JEFF GORDON - 20 YEARS
When discussing the history of NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it is nearly impossible not to consider NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon as the leader in every moment, statistic or category.
The five-time Brickyard 400 winner is arguably the best stock car driver ever at the Racing Capital of the World, having won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 and his last in 2014. Along with his wins, he has three poles, led 528 laps, scored 12 top fives and 17 top 10s with an average finish of 10th in 23 starts.
- JEFF GORDON
The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s love affair with the Speedway started at age 14 when he moved to nearby Pittsboro, Indiana, to continue his racing career in June 1986. His first introduction to the Speedway, like most people, was
an IMS Museum bus tour.
But back then, the famed 2.5-mile oval was reserved for the Indianapolis 500, and that’s where Gordon envisioned his career going.
ESPN’s Thursday Night Thunder program made Gordon a household name, and he was swooped up by NASCAR in the early ‘90s after much success in USAC. First racing for Bill Davis Racing in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Hendrick Motorsports signed him to join the Cup Series full-time in 1993. With that, Gordon’s dream of racing at Indianapolis was gone.
Gordon was an Indianapolis fan favorite from the day he took that checkered flag in 1994 through when he retired from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2015, and when he returned in 2016 for a part-time ride in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88, who was sidelined due to a concussion.
Or so he thought.
His fame and popularity in Central Indiana culminated with one of Gordon’s most memorable moments in his life: a Jeff Gordon Day parade in Pittsboro, hosted by IMS as a gift during his 2015 retirement tour.
Other memorable moments for Gordon have taken place at IMS, including a Formula 1 ride-swap with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2003 on a previous configuration of the IMS road course, serving as the Pace Car driver for the 2015 Indy 500, and turning exhibition laps in a USAC midget on The Dirt Track at IMS in 2021.
- JEFF GORDON
One can argue that his long-lasting legacy at IMS and the popularity that came with it, which put him in the IMS Hall of Fame in 2018, really ignited 20 years ago.
- JEFF GORDON
In his first time driving the iconic fire and flames No. 24 paint scheme at IMS, Gordon took the lead for the first time on Lap 109 during a round of green flag pit stops. But it was a caution on Lap 132 for debris that brought Gordon to the front.
On Aug. 5, 2001, just one day after his 30th birthday, Gordon scored his third win on the famed 2.5-mile oval. It was not his most dominant performance but was an example of what made Gordon one of NASCAR’s greats: after starting 27th, he marched to the front on a racetrack that put a premium on track position.
During the final pit stop of the day, Gordon’s team elected to gamble and take two tires. He exited pit lane second, lining up just behind race leader Sterling Marlin. As the field entered Turn 1 on the Lap 136 restart, Gordon made his move to the inside of Marlin.
He cleared Marlin’s No. 40 Coors Light machine and set sail for the win. He had to withstand one more caution, on Lap 139, before he could lay claim to the Brickyard yet again. Still to this day, 27th is the farthest back a NASCAR winner has started at IMS – yet another statistic Gordon owns at IMS.
That win was one of six that season en route to his fourth and final NASCAR Cup Series championship.
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
It was the 90th of his eventual 93 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, which ranks him third on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
It took 10 years to score his fifth win, and while there were many close calls, it allowed legendary teammate Jimmie Johnson to rack up four Brickyard 400 wins himself. But in 2014, Gordon sealed his IMS legend when he led 40 laps and beat teammate Kasey Kahne in what he called the restart of his life.
The topic can be debated all day as to what means more: the four Indianapolis 500 wins by A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears and Helio Castroneves, the five road course wins by Schumacher, or the five NASCAR wins by Gordon.
But what can’t be debated is Gordon’s NASCAR dominance at the Racing Capital of the World and the lasting impact the California native has made on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Forever.
- JEFF GORDON
Gordon’s next Brickyard 400 win came in 2004, when he produced one of the most dominant performances by a NASCAR driver at IMS, leading 124 of 161 laps (over 75 percent of laps completed).
But that 2001 win gave him his third win at the track. And after three comes four. And after four comes five, something only one other driver in the history of IMS has accomplished: Formula One’s Michael Schumacher on the IMS road course.
What is notable about that win is it broke him out of a category with others at IMS and put him in a league of his own. Prior to this win, Gordon was just a two-time winner at the Speedway in 1994 and ‘98, an honor he shared with Dale Jarrett, who won in 1996 and ’99.
The jam-packed crowd that day cheered emphatically, knowing they were witnessing a big moment in Brickyard 400 history as their favorite adopted Hoosier became the winningest NASCAR driver at the Speedway.
WHERE TRADITION NEVER STOPS
JEFF GORDON – 20 YEARS
When discussing the history of NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it is nearly impossible not to consider NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon as the leader in every moment, statistic or category.
The five-time Brickyard 400 winner is arguably the best stock car driver ever at the Racing Capital of the World, having won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 and his last in 2014. Along with his wins, he has three poles, led 528 laps, scored 12 top fives and 17 top 10s with an average finish of 10th in 23 starts.
The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s love affair with the Speedway started at age 14 when he moved to nearby Pittsboro, Indiana, to continue his racing career in June 1986. His first introduction to the Speedway,
like most people, was an
IMS Museum bus tour.
But back then, the famed
2.5-mile oval was reserved
for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, and that’s where Gordon envisioned his career going.
ESPN’s Thursday Night Thunder program made Gordon a household name, and he was swooped up by NASCAR in the early ‘90s after much success in USAC. First racing for Bill Davis Racing in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Hendrick Motorsports signed him to join the Cup Series full-time in 1993. With that, Gordon’s dream of racing at Indianapolis was gone.
Gordon was an Indianapolis fan favorite from the day he took that checkered flag in 1994 through when he retired from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2015, and when he returned in 2016 for a part-time ride in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88, who was sidelined due to a concussion.
Or so he thought.
His fame and popularity in Central Indiana culminated with one of Gordon’s most memorable moments in his life: a Jeff Gordon Day parade in Pittsboro, hosted by IMS as a gift during his 2015
retirement tour.
Other memorable moments for Gordon have taken place at IMS, including a Formula 1 ride-swap with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2003 on a previous configuration of the IMS road course, serving as the Pace Car driver for the 2015 Indy 500, and turning exhibition laps in a USAC midget on The Dirt Track at IMS in 2021.
One can argue that his long-lasting legacy at IMS and the popularity that came with it, which put him in the IMS Hall of Fame in 2018, really ignited 20 years ago.
- JEFF GORDON
- JEFF GORDON
On Aug. 5, 2001, just one day after his 30th birthday, Gordon scored his third win on the famed 2.5-mile oval. It was not his most dominant performance but was an example of what made Gordon one of NASCAR’s greats: after starting 27th, he marched to the front on a racetrack that put a premium on track position.
In his first time driving the iconic fire and flames No. 24 paint scheme at IMS, Gordon took the lead for the first time on Lap 109 during a round of green flag pit stops. But it was a caution on Lap 132 for debris that brought Gordon to the front.
During the final pit stop of the day, Gordon’s team elected to gamble and take two tires. He exited pit lane second, lining up just behind race leader Sterling Marlin. As the field entered Turn 1 on the Lap 136 restart, Gordon made his move to the inside of Marlin.
He cleared Marlin’s No. 40 Coors Light machine and set sail for the win. He had to withstand one more caution, on Lap 139, before he could lay claim to the Brickyard yet again. Still to this day, 27th is the farthest back a NASCAR winner has started at IMS – yet another statistic
Gordon owns at IMS.
That win was one of six that season en route to his fourth and final NASCAR Cup Series championship.
The jam-packed crowd that day cheered emphatically, knowing they were witnessing a big moment in Brickyard 400 history as their favorite adopted Hoosier became the winningest NASCAR driver at the Speedway.
What is notable about that win is it broke him out of a category with others at IMS and put him in a league of his own. Prior to this win, Gordon was just a two-time winner at the Speedway in 1994 and ‘98, an honor he shared with Dale Jarrett, who won in 1996 and ’99.
But that 2001 win gave him his third win at the track. And after three comes four. And after four comes five, something only one other driver in the history of IMS has accomplished: Formula One’s Michael Schumacher on the IMS road course.
Gordon’s next Brickyard 400 win came in 2004, when he produced one of the most dominant performances by a NASCAR driver at IMS, leading 124 of 161 laps (over 75 percent of laps completed).
It took 10 years to score his fifth win, and while there were many close calls, it allowed legendary teammate Jimmie Johnson to rack up four Brickyard 400 wins himself. But in 2014, Gordon sealed his IMS legend when he led 40 laps and beat teammate Kasey Kahne in what he called the restart of his life.
The topic can be debated all day as to what means more: the four Indianapolis 500 wins by A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears and Helio Castroneves, the five road course wins by Schumacher, or the five NASCAR wins by Gordon.
But what can’t be debated is Gordon’s NASCAR dominance at the Racing Capital of the World and the lasting impact the California native has made on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Forever.
It was the 90th of his eventual 93 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, which ranks him third on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
- JEFF GORDON
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
5X WINNER
- JEFF GORDON
