2002 Brickyard 400

Race details[1]
Race 21 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
2002 Brickyard 400 program cover
Date	August 4, 2002 (2002-August-04)
Official name	Brickyard 400
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance	160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 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	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing
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 at 160 laps on the 2.5 mile (4.023 km) 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 Steel and Foam Reduction (SAFER) barrier at Indianapolis that will 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 six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 2.5 miles (4.023 km) 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

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: 125.033 miles per hour (201.221 km/h)
• Pole Speed: 182.96
• Cautions: 8 for 36 laps
• Margin of Victory: 1.269 sec
• Lead changes: 16
• Percent of race run under caution: 22.5%
• Average green flag run: 13.8 laps