2002 Brickyard 400

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2002 Brickyard 400
Race details [1]
Race 21 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2002 Brickyard 400 program cover and logo.png
2002 Brickyard 400 program cover
Date August 4, 2002 (2002-08-04)
Official name Brickyard 400
Location Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 2.5 miles (4.023 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.738 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures approaching 91.9 °F (33.3 °C); wind speeds up to 20.8 miles per hour (33.5 km/h)
Average speed 125.033 miles per hour (201.221 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 49.191
Most laps led
Driver Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports
Laps 93
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Benny Parsons
Nielsen ratings 6.3/16 (10.2 million)

The 2002 Brickyard 400, the 9th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on August 4, 2002, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0-kilometre) speedway, it was the twenty-first race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Bill Elliott of Evernham Motorsports won the race.

Contents

This was the first race to feature the Steel and Foam Reduction (SAFER) barrier at Indianapolis that would be used to make racing accidents safer.

Background

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held. Ims aerial.jpg
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately 6 miles (9.7 kilometres) west of Downtown Indianapolis. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 2.5 miles (4.0 kilometres) long. The track's turns are banked at 9 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, has no banking. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a zero degree banking. The racetrack has seats for more than 250,000 spectators.

Summary

Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer, locked in a burgeoning feud dating back to Bristol, collided on lap 36. Busch hit the turn 3 wall. Veteran Bill Elliott added the Brickyard to his long resume, and Rusty Wallace finished second for the third time.

Following the race, Tony Stewart was fined $50,000 and placed into probation not by NASCAR, but by his sponsor, The Home Depot, for punching a photographer post-race. [2]

Race results

PosNo.DriverTeamManufacturer
19 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge
22 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford
317 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford
412 Ryan Newman Penske RacingFord
529 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
624 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
71 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet
831 Robby Gordon Richard Childress RacingChevrolet
948 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
1088 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford
1118 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac
1220 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs RacingPontiac
135 Terry Labonte Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
1436 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac
1577 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford
1615 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet
1723 Hut Stricklin Bill Davis Racing Dodge
1828 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates RacingFord
1930 Jeff Green Richard Childress RacingChevrolet
2025 Joe Nemechek Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
2107 Ted Musgrave Ultra Motorsports Dodge
228 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrlet
2355 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet
2444 Jerry Nadeau Petty Enterprises Dodge
2545 Kyle Petty Petty EnterprisesDodge
2643 John Andretti Petty EnterprisesDodge
2740 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
286 Mark Martin Roush RacingFord
2999 Jeff Burton Roush RacingFord
3022 Ward Burton Bill Davis RacingDodge
3141 Jimmy Spencer Chip Ganassi RacingDodge
3298 Kenny Wallace Innovative Motorsports Chevrolet
3332 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford
3426 Todd Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford
3521 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford
364 Mike Skinner Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet
3710 Johnny Benson MB2 MotorsportsPontiac
387 Casey Atwood Ultra-Evernham Motorsports Dodge
3919 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham MotorsportsDodge
4009 Geoff Bodine Phoenix Racing Ford
4197 Kurt Busch Roush RacingFord
4211 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford
4314 Mike Wallace A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac

Failed to qualify: Ron Hornaday Jr. (#49), Derrike Cope (#37), Scott Wimmer (#27), Tony Raines (#74), Jim Sauter (#71), Stuart Kirby (#57), P. J. Jones (#50)

Race statistics

References

  1. "2002 Brickyard 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  2. Associated Press (August 8, 2002). "Home Depot issues fine, probation". rpm.espn.com . Retrieved September 13, 2021.