Gordon's Other Drive For Five

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on August 1, 2006

Jeff Gordon won the inaugral Brickyard 400 in 1994.  Since then, he has won it three more times.  Other multi-time winners of the Brickyard 400:  Dale Jarrett.    Only eight drivers have won the event, and of those winners only five are still active in Nextel Cup. 

This weekend, Gordon will drive for five - his fifth win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Of the winners at IMS, only five drivers have won four or more times:  AJ Foyt - Indy 500s; Al Unser - Indy 500s; Rick Mears - Indy 500s; Michael Schumacher - US GPs and Jeff Gordon - Brickyard 400s.  Schumacher won his 5th US Grand Prix in July.  

Gordon would love to add his name as a five time winner of the Brickyard 400.  As a self-proclaimed Hoosier, Gordon loves winning at IMS.  It doesn't hurt that it has one of the largest payouts - second only to Daytona and is the largest crowd - at 250,000 grandstand seats.  IMS boasts that it holds "spectacles" in racing, and Gordon has beheld the "spectacle" four times. 

Additionally, Gordon knows that four times the winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to win the Championship - Jarrett in 1999; Labonte in 2000; Gordon in 2001; and Stewart in 2005.  Incidently, Gordon won the Brickyard in 2004, and under the old format would have won the Championship.

Who will try to stop Gordon's drive for five?  Tony Stewart would love to become the first back to back winner at Indy.  Ryan Newman, a native Hoosier, would do anything to win this race, as would Kasey Kahne, last year's runner-up.  Casey Mears wants to win where his Uncle Rick has won four times - and the Indiana crowd would love to see a Mears in victory lane again.  Dale Earnhardt Jr recognizes that the Brickyard win of his father was a big deal, but so far he has not run well at Indy.  Denny Hamlin's domination at Pocono, another flat track, puts him at the head of the list to be the first rookie winner at the 400.

As the Chase looms ever closer, drivers are losing patience - patience with their teams, patience with other drivers and patience with themselves.  Indy is a flat track, but expect there to be several crashes - and plenty of opportunities to get swept up into someone else's problems.  Jimmie Johnson had problems here last year - walking away in a daze after a hard hit of the wall.  Dale Jr.  has had crash problems at Indy too - which is not good coming off two terrible finishes.  Elliott Sadler has been fast, but problems with a flat tire didn't give him the finish he deserved last year.

It's guaranteed to be a hot day in Indy on Sunday - for more than one reason.