard 400 for Penske Racing.

2019: A new format saw qualifying on Sunday morning, with the race held Sunday afternoon, and Kevin Harvick won the pole. Kyle Busch, who had already clinched the regular season title the previous week at Darlington, looked strong early on, but lost his engine just beyond the halfway point. Brad Keselowski was running in the top ten when Erik Jones dove hard to the inside causing both to hit the wall, with Keselowski hitting a tire barrier off of turn two landing almost on the passenger side. Jimmie Johnson failed to make the Playoffs for the first time in his career after crashing late in the race. Harvick led 118 of the 160 laps to take the win. Bubba Wallace, driving for Richard Petty Motorsports, finished third, his second career top five finish. Most of the field suffered significant damage due to collisions on pit road early on in the race. After the race, Harvick and his owner Tony Stewart climbed the fence. It was Harvick's second win, and Stewart's fourth victory at the event (twice as a driver, and twice as an owner).

2020: For 2020, the race was moved to July 4th weekend. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was held without spectators. Furthermore, the event became a doubleheader weekend. The IndyCar Series GMR Grand Prix and the Pennzoil 150 for the Xfinity Series were held on the combined road course on Saturday, with the Brickyard 400 on the oval on Sunday. The start of the race was delayed about an hour due to lightning in the area, then a crash in the pits brought out a red flag on lap 17. In the final stage, Denny Hamlin led Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth. In the closing laps, Hamlin's tires were starting to go away. With six laps to go, Hamlin's right front tire went down going into turn one, sending him hard into the outside wall. That set up an overtime finish between Harvick and Kenseth. Harvick got the jump on the restart, and cruised to victory, his third overall in the 400. Harvick also became the third driver to win the 400 in back-to-back years. The Bryan Clauson Classic was cancelled because of pandemic restrictions.

2024: After a three-year hiatus (during which time the race was replaced by the Verizon 200 on the road course), the Brickyard 400 will return on the oval. The 2024 race marks the 30th anniversary of the inaugural running in 1994.

Year	Date	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Sponsor	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
							Laps	Miles (km)
1994	August 6	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	DuPont	160	400 (643.737)	3:01:51	131.977	Report	[53]
1995	August 5	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Goodwrench	160	400 (643.737)	2:34:38	155.206	Report	[54]
1996	August 3	88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	Quality Care/Ford Credit	160	400 (643.737)	2:52:02	139.508	Report	[55]
1997	August 2	10	Ricky Rudd	Rudd Performance Motorsports	Ford	Tide	160	400 (643.737)	3:03:28	130.828	Report	[56]
1998	August 1	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	DuPont	160	400 (643.737)	3:09:19	126.772	Report	[57]
1999	August 7	88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	Quality Care/Ford Credit	160	400 (643.737)	2:41:57	148.194	Report	[58]
2000	August 5	18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Pontiac	Interstate Batteries	160	400 (643.737)	2:33:56	155.912	Report	[59]
2001	August 5	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	DuPont	160	400 (643.737)	3:03:30	130.79	Report	[60]
2002	August 4	9	Bill Elliott	Evernham Motorsports	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	160	400 (643.737)	3:11:57	125.033	Report	[61]
2003	August 3	29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench	160	400 (643.737)	2:58:22	134.548[62]	Report	[63]
2004	August 8	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	DuPont	161*	402.5 (647.76)	3:29:56	115.037	Report	[64]
2005	August 7	20	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	The Home Depot	160	400 (643.737)	3:22:03	118.782	Report	[65]
2006	August 6	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Lowe's	160	400 (643.737)	2:54:57	137.182	Report	[66]
2007	July 29	20	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	The Home Depot	160	400 (643.737)	3:24:28	117.379	Report	[67]
2008	July 27	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Lowe's	160	400 (643.737)	3:28:29	115.117	Report	[68]
2009	July 26	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Kobalt Tools	160	400 (643.737)	2:44:31	145.882	Report	[69]
2010	July 25	1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats	160	400 (643.737)	2:56:24	136.054	Report	[70]
2011	July 31	27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Nibco/Menards	160	400 (643.737)	2:52:18	140.762	Report	[71]
2012	July 29	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Kobalt Tools	160	400 (643.737)	2:54:19	137.68	Report	[72]
2013	July 28	39	Ryan Newman	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	Quicken Loans/The Smurfs 2	160	400 (643.737)	2:36:22	153.485	Report	[73]
2014	July 27	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Axalta	160	400 (643.737)	2:39:41	150.297	Report	[74]
2015	July 26	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Skittles	164*	410 (659.831)	3:06:51	131.656	Report	[75]
2016	July 24	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Skittles	170*	425 (683.971)	3:17:46	128.94	Report	[76]
2017	July 23	5	Kasey Kahne	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance	167*	417.5 (671.901)	3:39:00	114.384	Report	[77]
2018	September 10*	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	Discount Tire	160	400 (643.737)	3:06:35	128.629	Report	[78]
2019	September 8	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	Mobil 1	160	400 (643.737)	3:20:06	119.443	Report	[79]
2020	July 5	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	Busch Light Fireworks	161*	402.5 (647.760)	3:16:05	123.162	Report	[80]
2021–2023	Held on Road Course as Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
2024	July 21	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Hendrickcars.com	167*	417.5 (671.901)	3:29:09	119.77	Report	[81]

• 2004, 2015–2017, 2020, and 2024: Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish. 2016 and 2017 races took two attempts.
• 2017: Race was red-flagged three times, first due to weather and then due to crashes, and also set a record for cautions, collectively extending the race to nearly 9:00 p.m. eastern, just minutes from sunset.
• 2018: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.

# Wins	Driver	Years Won
5	Jeff Gordon	1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014
4	Jimmie Johnson	2006, 2008, 2009, 2012
3	Kevin Harvick	2003, 2019, 2020
2	Dale Jarrett	1996, 1999
	Tony Stewart	2005, 2007
	Kyle Busch	2015, 2016

# Wins	Team	Years Won
11	Hendrick Motorsports	1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2024
5	Joe Gibbs Racing	2000, 2005, 2007, 2015, 2016
3	Richard Childress Racing	1995, 2003, 2011
	Stewart-Haas Racing	2013, 2019, 2020
2	Robert Yates Racing	1996, 1999

# Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won
18	Chevrolet	1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2003-2014, 2017, 2024
6	Ford	1996, 1997, 1999, 2018-2020
2	Toyota	2015, 2016
1	Pontiac	2000
	Dodge	2002

# Wins	Sponsor	Years Won
4	DuPont	1994, 1998, 2001, 2004
	Lowe's	2006, 2008, 2009, 2012
2	GM Goodwrench	1995, 2003
	The Home Depot	2005, 2007
	Kobalt Tools	2009, 2012
	Skittles	2015, 2016

From 2011 to 2016, Crown Royal was the title sponsor of the race;^[4][3] Under Crown Royal sponsorship, the race was part of Crown Royal "Your Hero's Name Here" program, in which the race was named after an armed forces member or first responder nominated by fans. The nominated hero also received a VIP experience for the race, and presented the winner's trophy.^{[82][4][5][6]} For the 2016 race, retired Navy SEAL Jason Redman won the nomination. Redman chose to for the race to be named after his charity, the Combat Wounded Coalition, instead, resulting in the race being titled Crown Royal Presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard.^[82]

Year	Winner
2012	Curtiss Shaver
2013	Samuel Deeds
2014	John Wayne Walding
2015	Jeff Kyle
2016	Jason Redman*

From 1994 to 2000, per NASCAR rules at the time, qualifying was conducted as a single-car, single-lap format utilizing two rounds (over two days). The pole position winner was the faster qualifier during the first round. Note that in 1995, the second of qualifying was rained out, and the entire field reverted to first round speeds. From 2001 to 2013, qualifying was reduced to one round, but remained single-car/single lap. The pole position went to the fastest overall qualifier.

From 2014 to 2018, a knockout-style group qualifying format was used in the NASCAR Cup Series. In mid-2019, the series reverted back to single-car qualifying.

Year	Driver	Car Make	Entrant	Speed
1994	Rick Mast	Ford	Jackson Bros. Motorsports	172.414 mph
1995	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	172.536 mph
1996	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	176.419 mph
1997	Ernie Irvan	Ford	Robert Yates Racing	177.736 mph
1998	Ernie Irvan	Pontiac	MB2 Motorsports	179.394 mph
1999	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	179.612 mph
2000	Ricky Rudd	Ford	Robert Yates Racing	181.068 mph
	Brett Bodine	Ford	Brett Bodine Racing	181.072 mph (FQ)
2001	Jimmy Spencer	Ford	Haas-Carter Motorsports	179.666 mph
2002	Tony Stewart	Pontiac	Joe Gibbs Racing	182.960 mph
2003	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	184.343 mph
2004	Casey Mears	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing	186.293 mph
2005	Elliott Sadler	Ford	Robert Yates Racing	184.116 mph
2006	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	182.778 mph
2007	Reed Sorensen	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing	184.207 mph
2008	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	181.763 mph
2009	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	182.054 mph
2010	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	182.278 mph
2011	David Ragan	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	182.994 mph
2012	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	182.763 mph
2013	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Stewart-Haas Racing	187.531 mph
2014	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Stewart-Haas Racing	188.470 mph (TR)
2015	Carl Edwards	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	183.464 mph
2016	Kyle Busch	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	184.634 mph
2017	Kyle Busch	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	187.301 mph
2018	Kyle Busch	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	No speed (*)
2019	Kevin Harvick	Ford	Stewart-Haas Racing	185.766 mph
2020	Joey Logano	Ford	Team Penske	No Speed (*)
2024	Tyler Reddick	Toyota	23XI Racing	181.932 mph

• (FQ) – Denotes fastest qualifier; was accomplished during Second-round qualifying
• (TR) – Denotes one-lap stock car oval track record
• 2018 – Qualifying was rained out and the starting lineup was set by championship points
• 2020 – Qualifying was set via a random draw due to the coronavirus pandemic

(Through 2020)

Most starts	23	Jeff Gordon
Most wins	5	Jeff Gordon
Most Top fives	12	Jeff Gordon
Most Top tens	17	Jeff Gordon
Most poles	3	Jeff Gordon Kevin Harvick Kyle Busch**
Most laps completed	3519	Jeff Gordon
Most laps led	528	Jeff Gordon
Most laps led in single race	149	Kyle Busch
Average Start*	6.6	Juan Pablo Montoya
Average Finish*	8.6	Kevin Harvick

* from minimum 5 starts.
** Two poles earned; in 2018, qualifying was rained out and the field was set by championship point

Five races have been won by drivers from the pole position.

• 2003: Kevin Harvick
• 2008: Jimmie Johnson
• 2013: Ryan Newman
• 2016: Kyle Busch
• 2019: Kevin Harvick

Three drivers have won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same season:

• 1996: Dale Jarrett
• 2006: Jimmie Johnson
• 2010: Jamie McMurray

Five other drivers (Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Kevin Harvick, and Ryan Newman) have won both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in their respective careers, although not in the same season.

The winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship in the same season nine times out of 23 runnings from 1994 to 2016. This includes a notable streak of four consecutive seasons (1998–2001), and 8 out of 12 years from 1998 to 2009. Jeff Gordon (2) and Jimmie Johnson (3) are the only two drivers to have accomplished it more than once.

• 1998: Jeff Gordon
• 1999: Dale Jarrett
• 2000: Bobby Labonte
• 2001: Jeff Gordon
• 2005: Tony Stewart
• 2006: Jimmie Johnson
• 2008: Jimmie Johnson
• 2009: Jimmie Johnson
• 2015: Kyle Busch

Through 2024, a total of 20 drivers have competed in both the Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500. An additional twelve drivers have attempted to qualify for both, but failed to qualify at one or the other, or both races. Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve are the only two drivers to compete at the Indy 500, Brickyard 400, and U.S. Grand Prix at Indy. Montoya holds the highest finish between the two races, with two wins in the 500 and a second place in the 400. Larry Foyt was the first driver to compete in both races having competed in the 400 first; 15 of the 20 other participants competed in the 500 prior to racing in the 400.

Juan Pablo Montoya has also competed in the Brickyard Grand Prix and IndyCar Grand Prix. Two-time Indy 500 pole winner Scott Brayton was initially entered in the 1995 Brickyard 400, but wrecked his car during a private test session. He suffered a broken ankle and a concussion, and withdrew from the event.^[83] Geoff Brabham, Larry Foyt, Max Papis, and Bill Elliott have all also competed in the Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race. Of those four drivers, Elliott, the 2002 Brickyard 400 winner, is the only one to have never driven in the Indy 500 in his career.

Two car owners have swept both the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year. Chip Ganassi (Ganassi Racing) won both races in 2010, and Roger Penske (Team Penske) won both in 2018. During his driving career, Ganassi himself made five starts in the 500, but did not compete in any NASCAR races.

The drivers who have raced in both the 500 and 400 in the same year are denoted (**).

Failed to qualify:

• Raced in the 500 but failed to qualify for the 400: Gary Bettenhausen, Pancho Carter, Stan Fox, Andy Hillenburg, Davy Jones, P. J. Jones, Christian Fittipaldi
• Raced in the 400 but failed to qualify for the 500: Casey Mears, Ken Schrader, Scott Speed
• Failed to qualify at both 500 and 400: Charlie Glotzbach, Stanton Barrett

Neil Bonnett, who entered but did not qualify for the 1979 Indianapolis 500, announced plans to enter the 1994 Brickyard 400.^[84] However, Bonnett was fatally injured in a crash at Daytona in February 1994, five months before the Brickyard 400 was to be held.^[85] Junior Johnson, who entered as a driver but did not qualify for the 1963 Indianapolis 500, was a car owner at the 400 in 1994–1995. Three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti switched to NASCAR for the 2008 season. However, his team disbanded less than a month before he was expected to enter the 2008 Brickyard 400.

At the onset of the Brickyard 400 in 1994, track officials were determined to not detract from the traditional nature of the Indianapolis 500, and establish "new traditions" for the Brickyard 400. At its inception, the "400 Festival", a local civic organization (similar to the 500 Festival in May), was founded to promote the event and organize various events in around the community in the days leading up to the race. After a handful of years, the 400 Festival disbanded. Since the 2000s, the annual Hauler Parade now kicks off the race weekend. The teams transporters parade into the Town of Speedway, and the participants take part in an interactive fan fest with spectators.

Several of the key features of the Indy 500 pre-race traditions were dropped or tweaked. The Purdue band was omitted, in favor of other schools from the state (Indiana State and Indiana University). The song "Back Home Again in Indiana" was decidedly not included, however, Jim Nabors was invited in 1994 to sing the national anthem. Unlike the Indy 500, a celebrity pace car driver is seldom used in NASCAR, and one was not used for the first many years of the Brickyard 400. In more recent years a ceremonial pace car driver has been added. Chevrolet has been the exclusive provider of the pace car (or pace truck) for all editions from 1994 to 2020.

In a slight contrast to the Indy 500, many of the national anthem performers invited have been from country music, as a gesture to NASCAR's ties to the south. It also reflects upon one of the event's longtime sponsors - Big Machine Records. Contemporary Christian singers have also been invited several times. Traditions that were kept include a balloon release, a flyby, and an invocation (The last two are part of most NASCAR events). Rev. Howard Brammer of Traders Point Christian Church conducted the invocation for every Brickyard 400 from 1994 to 2019, differing from the Indy 500, where the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis is normally invited. In 2020, Mark Schuitema of College Park Church took over the duty.

In 1998, for the first time since 1954, a person gave the starting command at the track who was not a member of the Hulman-George family. The president of NASCAR, Bill France Jr. gave the command, celebrating the 50th anniversary of NASCAR.

Year	Pace Car	Pace Car Driver	National anthem	Starting command	NASCAR Starters	Honorary starter
1994	Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34	Elmo Langley	Jim Nabors	Mary F. Hulman	Doyle Ford	Stephen Goldsmith
1995	Chevrolet C/K 1500	Elmo Langley	Steve Wariner	Mary F. Hulman	Doyle Ford
1996	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	Elmo Langley	Rhett Akins	Mary F. Hulman	Doyle Ford
1997	Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34	Buster Auton	Tracy Byrd	Mari Hulman George	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise	Stephen Goldsmith
1998	Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34	Buster Auton	The Marching Hundred	Bill France Jr.	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise
1999	Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	Buster Auton	Ricochet	Mari Hulman George	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise
2000	Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	Buster Auton	Melvin Carraway	Mari Hulman George	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise
2001	Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	Jay Leno (start) Buster Auton (race)	Straight No Chaser	Mari Hulman George	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise	Chuck Conaway
2002	Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	Kurt Ridder (start) Buster Auton (race)	Jimmy Ryser	Mari Hulman George	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise	John G. Middlebrook
2003	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	Buster Auton	Montgomery Gentry	Mari Hulman George	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise	Larry Rockwell
2004	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	Brett Bodine	Rascal Flatts	Mari Hulman George	Jimmy Howell Rodney Wise	James Spencer
2005	Chevrolet SSR	Brett Bodine	Diamond Rio	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise	Dennis Haysbert
2006	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	Brett Bodine	Kelly Rowland	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise	Chris Noth
2007	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	Brett Bodine	Sgt. Byron Bartosh	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise	James Denton
2008	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	Brett Bodine	Daniel Rodríguez	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise	John C. McGinley
2009	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	Brett Bodine	Casey Jamerson Kristen Santos (ASL)	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise	Tyler Hansbrough
2010	Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport	Brett Bodine	Steven Curtis Chapman	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise	Dallas Clark
2011	Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport	Hope Solo (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Rascal Flatts	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise	Scott Borchetta
2012	60th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette	Ron Howard (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Raul Malo	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise
2013	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1	Sage Steele (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Cassadee Pope	Mari Hulman George	Rick Monroe Rodney Wise
2014	Chevrolet SS	Chris Pratt (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Drake White	Mari Hulman George
2015	Chevrolet SS	Lauren Holiday (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Kellie Pickler	Mari Hulman George
2016	Chevrolet SS	Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Cassadee Pope	Tony George		David Rojas
2017	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1	Jeff Gordon (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Carly Pearce	Tony George		Scott Borchetta
2018	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1	Dale Earnhardt Jr. (start)[86] Brett Bodine (race)	Carly Pearce (scheduled) Payton Smith (Monday)	Scott Borchetta		Scott Borchetta
2019	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1	Richard Childress (start) Brett Bodine (race)	Danielle Bradbery	Scott Borchetta		Mark Borchetta
2020	Chevrolet Silverado	Brett Bodine	Abbey Cone	Scott Borchetta
2024	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1	Rick Hendrick	Ephraim Owens

• In 2016, Tony Stewart led the field out, but took his spot in the field before the green flag wove.
• In 2018, Carly Pearce was scheduled to sing the national anthem, but the race was rained out and rescheduled for the next day. Big Machine Records artist Payton Smith sang in substitute.

From 1994 to 2000, the race was broadcast live on ABC Sports, who had televised the Indianapolis 500 since 1965. ESPN/ESPN2 carried live coverage of practice and qualifying. The race was scheduled for the first Saturday in August, at 12:15 pm EST (1:15 pm EDT). Saturday was chosen for the running of the race to allow for Sunday as a rain date. In the Indianapolis market, the race was blacked out, and aired in same-day tape delay later in the evening.

Prior to the first running, ESPN covered the feasibility tests in both 1992 and 1993 through its SpeedWeek program. During the 1992 test, ESPN utilized on-board footage from inside Kyle Petty's car, captured from Petty's personal video camera. During the summer leading up to the 1994 race, ESPN broadcast a series of preview shows titled Road to the Brickyard.

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 pm on WRTV as planned. The 1995 race ran until 7:03 pm EST (8:03 pm EDT), which was believed to be the second-latest time of day cars have ever driven on the track.^[87]

Year	Network	Lap-by-lap	Color commentator(s)	Pit reporters	Ratings[88]
1994	ABC	Bob Jenkins	Benny Parsons	Jack Arute Jerry Punch Gary Gerould	5.7
1995	ABC ESPN	Bob Jenkins	Benny Parsons	Jack Arute Jerry Punch Gary Gerould	4.3 (ABC) 2.9 (ESPN)[89]
1996	ABC	Bob Jenkins	Benny Parsons Danny Sullivan (turn 2)	Jack Arute Jerry Punch Gary Gerould	4.3
1997	ABC	Bob Jenkins	Benny Parsons	Jack Arute Jerry Punch Bill Weber	5.3/18
1998	ABC	Bob Jenkins	Benny Parsons	Jack Arute Jerry Punch Bill Weber	4.1/14
1999	ABC	Bob Jenkins	Benny Parsons	Jerry Punch Bill Weber Ray Dunlap	4.6/15
2000	ABC	Bob Jenkins	Benny Parsons Ray Evernham	Jerry Punch Bill Weber Ray Dunlap	3.7/10

• Note: Paul Page served as pre-race host in 1994–1996.

From 2001 to 2006, the race was broadcast on NBC, as part of a new eight-year, $2.4-billion centralized 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 pm EST (2:45 pm EDT). In 2006, Indiana began observing Daylight Saving Time, and the race was scheduled for 2:45 pm EDT.

After switching to NBC and the centralized television contract, the local blackout policy was lifted. During this contract, TNT carried pole qualifying live. The final "Happy Hour" practice was carried live on CNN/SI in 2001, and on Speed from 2002 to 2006.

Year	Network	Host	Lap-by-lap	Color commentator(s)	Pit reporters	Ratings[88]	Viewers[88]
2001	NBC	Bill Weber	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach	Bill Weber Marty Snider Dave Burns Matt Yocum	6.2/16
2002						6.3/16	10.2 million
2003						6.0/15	9.7 million
2004						6.1/15	9.3 million
2005			Bill Weber		Allen Bestwick Marty Snider Dave Burns Matt Yocum	6.2/15	9.5 million
2006						5.5/13	8.645 million

• Notes: Bill Weber served as pre-race host on the NBC "War Wagon" from 2001 to 2004, and in the booth in 2005–2006.

From 2007 to 2014, under the terms of a new $4.48-billion contract, television rights were 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 kick off 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 pm EDT. Practice and qualifying are carried by ESPN, ESPN2, and Speed.

In 2009–2014,^[90] the race was advertised on ESPN as Brickyard 400 presented by Golden Corral. The different name is due to a standing policy by NASCAR to not mention the race's title sponsor on-air more than the required twice per hour unless an advertising premium is paid to the network.^[91][92]

Year	Network	NASCAR Countdown	Lap-by-lap	Color commentator(s)	Pit reporters	Ratings [88][93][94][95]	Viewers [88][93][94][95]
2007	ESPN	Brent Musburger Suzy Kolber Brad Daugherty	Jerry Punch	Rusty Wallace Andy Petree	Allen Bestwick Dave Burns Jamie Little Mike Massaro	4.2 (4.9 cable)	6.574 million
2008		Allen Bestwick Rusty Wallace Brad Daugherty		Dale Jarrett Andy Petree	Dave Burns Jamie Little Mike Massaro Shannon Spake	4.3 (5.1 cable)	6.668 million
2009		Allen Bestwick Rusty Wallace Brad Daugherty Ray Evernham			Dave Burns Jamie Little Shannon Spake Vince Welch	4.1 (4.8 cable)	6.487 million
2010			Marty Reid		Jerry Punch Dave Burns Jamie Little Vince Welch	3.6 (4.2 cable)	5.709 million
2011		Nicole Briscoe Rusty Wallace Brad Daugherty	Allen Bestwick			4.0 (4.6 cable)	6.337 million
2012		Nicole Briscoe Rusty Wallace Brad Daugherty Ray Evernham				3.3	5.1 million
2013						3.6	5.5 million
2014[96]		Nicole Briscoe Rusty Wallace Brad Daugherty				3.4	5.2 million

Under the terms of a new $2.7 billion television deal from 2015 to 2024, the race is part of the NASCAR on NBC package. In 2015 and 2016, the race aired live on NBCSN. In 2017, as a deal with broadcasting changes, the race aired on NBC.

Also in 2015 and again in 2016, the race was advertised on NBCSN as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing from the Brickyard Presented by Golden Corral, with the Golden Corral sponsorship being transferred from ESPN. Crown Royal has never paid the advertising premiums required by the network broadcasting the race to be mentioned as title sponsor of the race, either to ESPN/ABC or to NBC. In 2017, the race aired on NBC, returning to a broadcast network for the first time since 2006. The race moved back to NBCSN in 2018 before returning to NBC for its final two years (2019 and 2020).^[97]

Year	Network	Host	Lap-by-lap	Color commentator(s)	Pit reporter(s)	Ratings	Viewers
2015	NBCSN	Krista Voda Kyle Petty Dale Jarrett	Rick Allen	Jeff Burton Steve Letarte	Marty Snider Dave Burns Mike Massaro Kelli Stavast	3.0[98]	4.7 million
2016						3.1[99]	5.2 million
2017	NBC				Marty Snider Dave Burns Kelli Stavast Parker Kligerman	3.3	5.6 million
2018	NBCSN			Steve Letarte Mike Bagley (turn 2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (turn 3) Jeff Burton (turn 4)		1.2	5.6 million
2019	NBC				Marty Snider Dave Burns Kelli Stavast	1.9	3.0 million
2020		Mike Tirico Dale Jarrett		Jeff Burton Steve Letarte Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Marty Snider Kelli Stavast	2.7	4.3 million
2024		Marty Snider Dale Jarrett		Jeff Burton Steve Letarte	Marty Snider Dave Burns Kim Coon

All races have been broadcast on radio through the IMS Radio Network. Since 2004, Performance Racing Network has co-produced the race. Doug Rice, who is the chief announcer for PRN, currently anchors the broadcast, with PRN staff joining with IMS during the race broadcast.

From 1994 to 1999, Mike Joy anchored the broadcast. From 2000 to 2003, Mike King served as chief announcer. In 2004, Doug Rice joined King as co-anchor. In 2007–2008, the co-anchors were Doug Rice and Bob Jenkins. In 2009, Jenkins moved to Versus for IndyCar, and as a result, Chris Denari took over as co-anchor with Doug Rice.

• Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
• Pennzoil 150 (former Xfinity race)
• Pennzoil 250
• Indianapolis 500
• IROC at Indy
• List of attractions and events in Indianapolis

• Official website
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results at Racing-Reference

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