The 1994 Brickyard 400 was held on Saturday, August 6, 1994, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race marked the nineteenth race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the eighth race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series. It was the first NASCAR stock car race at the famous Speedway and the first race of any kind held at the track beside the Indianapolis 500 since the Harvest Classic in 1916. The race featured the largest crowd in NASCAR history, and a then NASCAR record purse of $3.2 million.
Second-year driver, 23-year-old Jeff Gordon, who once lived in nearby Pittsboro, was cheered on by the hometown crowd to a popular win. It was his second career NASCAR Winston Cup win and thrust the young Gordon, the future hall of famer, into superstardom. Gordon led the most laps (93) and took the lead for the final time on lap 156 (of 160) after Ernie Irvan suffered a blown tire. The race was a turning point in the 1994 NASCAR season. After smacking the wall on the opening lap, Dale Earnhardt charged through the field to a 5th-place finish. Earnhardt took the points lead, and would never relinquish it, en route to his record-tying seventh championship. Irvan's misfortune in the race was followed two weeks later by a serious crash at Michigan where he suffered a near-fatal head injury.
The race was a culmination of decades of speculation and over two years of preparation. While the event was looked on with enormous anticipation and significant media attention, the traditional nature of the Indianapolis 500 and the Speedway was a concern to ownership, some from the Indycar community, and some fans. Despite some mild complaints, the event was considered a huge success and a financial cash cow—it ultimately bankrolled the formation of the Indy Racing League. The race featured two former Indy 500 winners (A. J. Foyt and Danny Sullivan). Foyt came out of retirement to participate, which would be his final Winston Cup start, although he would attempt to enter three more races after, notably the 1995 Brickyard 400 and 1996 Brickyard 400, all of which he failed to qualify.
Background
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and the first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911. It became a tradition that the Indianapolis 500 was the only race held at the track annually. With the exception of a September race meet 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.
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. 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, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board of directors voted to pursue a second race at the Speedway, preferably a NASCAR Winston Cup event. In March 1992, IROC was invited to test cars at the Speedway. On June 22–23, 1992, nine top NASCAR Winston Cup series teams were invited to test at Indy. 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.
On April 14, 1993, Speedway President Tony George and 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. Immediately, anticipation for the event grew, as many drivers contemplated one-off entries, and comparisons were already being made to NASCAR's biggest event, the Daytona 500. ABC signed on to broadcast the race live, and ESPN would cover practice and qualifying.
1994 season Jimmy Spencer won the DieHard 500 at Talladega, immediately preceding the 1994 Brickyard 400. Going into the race, the top five in championship points were as follows:
NASCAR "tire war" was notable during the 1994 season. Both Goodyear and Hoosier tires were used by entrants. Most of the entries and many of the front-runners utilized Goodyear. A total of twelve Hoosier-shod cars would qualify for the race, led by Geoff Bodine.
In order to attract more entries, the initial Brickyard 400 was concurrently included in the then NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series schedule. One provisional starting position would be available to the top driver in Winston Transcontinental (a temporary rebrand of Winston West) points that did not qualify on speed. The points leader in Winston Transcontinental standings entering the race was Mike Chase.
Going into the race, conjecture amongst fans and media contemplated the possibility of an expanded field, a special qualifying format, a three-abreast starting grid, a celebrity pace car driver, or other changes for the race. However, NASCAR officials planned on treating the Brickyard 400 as any other points-paying race, with standard rules and regulations.
Tire tests
1992 test 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 feasibility test to see if stock cars would be competitive at the circuit. An estimated 20,000-25,000 spectators 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. ESPN covered the test.
Top speeds Driver Car make Entrant Mon. Tue.111Bill ElliottFordJunior Johnson165.001168.76724Ernie IrvanChevroletMorgan–McClure Motorsports161.772167.81732Rusty WallacePontiacPenske Racing160.686166.704442Kyle PettyPontiacSABCO Racing162.657166.19955Ricky RuddChevroletHendrick Motorsports162.375165.001617Darrell WaltripChevroletDarrell Waltrip Motorsports161.772164.56773Dale EarnhardtChevroletRichard Childress Racing162.212163.19486Mark MartinFordRoush Racing161.676162.34693A. J. FoytChevroletRichard Childress Racing — 161.4521028Davey AllisonFordRobert Yates Racing161.215161.261
1993 open test On August 16–17, 1993, thirty-five NASCAR teams took part in an official open test at Indy. 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.
Bobby Labonte () set the fastest lap on Monday, while Bill Elliott () turned the fastest lap overall on Tuesday morning. On Monday, Kenny Wallace spun out and hit the inside wall. He was taken to Methodist Hospital for minor injuries. At noon on Tuesday, recently retired NASCAR legend Richard Petty took four fast laps by himself and then donated his car to the Speedway museum. Later on Tuesday, during a session of "drafting practice," a full complement of over 30 cars took to the track, to simulate race condition. John Andretti spun in turn 1, and several cars crashed. No injuries were reported, but the incident drew the ire of some of the veterans who thought some drivers were pushing too hard. ESPN covered the test, airing highlights of both days on SpeedWeek.
Some of the participants compared the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Ontario Motor Speedway, which was built to closely mimic Indy's layout. Only a handful of drivers in the field had actually driven at Ontario before it closed (1980), and none of them felt they held any sort of measurable experience advantage.
Top ten speeds (combined sessions) Driver Car make Entrant 111Bill ElliottFordJunior Johnson167.46726Mark MartinFordRoush Racing165.905324Jeff GordonChevroletHendrick Motorsports165.868468Greg SacksFordTriStar Motorsports165.856522Bobby LabonteFordBill Davis Racing165.62467Geoff BodineFordGeoff Bodine Racing165.256725Ken SchraderChevroletHendrick Motorsports164.754890Bobby HillinFordDonlavey Racing164.49592Rusty WallacePontiacPenske Racing164.4291098Derrike CopeFordCale Yarborough Motorsports164.270
1994 testing During the summer of 1994, private testing sessions conducted by the manufacturers were held. Ford teams tested in late June, with Sterling Marlin leading the first week with a lap at . During the second week, Ernie Irvan turned the fastest unofficial lap at the Speedway at over . Rusty Wallace was close behind at . A. J. Foyt came out of retirement, shaking down and testing the #50 Ford.
In early July, Davy Jones turned a lap at , but would later wreck his primary car. Chevrolet and Pontiac's teams took to the track in mid-July. Danny Sullivan blew an engine.
Entry list 86 cars attempted to make the inaugural Brickyard 400 which is a NASCAR record.
(R) denotes rookie driver.