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 speedway, it was the twenty-first race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Bill Elliott of Evernham Motorsports won the race.

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

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 west of Downtown Indianapolis. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 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 $50,000 ($ adjusted for inflation) and placed into probation by his sponsor, Home Depot, for punching a photographer post-race.

Race results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 3 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 4 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Ford 5 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 8 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 11 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 12 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 13 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 15 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 16 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 17 23 Hut Stricklin Bill Davis Racing Dodge 18 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 19 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 20 25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21 07 Ted Musgrave Ultra Motorsports Dodge 22 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrlet 23 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 24 44 Jerry Nadeau Petty Enterprises Dodge 25 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 26 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 27 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 28 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 30 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 31 41 Jimmy Spencer Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 32 98 Kenny Wallace Innovative Motorsports Chevrolet 33 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford 34 26 Todd Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 35 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 36 4 Mike Skinner Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 37 10 Johnny Benson MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 38 7 Casey Atwood Ultra-Evernham Motorsports Dodge 39 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 40 09 Geoff Bodine Phoenix Racing Ford 41 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 42 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 43 14 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 Time of race: 3:11:57 Average speed: Pole speed: Cautions: 8 for 36 laps Margin of Victory: 1.269 seconds Lead changes: 16 Percent of race run under caution: 22.5% Average green flag run: 13.8 laps

References