The First Brickyard 400 Was A Transformational Race
by Tom Jensen July 24, 2026
NASCAR racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time broke new ground
Hard to believe, but it’s been 32 years since the NASCAR Cup Series first raced on the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of this year’s July 26 Brickyard 400.
With so much time elapsed since 1994, it’s easy to forget just how huge the inaugural Brickyard 400 really was. The first Brickyard 400 was far and away the biggest NASCAR news story of the year, the culmination of several years of effort by NASCAR Chairman William Clifton France (Class of 2010) to bring stock-car racing to Indianapolis.
Although the 2.5-mile track opened in 1909 and first staged the Indianapolis 500 way back in 1911, it had never permitted stock cars to race there. For NASCAR to finally race at the Brickyard was a momentous breakthrough. It was not a coincidence that bringing stock cars to the famed Brickyard helped trigger a period of explosive growth for NASCAR, as the race made international headlines and drew both a huge live audience and more than 5 million viewers for the ABC broadcast.
Indiana’s favorite son, Jeff Gordon, thrilled the partisan crowd when he scored a historic victory in the inaugural Brickyard 400 on August 6, 1994. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
“The Brickyard 400, the debut NASCAR Winston Cup race at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is the most eagerly anticipated motorsports event in oh say, 35 years – the time elapsed since the stock cars took to the mammoth Daytona International Speedway for the first Daytona 500 in 1959,” wrote NASCAR Winston Cup Scene Executive Editor Steve Waid, the recipient of the 2019 Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.
“This is definitely a big step for motorsports,” said seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt (Class of 2010) before the race. “This is something that is long overdue. This is something the fans have wanted for years… This is our chance to start some traditions. We’ll be making our mark in the history books.”
The first Brickyard 400 was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (Class of 2019), who spent his teenage years growing up and racing in Indiana. Gordon’s victory, which was enormously popular with the Indiana race fans, was well chronicled. It was also the first of his record five wins in this race.
Knowledgeable NASCAR fans know Gordon won the first Brickyard 400. But here are 10 facts from the first race fans might not know.
Stock cars first took to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1962, when NASCAR superstar Fireball Roberts led a 24-hour endurance run conducted by Pontiac. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
The First Stock Cars
While the 1994 Brickyard 400 was the first time stock cars raced at Indianapolis, it was not the first time they were on the track. That came in 1962, when Pontiac staged a six-car, 24-hour endurance test at the 2.5-mile track. The six Pontiac drivers included Hall of Famers Fireball Roberts (Class of 2014) and Joe Weatherly (Class of 2015) along with 1959 Indianapolis 500 winner Rodger Ward, Len Sutton and Paul Goldsmith.
Rising star Jeff Gordon (left) and then six-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt came into the 1994 Brickyard 400 as two of the favorites to watch. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
43 Drivers Qualified, 43 Didn’t
Winning the 1994 Brickyard 400 meant being immortalized in the NASCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway record books. As a result, the race drew a record field of 86 entrants, exactly half of whom qualified and half didn’t. The starting lineup included four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, 1985 winner Danny Sullivan and two other drivers who had raced in the 500: John Andretti and Geoff Brabham. How big was the first Brickyard 400? In 1995, the number of entrants dropped from 86 to 49.
First opened in 1909, Indianapolis Motor Speedway staged its first NASCAR race 85 years later. Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images
The Front Row
Almost as important as being the first Brickyard 400 winner was being the first to qualify on the pole. That honor went to Virginia native Rick Mast, who qualified his Richard Jackson-owned Ford at a speed of 172.414 mph. “When the car stuck coming off (Turn 1), I knew I’d have a pretty good lap if I didn’t screw it up,” said Mast. It was the second of four career poles for Mast, who was flanked on the outside of Row 1 by Dale Earnhardt.
Hall of Famers Filled Field
Twelve of the 43 starters in the 1994 Brickyard 400 went on to become inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. In addition to race-winner Gordon and fifth-place finisher Earnhardt, they included:
- Bill Elliott (Class of 2015), third;
- Rusty Wallace (Class of 2013), fourth;
- Darrell Waltrip (Class of 2012), sixth;
- Ricky Rudd (Class of 2025), 11th;
- Terry Labonte (Class of 2016), 12th;
- Bobby Labonte (Class of 2020), 16th;
- Jeff Burton (Class of 2027), 19th;
- Mark Martin (Class of 2017), 30th;
- Harry Gant (Class of 2026), 37th;
- Dale Jarrett (Class of 2014), 40th.
Now here’s a truly mind-blowing stat: The 12 NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers who raced in the 1994 Brickyard 400 were all inducted in different years. A 13th Hall of Famer, Ron Hornaday Jr. (Class of 2018), attempted to qualify but failed to make the race.
Penske Went For Sweep
After winning the 1994 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser Jr., team owner Roger Penske (Class of 2019) was going for an Indy 500-Brickyard 400 sweep with driver Rusty Wallace (Class of 2013). Wallace made a valiant effort in his iconic black-and-gold Penske-owned Ford and wound up in fourth place. “I think this was a great race, a safe race,” team owner Penske said after the event. “Congratulations to Jeff Gordon. He had a class car all week and drove a smart race.”
Twenty-four years later, Penske would get his sweep, when Team Penske driver Will Power won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and Brad Keselowski captured the Brickyard 400.
“Team Penske 60,” A NASCAR Hall of Fame Exhibit is on display in the Great Hall until May 2027. It features six historic Team Penske race cars from four different racing disciplines, as well as artifacts and videos as part of an in-depth look at the most successful team in global motorsports.
Brothers Brett (from left), Todd and Geoff Bodine all qualified for the inaugural Brickyard 400. A crash caused by contact between Brett and Geoff was one of the biggest stories of the race. Photo courtesy of Dozier Mobley/Getty Images
Brotherly Shove
Brothers Geoff, Todd and Brett Bodine all led laps in the 1994 Brickyard 400, but on Lap 100, any semblance of family harmony rapidly disintegrated. On Lap 100 of the 160-lap race, Brett was leading with Geoff running second. As the brothers headed into Turn 3, Geoff applied the bumper to Brett, running him up the track and out of the lead. At the exit of Turn 4, Brett returned the favor, tagging Geoff from behind and sending him crashing nose first into the outside frontstretch wall. Geoff was knocked out of the race, as was Dale Jarrett, but Brett was able to press on and finished second. Afterwards, the brothers had sharp words for each other, while admitting neither had spoken to the other for several months.
A jubilant Jeff Gordon wrote his name in the record books with his victory in the 1994 Brickyard 400. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Show Me The Money
At $2,857,900, the total purse for the 1994 Brickyard 400 was the largest in the 31-race NASCAR Cup Series season, easily topping the $2,378,160 paid out in the 1994 Daytona 500. Indianapolis winner Jeff Gordon took home a cool $613,000, with runner-up Brett Bodine earning $203,575. Gordon’s Brickyard haul was more than twice the $258,275 Sterling Marlin pocketed after his Daytona 500 triumph six months earlier.
Largest NASCAR Crowd Ever
The 1994 Brickyard 400 was a virtual instant sellout, with the official attendance listed as 350,000 fans. It was the largest crowd to see a NASCAR race live in history.
The Winner
Jeff Gordon’s historic victory in the 1994 Brickyard 400 came just two days after his 23rd birthday. For a young man who grew up in Pittsboro, Indiana, some 15 minutes from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the victory left him nearly speechless. “When (the announcement of the race) happened, well it was the moment we were all waiting for,” Gordon said after scoring just his second of what would become 93 career Cup Series victories.
“Just to be part of this was special. But now, to be the winner is more than we could ever think of. I’m like a kid in a candy store. I just don’t know what to say. … It’s far beyond words for me.”
Jeff Gordon’s victory wreath from the 1994 Brickyard 400 is on display in Heritage Speedway on the top floor of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Independent racer Norm Benning tried to make the show at Indianapolis in 1994 and Daytona in 2026. Photo courtesy of Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty
A Bizarre Footnote
As near as we can tell, there is just one driver who attempted to qualify for the 1994 Brickyard 400 and attempted to qualify for a NASCAR National Series race in 2026. He is Norm Benning, who didn’t make the field in either the 1994 Brickyard 400 or the 2026 Fresh From Florida 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Benning was 42 years old in 1994 and 74 this year.
