Brickyard 400 FAQs

Q. In what year did the first Brickyard 400 take place?
A. 1994. Jeff Gordon won in the DuPont Chevrolet.

Q. Has the Brickyard 400 been an annual event since 1994?
A. Yes. 

Q. Has the Brickyard 400 always been scheduled on a Sunday?
A. No. The race was scheduled on a Saturday from 1994-2000, moving to a Sunday in 2001.

Q. The Brickyard 400 consists of how many laps?
A. 160.

Q. What is the distance of one lap around the oval?
A. 2.5 miles. The track has four distinct turns and straightaways, a layout unchanged since the facility opened in 1909. The front and back straightaways are 5/8th of a mile each, with the "short chute" straightaways between Turns 1 and 2 and Turns 3 and 4 at 1/8th of a mile each. Each of the four turns is 1/4th of a mile long.

Q. What is the degree of banking in the turns?
A. Each of the four turns on the oval is banked at exactly 9 degrees, 12 minutes, the same dimensions as when the track opened in 1909.

Q. Which driver has won the Brickyard 400 the most times?
A. Jeff Gordon has won the race a record four times (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004).

Q. Who is the youngest winner of the Brickyard 400?
A. Jeff Gordon was 23 years, 2 days old when he won the inaugural Brickyard 400 on Aug. 6, 1994.

Q. Who is the oldest winner of the Brickyard 400?
A. Bill Elliott was 46 years, 300 days old when he won the ninth Brickyard 400 on Aug. 4, 2002.

Q. Have women competed in the Brickyard 400?
A. No. Shawna Robinson failed to qualify for the race in 2001.

Q. Have any rookies won the Brickyard 400?
A. Yes. Jeff Gordon was the only driver to win the event in his first Brickyard 400 start, at the inaugural race in 1994.

Q. What is the fastest official lap ever turned during the Brickyard 400?
A. 186.293 mph by Casey Mears during qualifying Aug. 7, 2004.

Q. Has any driver ever won the Brickyard 400 two times in a row?
A. Yes. Jimmie Johnson won the Brickyard 400 in 2008 and 2009.

Q. What is the largest winner's purse for the Brickyard 400?
A. $1,637,625, won by Jeff Gordon in 1998. The total included a $1 million Winston No Bull 5 bonus and is the only winner's purse greater than $1 million in the event's history.

Q. How many drivers have competed in the Brickyard 400 and at least one of the other major auto racing events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
A. Thirteen. Twelve drivers have raced in the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400: John Andretti, Geoff Brabham, A.J. Foyt, Larry Foyt, Robby Gordon, Sam Hornish Jr., Jason Leffler, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, Tony Stewart, Danny Sullivan and J.J. Yeley. Scott Speed has raced in the Brickyard 400 and United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.