Top 25 Moments at the Brickyard | 20-16
August 17, 2018 | By Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a five-part series looking back at the top 25 moments in the 24-year history of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line. The moments will be unveiled five at a time, starting with No. 25 and finishing with No. 1. The 25th Running of the event is scheduled for Sept. 7-9 at IMS. View Top 25 NASCAR Moments at the Brickyard | 25-21
No. 20: Mast shocks field to win first pole. Anticipation was huge before the inaugural Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line in August 1994, as the eyes of the motorsports world were focused on who would make history as the winner of the first NASCAR race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But the race to get into the race was just as newsworthy because of a massive surprise.
A NASCAR-record 86 cars were entered to qualify for one of the 43 spots in the field with 83 actually turning qualifying laps, guaranteeing one of the most dramatic sessions in Cup Series history. Seventy cars made an attempt during the first of two rounds of qualifying, from which the 20 fastest cars would be locked into the field even before second-round qualifying started.
To no one’s surprise, the legendary Dale Earnhardt was the quickest early qualifier at 171.726 mph in his famous black No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet. Earnhardt was coming off winning the 1993 Cup Series championship, won the pole for the race preceding the Brickyard, at Talladega, and went on to win the series championship in 1994.
It would be understandable if Earnhardt didn’t feel threatened by one of the next drivers in line, journeyman Rick Mast. He was winless during his Cup Series career and recorded just four career poles.
But Mast was fast in practice and also had a secret weapon in four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, who also qualified for the race. Mast and Foyt shared U.S. Tobacco as a sponsor and became friendly. Mast asked Foyt for some tips before qualifying, and the Richard Jackson team made some late setup tweaks to his No. 1 Skoal Ford.
Mast then ripped around the 2.5-mile oval at 172.414 mph and shocked the racing world by claiming the inaugural Brickyard pole. He led the first two laps of the race but faded to finish 22nd.
Still, Mast made his mark in history and is the answer to one of the better motorsports trivia questions to this day.
No. 19: Busch-Spencer volcano erupts. In 2002, it wasn’t exactly breaking news that Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch couldn’t stand each other.
Spencer was part of the Cup Series’ old guard, drivers who paid lengthy dues on short tracks before climbing to the top level. Busch was a brash, 23-year-old prodigy who landed a ride with the powerful Roush Racing team. Spencer and Busch had their share of scrapes and bumps on track in 2001 and 2002, with Spencer wrecking Busch in 2001 at Phoenix and Busch returning the favor by bumping Spencer for the lead in the spring race at Bristol in 2002.
Their feud erupted again in front of NASCAR’s biggest crowd, during the 2002 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line.
Busch was running in the top 10 on Lap 37 when he passed Spencer for position on the back straightaway. Spencer replied by pulling behind Busch and tapping his left rear fender, sending Busch into a spin into the new SAFER Barrier in Turn 3. Busch’s No. 97 Rubbermaid Ford hit hard on the driver’s side.
An infuriated Busch climbed from his crippled car, put on his hat and waited for Spencer to come by under caution. As Spencer’s car approached, Busch darted from leaning against his car to run into the racing groove, just a few feet from Spencer’s passing car, screaming at Spencer with arms outstretched. The crowd roared, while NASCAR officials invited Busch to the “big red trailer” in Gasoline Alley for a disciplinary hearing.
During a TV interview during the race, Busch said Spencer was a “decrepit old has-been … or I guess he’s a never-was.” Spencer replied after the race, “Kurt has a lot to learn, and some of that is to control his mouth.”
The feud continued into 2003, with Spencer breaking Busch’s nose with a punch in the garage at Michigan after an on-track collision between the two. But few who saw Kurt Busch’s demonstrative rage in Turn 3 on Aug. 4, 2002 would soon forget it.
No. 18: The King turns laps at Brickyard. So many NASCAR Hall of Famers have raced in the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line – Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte and Mark Martin.
But there was one legend who never competed in the race, as the close of his era just missed the first Brickyard by less than two years – The King.
Richard Petty never raced in the Brickyard as a driver, as his incomparable career behind the wheel ended after the 1992 season. But many don’t know or have forgotten that IMS was Petty’s kingdom for a few laps in August 1993.
Many top NASCAR Cup Series drivers participated in a tire test Aug. 16-17, 1993 n advance of the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994. On the second day, Petty pulled on track for his first stock car laps around the 2.5-mile oval in the famous red-and-Petty blue No. 43 STP Pontiac, with his son, Kyle, strapping him into the cockpit.
Petty took a slow lap in front of the big crowd watching testing and then let it rip for a few laps, fulfilling a lifelong dream of driving a stock car at speed on The Greatest Race Course In The World. He also announced he would donate the car to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
“To see all the history that’s here, I’m pretty much history myself, but not in this particular part of the world,” the self-effacing Petty said after his laps. “It makes me feel really, really honored that I was able to give the car and also make a lap around the racetrack.”
No. 17: DW turns back clock during qualifying. Darrell Waltrip was still one of the most beloved NASCAR Cup Series drivers when the 2000 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line rolled around, but that affection was due to memories more than current form.
Waltrip was 53, with the last of his three Cup Series championship seasons 15 years into his rearview mirror. He was struggling behind the wheel, with no victories since 1992 at Darlington.
Time was up for Waltrip, and he knew it. He announced during the 1999 Brickyard 400 that 2000 would be his final season as a Cup driver. Waltrip didn’t enjoy a miracle renaissance during his final season, as his best finish was 22nd entering the Brickyard, and he failed to qualify for four races leading up to Indy.
But “Ol’ DW” found some of that Waltrip magic one more time on a Thursday afternoon in early August at IMS.
Waltrip sailed around the 2.5-mile oval with a top qualifying lap of 180.923 mph in his No. 66 Big Kmart/Route 66 Ford and took the provisional pole. Waltrip was hugged and carried around after the run by his younger brother, Michael Waltrip, and DW also jubilantly re-enacted on pit road his famous “Ickey Shuffle” celebration dance after he finally earned his first and only Daytona 500 victory in 1989.
DW’s dream of starting his final Brickyard 400 from the pole ended a few minutes later when 1997 Brickyard winner Ricky Rudd snatched the pole with a top lap of 181.068 mph, his time just four-hundredths of a second quicker than Waltrip’s.
Still, Waltrip started second and finished on the lead lap in 11th, his best performance of his farewell season.
No. 16: Johnson’s sweet repeat. The lineup of winners of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line was impressive after its first 15 editions, with NASCAR Cup Series champions Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte and Kevin Harvick all entering the winner’s circle.
But none of those legends – or any other driver – had won the race in consecutive years entering the 2009 race. Not even Jeff Gordon, who had recorded four Brickyard victories in his first 11 starts at IMS.
Johnson entered the race as the defending winner, but that 2008 victory was overshadowed by the most controversial NASCAR race ever at IMS. Excessive tire wear forced NASCAR to throw yellow flags about every 10 laps for safety reasons so teams could change tires, and Johnson held off Carl Edwards on the final sprint between yellows for his second Brickyard victory.
There were no tire problems in 2009. Johnson led the last 24 laps, holding off a charging, 50-year-old Mark Martin at the finish, and became the first repeat winner in the history of the race.
The victory was especially satisfying for Johnson because it came without the dark cloud of the prior year and because it slotted Johnson into second place on the all-time Brickyard victory list with three wins, behind only Hendrick Motorsports teammate and friend Gordon.
Johnson’s repeat feat has been repeated only once since then, by Kyle Busch in 2015-16.