Location:
4790 W. 16th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46222
Ticket Information:
Speedway ticket office 317-492-6700 or 800-822-INDY
Track Layout:
2.5 Miles long rectangle
9 degrees of banking in all four turns
Important Track Dates:
Track Built: 1909
First NASCAR Race: 1994
Owner:
Tony George
First NASCAR Winner:
Jeff Gordon - 1994
Historic Track, Questionable Racing:
There is no doubt that Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the most famous motorsports icon in North America. Unfortunately it wasn't built for stock cars. As a result the fast, flat track isn't a great place for stock car racing.
Attending a race in person in Indianapolis leaves you in awe of the size of the facility. The huge numbers of fans lining the frontstretch create a tunnel of humanity that is unmatched anywhere else in NASCAR. Certainly Indianapolis Motor Speedway inspires respect for the facility.
The racing, however, is lame. The one-groove, flat, fast track doesn't allow for side-by-side racing. So the Brickyard 400 is all about track position and fuel mileage and not about the on track battle. There's a place for Indy, but I'm thankful that there aren't more races like it.
