Fast Track Facts: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

credit: NASCAR Media

Long known as the hub of open-wheel racing, Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race in 1994. Learn about the famed “Brickyard” and its NASCAR history in this week’s Fast Facts.

• “Indy” opened in 1909 and hosted the first Indy 500 in 1911. The 2.5-mile rectangular oval has permanent seating for more than 235,000 spectators, and infield seating can raise the total to approximately 400,000.
• The rectangular-shaped track is banked to 9.2-degrees in the turns and flat in the straightaways. The all-time one-lap speed record was set by Arie Luyendyk in 1996 in an IndyCar (237.498 mph). The NASCAR track qualifying record was set by Kevin Harvick in July 2014 (188.889 mph).
• Jeff Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 – he holds records as the youngest driver to win the race (23 years, two days), the driver with the most wins in the Brickyard 400 (five – 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2014) and the driver with the most poles for the race (three). The oldest winner of the Brickyard 400 is Bill Elliott, who was 46 years, 300 days old when he won the race in 2002.
• An Xfinity Series race was added to the weekend schedule in 2012; Kyle Busch has won three of the five Xfinity Series races, including the last two (2013, 2015 and 2016).
• 16 drivers have competed in both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400: A.J. Allmendinger, John Andretti, Geoff Brabham, Kurt Busch, Patrick Carpentier, A.J. Foyt, Larry Foyt, Robby Gordon, Sam Hornish Jr., Jason Leffler, Max Papis, Danica Patrick, Scott Pruett, Tony Stewart, Danny Sullivan, and J.J. Yeley. In addition, Scott Speed competed in the Brickyard 400 and the Formula One United States Grand Prix, and Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve competed in the Indy 500, the Brickyard 400 and the F1 race.
• Find out more about the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Records Brickyard 400 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.