Fun facts and field fillers for this weekend’s Brickyard 400

Last year, during the “Brickyard Through My Eyes” countdown—a darn good one might I add, and suggest checking it out if you haven’t yet—I posted some Indianapolis Motor Speedway/Brickyard 400 fun facts and trivia.

Well, with my car loaded up and ready to fire off tomorrow morning, I figured it’s my last chance to send you off into the weekend with some fun facts and figures before the 2009 Brickyard 400.

First the fun facts, then maybe I’ll add a few trivia questions at the end. If you’ve paid attention throughout this countdown then hopefully you’ll get some of the answers right. (Check out last year’s trivia here: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2008/07/brickyard-through-my-eyes-moment-4.html Scroll down to find the questions.)

I feel a little like David Letterman giving you—my faithful readers—some fun facts. Unfortunately it’s not Friday yet so “Fun Fact Friday” isn’t much of an option, but tomorrow can be “Fun Fact Friday” if you want to wait to read this.

Anyway, here we are with some fun NASCAR, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Brickyard 400 and Mark Martin fun facts.

-773, the number of times Mark Martin has been passed during green flag runs, the fewest in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Second on the list is Jeff Gordon with 967. They are the only two under the 1,000 mark

-Juan Pablo Montoya has competed in the Indy 500, the US Grand Prix at Indy and the Brickyard 400—the only driver to accomplish that feat. He won the 2000 Indy 500 and finished second in his first Brickyard 400

-IMS has the world’s largest outdoor public address system.

-Other famous sports venues and landmarks that can fit inside IMS…all at the same time: Vatican City, the Colosseum in Rome, Wimbledon, The Rose Bowl, original Yankee Stadium, and the racetrack at Churchill Downs.

-Tony Stewart has run the fastest lap during a Brickyard 400. He clocked a lap of 50.099 seconds in the 2005 race.

-IMS covers 559 acres.

- In 1996, Dale Jarrett and his Robert Yates Racing crew began the tradition of the winning driver and crew kissing the row of bricks at the start-finish line.

TRIVIA QUESTIONS: Enjoy…
1. Who are the four drivers who have competed in each Brickyard 400?
2. Name the only winners from the pole. (Bonus for years)
3. Which drivers have led the most 400s and never won?
4. Which manufacturer can claim they’ve won the most Brickyard 400s?
5. What’s the slowest race on record, and what year was it? Hint, competition caution(s)…
6. Who is the oldest race winner and in which year did he win?
7. How many drivers have won more than one race at Indy? Bonuses for the years…
8. Who won the inaugural pole at IMS? Bonus if you remember his number and sponsor…
9. How many races has Hendrick Motorsports won at IMS?
10. Two drivers have won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year. Who and when?
11. One of those drivers not only won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 but he went on to claim his first cup title that year. Who was it? What year?
12. Name every cup driver who has won the 400 and went on to win the Cup title that year. There are seven instances of this happening! Pace yourself…
13. In the inaugural Brickyard 400, three brothers led a lap in a Winston Cup race, the only time that has ever happened. Name them.
14. When was the last time Mark Martin led a lap at Indy?
15. What years have I attended the Brickyard 400?
16. When did I attend my only IROC race to date?
17. What is Mark Martin’s best finish at Indy? What year was it?
18. Which driver has completed the most laps/miles at Indy?
19. Who was the first driver to drive his car out onto the track in a 1993 tire test?
20. Who led the first lap during that test? (Hint: it’s not the same guy as the guy who was first out on the track)

ANSWERS TO TRIVIA QUESTIONS
1. Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte
2. Kevin Harvick in 2003 and Jimmie Johnson in 2008
3. Mark Martin and Jeff Burton have each led five Brickyard 400s and each has never won
4. A Chevy has been driven to victory in 10 races
5. The 2008 Brickyard 400 was run in 3 hours, 28 minutes and 29 seconds with an average speed of 115.117 miles per hour.
6. Bill Elliott won the 2002 Brickyard 400 at the age of 46 years, 9 months, 27 days
7. Jeff Gordon has won 4 times (1994, 1998, 2001, & 2004). Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2008), Tony Stewart (2005, 2007), and Dale Jarrett (1996, 1999) have all won multiple Brickyard 400s.
8. Rick Mast won the pole for the 1994 Brickyard 400. He drove the #1 “Skoal Bandit” car.
9. Hendrick Motorsports has won six races at Indy. Gordon has won four, Johnson has won two.
10. Dale Jarrett won both in 1996 and Jimmie Johnson won both in 2006.
11. It was Johnson in 2006. He claimed his first of three straight Cup titles that year.
12. In 2006 and 2008 Jimmie Johnson did it. In 2005 Tony Stewart pulled it off. Jeff Gordon did it in 1998 and 2001. Bobby Labonte did it in 2000, and in 1999 Dale Jarrett used his Brickyard 400 win to propel his #88 team to a Winston Cup title.
13. Hungry? Need an “Onion”? Geoffrey, Brett and Todd Bodine did it in 1994.
14. It’s hard to believe, but the last time Mark Martin led a lap at Indy he was driving the Viagra sponsored #6 car, and I wasn’t yet in high school. It was 2003.
15. 1996, 1999 and 2003-present
16. The Inaugural IROC at Indy in 1998. The winner? Mark Martin.
17. Mark finished 2nd in 1998. BONUS FACT: Jeff Burton’s best finish was 5th in 1999. They are the only two drivers to compete in every Brickyard and not win. Gordon and Labonte have both won.
18. The aforementioned Burton has completed 2,365 laps, or 5912.5 miles at Indy.
19. Rusty Wallace in the #2 Miller Genuine Draft car.
20. Dale Earnhardt in the ever famous #3 car.