Top 10 moments of the Brickyard 400

10. Newman Outduels Johnson (2013)

South Bend, Indiana native Ryan Newman was looking to finally earn his first victory in the 2013 Cup Series season at Indianapolis after finding out that he would not be returning to Stewart-Haas Racing the following year.

He earned the pole and found himself in a dramatic battle with four-time winner Jimmie Johnson, looking to break a tie with Jeff Gordon for the most wins in the race. With few restarts and passing opportunities, pit stops proved to be the decisive factor in the race.

Johnson suffered a slow final stop and Newman emerged unchallenged over the final 12 laps to score a popular win in front of his home audience.

9. Keselowski wins unpredictable affair

Even though a thunderstorm postponed the 2018 running of the Brickyard 400 to the next available day, those that chose to stay witnessed an unexpected showdown of parity and strategy compared to previous editions.

Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were amongst those who took turns as the leader as a result of various strategies, while Matt Kenseth emerged with a stage victory after he began splitting up the schedule in the No. 6 with Trevor Bayne just a few weeks earlier.

Jeffrey Earnhardt and Landon Cassill crashed late and gave Brad Keselowski the opportunity needed to pass Hamlin with fresher tires in overtime for his first Brickyard 400 win. Hamlin was not pleased with the circumstances that led to him losing the race and infamously pondered why ‘meaningless lap cars’ were allowed on track.

8. Kahne’s final victory

An incident between the two dominant drivers in Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. with just under 50 laps to go opened the door for anyone to win the 2017 Brickyard 400.

Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski traded the lead over the next 31-lap green flag run but a multi-car crash between Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Erik Jones occurred while Kasey Kahne was in the pits, giving him control of the race over the final 10 laps.

Several more cautions eliminated drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney, all while the race came closer to being ended prematurely by impending darkness over a track that famously has no lights. Kahne successfully withstood every single challenge Keselowski attempted to claim what would be his final victory in the Cup Series.

7. Menard outlasts Gordon (2011)

The Menard family has long been synonymous with the Indianapolis 500, having fielded cars for drivers such as Al Unser, Johnny Rutherford and Tony Stewart but never once visiting victory lane at the historic track.

Paul Menard, the son of company owner John Menard Jr., had endured similar fortunes during his time in the Cup Series. Entering the 2011 Brickyard 400, Paul was on his fourth different Cup Series team in Richard Childress Racing following five winless campaigns.

Paul finally broke through for his first victory at the track that meant so much to his family in dramatic fashion. He was tasked with holding off Jeff Gordon with a dwindling fuel supply but saved just enough to earn the opportunity to kiss the bricks on the frontstretch.

6. Tony Stewart accomplishes lifelong dream (2005)

Tony Stewart wanted nothing more than to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during a childhood spent growing up in Indiana and attending races won by childhood hero AJ Foyt.

Stewart himself pursued an Indy Car career before making the full-time switch to Stock Cars in 1999. Stewart had already won an IndyCar championship and a NASCAR championship but a victory of some kind at IMS eluded him.

Kasey Kahne was the most prominent obstacle standing in front of that goal but a perfectly-timed restart by Stewart with 10 to go gave Stewart a lead he would not relinquish. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Stewart and his crew climbed the fronstretch fence, mirroring a celebration started by Helio Castroneves a few years earlier.

5. Montoya denied (2009)

Having already won the Indianapolis 500 back in 2000, Juan Pablo Montoya looked to make history in winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway behind the wheel of a Stock Car.

Despite only winning one Cup Series race prior to the 2009 Brickyard 400, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing supplied Montoya the absolute best car on that afternoon. It was a flawlessly prepared car and no one could outpace the open wheel veteran as he led 116 of the first 124 laps.

But Montoya was caught speeding on pit road during his final stop of the race and was forced to accept an 11th place result while Jimmie Johnson emerged to win his second Brickyard 400.

4. Jeff Gordon Day (2014)

Jeff Gordon dreamt of one day racing in the Indianapolis 500 but a lack of funding forced him to abandon those plans and pursue NASCAR, where he ultimately landed a full-time ride with Hendrick Motorsports in 1993.

Even though he never turned a competitive lap in an open wheel car at Indianapolis, Gordon ended up becoming the most successful stock car driver in the history of the track with four victories prior to the 2014 season.

Gordon’s fifth and final victory, which he accomplished after passing Kasey Kahne on the high side during the last restart, put him above legends like A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears by becoming the first driver in all motorsports at Indianapolis to win five races at the track.

The City of Indianapolis deemed the day Jeff Gordon day on the same morning that Rick Hendrick boldly guaranteed a victory by his No. 24 team.

3. Dale Jarrett kisses the bricks (1996)

By its third year, The Brickyard 400 had become a massive success for NASCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the IRL CART open wheel split ravaged that discipline from its traditional perch atop North American motorsports.

The 1996 running saw Johnny Benson Jr. lead a race-high 70 laps but Dale Jarrett was the one celebrating in victory lane after he patiently took his time behind teammate Ernie Irvan and passed him with seven laps remaining.

Jarrett commemorated the historic moment in his career by kissing the yard of bricks on the frontstretch alongside his crew. This ended up sparking a cherished tradition in the Brickyard 400 that eventually spilled over into the prestigious Indianapolis 500.

2. Tiregate (2008)

For the better part of a decade, the Brickyard 400 rivaled both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 when it came to attendance, race purse and notoriety.

That came to an end during the 2008 Brickyard 400 when a combination of Indianapolis’ abrasive surface and the load being put down on tires by the Car of Tomorrow in its first appearance at the track resulted in numerous blowouts throughout the weekend.

These problems were not mitigated before the race and NASCAR was forced to throw competition cautions every 10-12 laps. The end result left a bad impression in the eyes of fans and attendance steadily declined over the next 12 years, ultimately forcing NASCAR and Indianapolis to scrap the Brickyard 400 in favor of a 200-mile event on the infield road course.

1. Jeff Gordon wins inaugural running

After years of tough negotiations, NASCAR finally landed a date at Indianapolis during the 1994 season. Drivers from several different NASCAR divisions, along with former Indianapolis 500 winners, all wanted to participate in the inaugural Stock Car race, with the final entry list reaching 86 cars for 43 starting spot.

It was one of the most hyped events in motorsports history. The race featured numerous special moments like Dale Earnhardt bouncing off the wall on the first lap in the efforts to beat Rick Mast back to the yard of bricks to lead the first lap. There was Brett Bodine spinning his brother Geoffrey Bodine for the lead, which strained the relationship between the two for years afterwards.

The battle for the win came down between veteran Ernie Irvan and relative newcomer Jeff Gordon. Irvan and Gordon traded the lead several times during the final 25 laps until Irvan cut down a tire with five laps remaining, allowing Gordon to hold off Brett Bodine for a moment that immediately launched a hall of fame career.

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