This legendary Speedway has been around for a while. It was first built for the growing Indiana automobile industry, and in 1909 was paved over with 3.2 million bricks. Most of those bricks sit under the asphalt, except for a one-yard strip at the start finish line that the cars still drive over—and the winning driver kisses after the race.

Now the track itself is a unique challenge. 2.5 miles long, it has four distinct corners and four straightaways—two long and two short. The track is one of the flatest on the circuit, featuring only 9 degrees of banking in the turns—not very much for stock cars, which don’t have nearly the downforce that a lighter Indy car produces. Drivers need horsepower to take advantage of the straights, but handling is also critical, as you’ve got to get off the flat corners well to run fast.

Indianapolis is a big and incredibly smooth race track, but it is also tougher to pass than you might expect. Aerodynamics are so important that cars tend to pick up a push when they come up behind other cars--the dreaded aero push. So you've got to be significantly faster than the guy you're trying to get by. Look for most of the action coming out of the turns. Cars that handle well enough through the corners to get on the gas early coming out will be able to pass. Cars that are set up perfectly will actually be able to hold the cars wide open through turns 2 and 4, carrying a lot of speed into the long straights.

The Car of Tomorrow will add a new wrinkle to racing at Indy in 2008.

The track, of course, is the flag ship for American auto racing. Putting stock cars on it was a controversy but so is ketchup on eggs. Once you get over the initial shock you realize how good it is. The history of the Brickyard makes a win here priceless. Today’s top drivers watched heroes like Andretti and Foyt fight open wheeled duels so they relish putting their stock cars to the test. And when they win they tend to be speechless. Jimmy Johnson was roundly appalled that he won here and Tony was practically in tears.

What can we say about this legendary speedway?? After years of asking why not, NASCAR and Indy finally got together to put stock cars on the track (first pole won by our friend Rick Mast!), and it’s been an historic event ever since. The racing is still pretty aero-dependent here, and the turns (four distinct ones) are pretty flat, so it’s hard to get your car to rotate. The “aero-push� (car ahead takes air off your nose and makes your car tight) is pretty bad here, making track-position a big key. Wonder what COT racing will be like here in 2008.

This track's vaunted reputation as the mecca of American motorsports preceded its entry into stock car racing. Though fendered cars came rather late to Indy, it instantly became one of those dates drivers circled in red. Jeff Gordon has kissed the bricks 4 times since the first race in 1994 and Tony Stewart twice. Is it merely a coincidence that they both have Indiana ties? (I guess so since Dale Jarrett also has multiple victories.) Now, if the good folks at Indy make it so Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Sam Hornish, et. al. can once again compete in both the Indy 500 and the 600 at Lowe's, all will be right in the world.