Best and worst of NASCAR Brickyard 400 action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Brickyard 400 quickly became one of NASCAR's most coveted titles when it started in 1994, but it went away after the 2020 race in favor of a Cup race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The oval race returns in 2024.

The Brickyard 400 has produced a lot of signature moments: Jeff Gordon, who spent his teenage years in Indiana, has five Brickyard wins, and Jimmie Johnson has won here four times. The race has also provided career highlights for Hoosier natives Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.

Jeff Gordon news: How Indianapolis Motor Speedway changed Jeff Gordon's life

Here are some of the greatest – and not so great – moments in race history.

Best moments of the Brickyard 400

Dale Jarrett accidentally starts a Speedway tradition

Dale Jarrett and crew chief Todd Parrott commemorated their 1996 win by kneeling at the yard of bricks and giving them a kiss.

"This is the day I'll always have and cherish," Jarrett said after the race. "It's not a matter of money in this thing, it's a matter of pride and accomplishment."

His father, NASCAR legend Ned Jarrett, was even more emotional.

"I was more nervous today than I've ever been before, more choked up," the elder Jarrett said. "I really didn't think there ever would be a Jarrett win a race at Indy."

They could not have imagined that the gesture would turn into a tradition for drivers, crews, and even fans that rivals the Indy 500's drinking a celebratory bottle of milk.

Jeff Gordon wins inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994

Indianapolis Motor Speedway broke its tradition of hosting only IndyCar races with its inaugural NASCAR race, and it was an instant hit with a storybook ending.

Jeff Gordon, who spent his teenage years in Pittsboro dominating Indiana short-track racing, had moved to stock cars and was quickly becoming a national sensation. 

He led 93 of the race's 160 laps, earned his second Cup victory and was overcome with emotion before a sellout crowd.

"I had to get all the tears wiped off my face," he said after taking an extra celebratory lap.

The win came two days after his 23rd birthday.

Tony Stewart realizes a lifelong dream

"It's definitely the greatest day of my life." 

Tony Stewart was born in Columbus, started watching races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by age 6 and had been a short-track and IndyCar racing champion.

But he hadn't won at IMS.

That changed in the 2005 Brickyard 400, when he became to the first Hoosier-born driver to win at IMS since Wilbur Shaw captured the 1940 Indianapolis 500.  

He vowed to celebrate with family and friends, as well as his team, even if it meant partying through the night.

"If I died right now, my life's complete," he said.

Jeff Gordon wins Brickyard 400 five times

That was one big exclamation point. 

Jeff Gordon, not quite to his 43rd birthday, became the sole leader in Brickyard 400 wins by taking his fifth checkered flag in 2014. It was the 90th of his 93 Cup wins, where he stands third behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). 

Gordon made it possible with an unusual move. He swept past teammate Kasey Kahne on the outside on a restart with 17 laps to go.

"I finally made the restart of my life when it counted most," Gordon said.

The roar of the crowd as he finished was thrilling, even for a driver much closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

"That sends a chill up your spine as a race car driver in a race that is so important to you, to have so many fans out there supporting you," Gordon said.

A.J. Foyt responds to Jeff Gordon's fourth Brickyard 400 win

When Jeff Gordon matched three Indianapolis 500 heroes with his fourth win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2004, he didn't claim to be in the same company with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

But he acknowledged thoughts of IndyCar greats crept into his mind late in the race.

"It was starting to get to me. I didn't realize how much this really means to me to win four," Gordon said.

Foyt made sure Gordon knew his place, as only A.J. can. 

"That's like comparing chicken(crap) with chicken salad; they're different cars," Foyt said. "That'd be like a four-time winner at Pocono saying he was as good as a four-time winner at Indy just because he drove an Indy car at both places."

Worst moments of Brickyard 400

Tire issues create 'competition cautions' in 2008

"Tire de Farce." "Unfair to the fans." "A fiasco." There wasn't much to like about the 2008 race. Though, Jimmie Johnson would disagree because he won here for the second time in three years.

Goodyear's tires were failing early and often, so pit stops were required about every 10 laps. The longest green-flag run was 13 laps. Almost one-third of the race was run under caution. It reminded fans of the Formula One tire debacle from 2005, in which just six cars raced because the drivers using Michelin tires refused to take the green flag.

"It was a ridiculous race," said driver Ryan Newman.

"You just wanted to scream," said Bobby Labonte. 

After the last "competition caution," Johnson got back onto the track first and held off Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.

Juan Pablo Montoya's tough luck in consecutive years

Of the 320 laps in the 2009 and '10 races, Juan Pablo Montoya led 202. He started on the front row each year. The result? Finishes of 11th in 2009 and 32nd the next year. 

What happened? 

In 2009, he was assessed a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road. He had led 116 of the race's 125 laps to that point. Montoya wasn't convinced the penalty was warranted but shrugged after the race. "Once it happens, you can't change it. It's pretty frustrating." 

He started on the pole the next year and was leading heading into a pit stop on Lap 139. He took four tires, while many contenders took two. Soon after coming off pit road, he crashed in Turn 4.

Rain delays 1995 Brickyard 400 for hours, leaves fans confused, frustrated

The remnants of a hurricane blew into Indianapolis the day of the 1995 race. The rain wasn't torrential, but it was steady.

The scheduled 12:15 p.m. start was long past, and thousands of fans left the Speedway, believing there was no way the race would be run.

They were wrong.

The race, minus much of the usual pre-race pageantry during a hastily arranged start, began after a four-hour delay. ABC had abandoned its live coverage (ESPN showed it the following day), meaning fans who left either had to head back to the track or miss it. 

"They left us hanging all day. We thought it was not going to happen," said a fan who was hustling to get back to the track after learning it had begun. "I really am thinking they could have treated the fans a little better."

Not too long before dusk, Dale Earnhardt won the race.

Rain, crashes push 2017 Brickyard 400 to dusk

It started with the rain.

Then came the crashes.

And then it became, can we get this thing done before dark? 

Rain delayed the start of the 2017 race by more than two hours, and when it got going, Kyle Busch − the two-time defending champion − and Martin Truex Jr. were the class of the field.

Truex and Busch crashed on Lap 111, taking both out of contention.

After the cleanup from that crash, the race ran cleanly until Lap 151, when a four-car crash brought out a red flag. 

Here's how it went from there: Crashes on Lap 156; Lap 160; Lap 164 (first overtime, seven cars, another red flag) and Lap 167.

It seemingly took forever to get that thing done. The race — and winner Kasey Kahne — beat sunset by just a few minutes.

Kevin Harvick wins in an empty Speedway

The COVID-19 pandemic threatened to wipe out racing in 2020, but Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials managed to pull together a racing weekend that included IndyCar and Xfinity road course events on July 4, and the Cup race on the oval the next day. Kevin Harvick won in overtime, his second straight Brickyard 400 win.

What date is the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis?

All times ET

Friday, July 19

Noon: Gates open

1:05-1:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice

2:35-3:25 p.m.: Cup Series practice

Saturday, July 20

10 a.m.: Gates open

12:05-12:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying

1:05-2:25 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying

3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series 250-mile race (100 laps)

Sunday, July 21

10 a.m.: Gates open

12:30-1:15 p.m.: Track walk ($20 voucher required)

1:40-1:55 p.m.: Drivers' brick walk

1:55 p.m.: Driver introductions

2:30 p.m.: Brickyard 400 Cup Series race

What channel is the Brickyard 400 on?

TV: NBC

Radio: IMS Radio Network

Streaming: SiriusXM Channel 90

Brickyard 400 tickets

Practice tickets begin at $25. Race tickets begin at $50.

NASCAR Brickyard 400 winners

160 laps on the 2.5.-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval

NASCAR Cup winners on road course

Race was 82 laps on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

NASCAR Cup playoff standings

(Through July 14; race winners are in the 16-driver playoffs that begin Sept. 8; the other spots are filled by points winners)

Kyle Larson, 3 wins

Denny Hamlin, 3 wins

William Byron, 3 wins

Christopher Bell, 3 wins

Chase Elliott, 1 win

Tyler Reddick, 1 win

Ryan Blaney, 1 win

Brad Keselowski, 1 win

Alex Bowman, 1 win

Joey Logano, 1 win

Daniel Suarez, 1 win

Austin Cindric, 1 win

Drivers who have not won a race

Martin Truex Jr., +125 of the cut line

Ty Gibbs, +84

Ross Chastain, +53

Chris Buescher, +45

Below the 16-driver cut line

Bubba Wallace, -45

Chase Briscoe, -88

Kyle Busch, -98

Brickyard 400 entry list

(With car number, driver, team, engine)

1, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse, Chevrolet

2, Austin Cindric, Penske, Ford

3, Austin Dillon, Childress, Chevrolet

4, Josh Berry, Stewart Haas, Ford

5, Kyle Larson, Hendrick, Chevrolet

6, Brad Keselowski, RFK, Ford

7, Corey LaJoie, Spire, Chevrolet

8, Kyle Busch, Childress, Chevrolet

9, Chase Elliott, Hendrick, Chevrolet

10, Noah Gragson, Stewart Haas, Ford

11, Denny Hamlin, Gibbs, Toyota

12, Ryan Blaney, Penske, Ford

14, Chase Briscoe, Stewart Haas, Ford

15, Cody Ware, Ware, Ford

16, A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig, Chevrolet

17, Chris Buescher, RFK, Ford

19, Martin Truex Jr., Gibbs, Toyota

20, Christopher Bell, Gibbs, Toyota

21, Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers, Ford

22, Joey Logano, Penske, Ford

23, Bubby Wallace, 23XI, Toyota

24, William Byron, Hendrick, Chevrolet

31, Daniel Hemric, Kaulig, Chevrolet

33, Ty Dillon, Childress, Chevrolet

34, Michael McDowell, Front Row, Ford

38, Todd Gilliland, Front Row, Ford

41, Ryan Preece, Stewart Haas, Ford

42, John Hunder Nemechek, Legacy, Toyota

43, Erik Jones, Legacy, Toyota

45, Tyler Reddick, 23XI, Toyota

47, Ricky Stenhouse, JTG Daugherty, Chevrolet

48, Alex Bowman, Hendrick, Chevrolet

51, Justin Haley, Ware, Ford

54, Ty Gibbs, Gibbs, Toyota

66, B.J. McLeod, Power Source, Ford

71, Zane Smith, Spire, Chevrolet

77, Carson Hocevar, Spire, Chevrolet

84, Jimmie Johnson, Legacy, Toyota

99, Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse, Chevrolet