Know Your Track: Indianapolis

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Track Name: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

           

Nicknames: "The Brickyard"

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

Capacity: 257,325

Date of First Race: August 6, 1994

Layout: Indianapolis is a 2.5 mile asphalt rectangular oval. It also has a 1 yard wide strip of bricks at the finish line. Its four turns are each banked at 9 degrees. It also has two "short chutes" in between turns one and two, as well as three and four, that act as mini straightaways.  

Current Sprint Cup Races:

• July 26, 2015 - Crown Royal 400, a 400 mile, 160 lap regular season points race. This is a Sunday afternoon event.

Most Wins:         

• All-Time: Jeff Gordon, 5 wins
• Active: Jeff Gordon, 5 wins
• Latest Winner:
• 2014 Crown Royal presents the John Wayne Walding 400: Jeff Gordon

Description: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it's the world's most famous racetrack, so what more is there to say? When you stand inside the grounds of the speedway, you can feel the glory all around. So it's no wonder that this is one of the crown jewel events of NASCAR. 

Some fans may disagree that it should be a crown jewel race, or even a race on the NASCAR schedule at all. They see long, strung out races with little to no passing and question how the race is at all special. Sure, the flatness of the track doesn't lend itself to great passing like it does during the Indy 500, but ask any driver and they'll tell you that this is one of the big ones. 

A win here will be remembered forever because, for the most part, only the best of the best have been able to accomplish the feat. A win here means you and your team get to go down and kiss the legendary yard of bricks after receiving your trophy. Just ask Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Jeff Gordon, the guys who grew up in Indiana and have managed to win one, just how much it means to them.

There will probably never be side-by-side racing at Indy for as long as NASCAR is around. But that doesn't matter. The Brickyard will continue to host the series and tout one of its biggest races of the year.

Notable Races:

• 1994 Brickyard 400 - Many people questioned whether stock cars could ever truly run a race at Indianapolis, a track that had been IndyCar dominated for decades. But 1994 saw the idea become realized and Jeff Gordon, who spent a good deal of his childhood in nearby Pittsboro, won the inaugural race. It was, at the time, the young racer's second career win and delighted many of the 350,000+ fans who attended the event.

Fun Facts: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest stadium in the world. It has the capacity to seat over 500,000 people when needed.