INDIANAPOLIS — On the 30th Anniversary of the Inaugural Brickyard 400, it seemed fitting that the winning team owner and winning driver from August 6, 1994, would ultimately be celebrating in victory lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 30 years later.
It was 30 years ago when team owner Rick Hendrick and a young driver named Jeff Gordon won the first NASCAR Cup Series race ever held at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
To honor that occasion, Hendrick was named the pace car driver for Sunday’s race – the first time in his career he ever drove a pace car. Gordon is now Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports and oversees the racing empire built by Hendrick.
After a wild return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, Hendrick and Gordon were once again in victory lane, this time celebrating Kyle Larson’s first-ever win in the Brickyard 400.
“I don’t remember 30 years ago,” Hendrick said with a laugh. “But this feels awful good. I guess coming back here, we haven’t run the oval. This was just super special.
“I know the first one, watching this guy (Gordon) get the inaugural race, was unbelievable. I don’t know that I’ve been this excited, crawled through the fence to see the fans, never done that before, never got to drive the pace car before.
“I’m very excited about the race and how it ended.”
There were many reasons why this year’s victory was special, according to Gordon.
“Obviously with Rick driving the pace car, but Kyle driving the Indy 500 and Rick participating in that, just to be there on the sidelines watching how that all unfolded, was special,” Gordon said. “As much as we’ve all loved the history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I think being here for the month of May, those events when we were here in May, just makes you appreciate it that much more. The fans and everybody that makes this speedway so special.
“I don’t know. I just feel like today, especially with that car, that paint scheme, the one that was going to run that day (on May 26 in the Coca-Cola 600), just seemed to bring it all full circle, made it very special.”
Hendrick, Gordon and Larson were here before — just two months ago as Larson was attempting to compete in his first Indianapolis 500 and complete the “Double” with the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway the same day.
Rain destroyed those plans, however.
Larson was able to compete in his first Indianapolis 500, despite the race starting four hours later because of rain. Because of that, he missed the start of the 600 and Justin Allgaier began that race in Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet.
After finishing the Indianapolis 500, Larson flew to Concord, North Carolina and then made it to Charlotte Motor Speedway just past the halfway point.
But 10 minutes after his arrival, it began to rain in Charlotte. It never let up and NASCAR flagged the race as official just past halfway.
Larson would be named Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year but was despondent that he didn’t get to complete the double. He felt he had let his team down.
But he was able to close the circle in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 by passing the most cars while saving fuel, and then being in position to capitalize at the end when race leader Brad Keselowski’s Ford ran out of fuel on the first overtime restart.
Keselowski dove onto pit road, Larson moved up from third to the inside at the choose v even though Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford was the control car.
That move gave Larson an advantage, and a chance to close the circle for Hendrick Motorsports with perhaps the biggest single-race victory of his career.
He has now won three crown jewel races in NASCAR. The only one missing is a victory in the Daytona 500.
“He was coming through the field like a rocket,” Hendrick said. “Hard to pass, but he made it look a little bit easier to pass.
“Then, I was worried when he got up to, like, second or third. We started worrying about fuel on the first overtime. They said we had enough to do one. We were holding our breath. If there had been another one, I don’t know if we could have made it.
“But he put on a show. That’s Kyle Larson.”
Gordon admired Larson’s passion behind the wheel as he was determined to put on a show for the many new friends and fans, he had made at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500 in May.
“I enjoyed that a lot today, to watch Kyle come up through there.,” Gordon said. “You could just tell he had a lot of passion behind the wheel today. I don’t know exactly what was driving that other than he wanted to win the Brickyard 400 really bad.
“You could tell, he was driving with a purpose. Yeah, I got nervous when he got to third because at that point, if it went green the rest of the way, it looked like it was going to get difficult to get by the 6 or the 12, if the 6 could make it all the way.
“He seemed to have the progress he needed up until that point. I think that caution coming out was certainly good for us. Obviously not good for the 6. It was good for Kyle to be able to line up there in the front row with the 12.”
Hendrick admitted when his group left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past May, there was a feeling of disappointment because of the planning that went into pulling off such a major challenge, only to have it spoiled by the weather.
But nearly two months later, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway rewarded those efforts as everything fell into place for Larson to win the Brickyard 400.
“Man, this place can bring the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” Gordon said. “It’s that kind of emotional place where so much is riding on it, so much history here.
“When days like today happen, it just doesn’t feel any better as a competitor. When we weren’t able to get the finish there at the end of that race in May, it was a pretty big low. The weather was the real low.
“I rode in the plane with Kyle on the way to Charlotte, he was pretty disappointed in himself. I think that’s just Indianapolis. You’re pushing all the time. Sometimes when you’re pushing, you’re not going to get the results you’re hoping for. Days like today, you’re going to push, and you do.
“Yeah, definitely came full circle.”