NASCAR Classics: Races to watch before Indianapolis

Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.

Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The following suggestions are Ken‘s picks to watch before this Sunday‘s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

1994 Brickyard 400:

A.J. Foyt‘s name was synonymous with success, capturing a record four Indianapolis 500 victories throughout his career.

In late 1991, Foyt was filming a commercial on the grounds of the Speedway, which culminated in Foyt and the Speedway‘s president, Tony George, taking laps in Foyt‘s stock-car around the track for the first time.

This quietly laid the groundwork for a second event to be scheduled at the track and in June 1992 it seemed more inevitable than ever.

Nine NASCAR Cup Series drivers took part in the inaugural two-day test session. Dale Earnhardt, Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Davey Allison and Kyle Petty were on hand with their teams for the test.

Foyt hopped in the No. 3 car of Dale Earnhardt to take some laps on the second day.

It tragically proved to be the only time that Allison took laps around the famed oval, as he passed away in July 1993.

April 14, 1993 will go down in history as the day the inaugural Brickyard 400 was announced, which was to be held in August 1994. A packed house saw a full-field tire test at the track in August of 1993 in preparation for the event.

Richard Petty, who retired at the conclusion of the 1992 season, brought his No. 43 car out onto the track for a few laps.

The test also featured some other previews of the 1994 event, as drivers got some early seat time in their new rides. Terry Labonte, who drove the No. 14 for Billy Hagan in 1993, was behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that Ricky Rudd raced. Labonte was previously announced as the car‘s new driver for 1994.

Labonte, who was bringing sponsorship over from his current ride, tested the No. 5 car that resembled Rudd‘s ride but without the current sponsorship on the side of the car.

John Andretti tested the No. 14 for Hagan, as he was their new driver for 1994.

86 cars were entered for the inaugural Brickyard 400, as drivers fought to fill the 43-car starting field.

H.B. Bailey was the first driver to hit the track but unfortunately failed to qualify for the event.

Dale Earnhardt‘s qualifying lap put him straight to the top of the board, but he was immediately bumped by Rick Mast, who won the pole position for the inaugural event. Foyt made the field, qualifying 40th.

The excitement of the race was unmatched, as the pre-race ceremonies and the vibes around the race were nothing but one-of-a-kind.

When the green flag finally waved, it didn‘t take long for a bit of excitement. Earnhardt brushed the outside wall, while trying to put his name in the history books as the first stock-car driver to leave at the track. It was again Mast who was able to attach his name to that claim.

As the laps passed by, it looked like Jeff Gordon, Geoff Bodine and Brett Bodine had some of the fastest cars in the field. A restart following a crash involving Dave Marcis and Mike Chase allowed the Bodine brothers to restart first and second.

What ensued was a battle on the track that left Brett turning Geoff, sending him around before collecting Dale Jarrett in the process. Geoff admitted in his post-crash interview that the two drivers were having some family issues but didn‘t ever expect it to spill over onto the track.

This shook up the field, eventually pinning Ernie Irvan in the lead, with Gordon and Bodine chasing him.

Irvan held a small lead over Gordon, the youngest driver in the field, as the final laps passed by until heartbreak struck the No. 28 Robert Yates Racing team.

The leader had cut a tire, allowing Gordon and Bodine to pass Irvan and set sail. Irvan brought his car into the pits and was relegated to a disappointing 17th-place finish.

“Years from today, when 79 stock car races have been run here, we‘ll remember the name Jeff Gordon, winner of the inaugural Brickyard 400!”

1997 Brickyard 400:

It was no surprise that Ernie Irvan put his Robert Yates Racing Ford on the pole for the fourth running of the Brickyard 400, given that the Yates powered cars quite possibly were the fastest stock-cars the oval had seen since the race‘s inception in 1994.

What was a surprise was that it came while so much drama was surrounding the driver, as rumors swirled about who would be driving the car in 1998. The day after Irvan‘s pole run, Kenny Irwin Jr. was officially named the new driver of the No. 28 car for the 1998 season.

At the same time, Irvan was not forced with the task of searching for a new ride but had a heavy heart. His mother was in a coma at a North Carolina hospital after respiratory failure earlier in the week.

Despite all of the stress on Irvan, he carried on and led the field to the green flag on Saturday afternoon. He didn‘t miss a beat, leading the first 39 laps, the only time he would lead that day.

A handful of big names, including Rusty Wallace, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Terry Labonte and Sterling Marlin, saw their dreams of crossing the bricks first dissolve due to engine issues.

The race progressed to come down to fuel mileage, as Irvan‘s teammate and the defending Brickyard 400 champion Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin were out front but without a chance to make it to the end without stopping for fuel.

This all eventually cycled Ricky Rudd to the point, as he stretched his fuel to the limit and held off Bobby Labonte to capture the victory. It was his second victory of the season and the first time since 1987 that the Chesapeake, Virginia driver had won more than one race in a season.

Labonte, Jarrett, Gordon and Jeremy Mayfield rounded out the remainder of the top five. Irvan brought his No. 28 car home in 10th.

2005 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard:

Columbus, Indiana‘s Tony Stewart grew up with winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on his mind, eventually making five starts in the Indianapolis 500. To his dismay, he never took the checkered flag in the race but came home with a career-best fifth-place finish in 1997.

He had another chance to live out his dreams once he moved to the NASCAR Cup Series in 1999. His first few attempts at a triumph came up short six different times. Stewart arrived at the track in 2005 on a hot streak, with six straight finishes of seventh or better.

He qualified 22nd for the race but quickly looked like a threat as he passed cars left and right through the field, finally taking the lead for the first time on the 100th lap of the 160-lap Crown Jewel event.

His biggest threat at knocking his chance at a triumph away was Kasey Kahne, who led 39 laps after starting fourth. Stewart led the final 11 laps en route to victory.

Stewart proudly proclaimed after the race that this was the greatest day of his life, both personally and professionally.