Jeff’s journey
Jeff Gordon will tell you that winning the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 helped transform him into a stock-car superstar — a young California-born upstart who locked horns with NASCAR’s established competitors, such as the late Dale Earnhardt.
Gordon won the first 400 two days after his 23rd birthday and became the first NASCAR driver to utter the most famous words in sports: “I’m going to Disney World.”
Now a week shy of his 43rd birthday, Gordon will return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the last full-time Cup Series driver to compete in every 400 since the race was added to the schedule.
To his credit, Gordon will arrive in Gasoline Alley as the Cup Series points leader and with a guaranteed berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs.
He has always performed well at the 2.5-mile rectangle, which hosted its first motor race more than 100 years ago. Gordon was born in Vallejo, California, but spent many of his teen years in Pittsboro, Indiana, about an hour from the big track.
Hoosiers call him one of their own, which is why the crowd went so wild the day he won the 1994 Brickyard 400.
“Most of the things that stand out to me was really about just the madness and craziness of how big that event was, how popular it was among fans, not just traditional NASCAR fans but new fans to the sport,” Gordon said.
“Even if you go back to the test that we had, the fans were just lined up on the fence around the garage area just wanting to see stock cars race at Indianapolis, and it was much of the same when it came to race day, just so many fans and you just couldn’t walk anywhere without getting mobbed.”
Gordon won four of the first 11 Brickyard 400s. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson now carries the Indy torch with a record-tying four wins since 2006. Gordon hopes to break that tie this weekend.
“With the type of season that we’re having, I’m extremely excited about going to Indianapolis,” Gordon said. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years, but I’m looking forward to celebrating those 20 years hopefully with another win.”
INDY CHAMPIONSHIP
Take a list of NASCAR Cup Series champions over the past two decades and put it side by side with Brickyard 400 winners from those same years and the crossover is incredible. In the last 16 years, the 400 winner has captured the NASCAR title 50 percent of the time.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Tony Stewart has the best average finish at the Brickyard 400 during the past nine years. His average finish is 6.8. Gordon is next at 8.7. Surprisingly, Johnson, with those four wins since 2006, has an average finish of 13.8.