The Brickyard 400 -- WHY THE HATE? 

1992: 50,000 show up for a tire test. ...now you’re lucky if 50,000 show up for the race.

really like these mini-docu type videos, hope you can do a few of these now that indy offseason is upon us

The 2008 Brickyard 400....the race that killed it. Me as a NASCAR fan since late 90s as a child, I hope Brickyard doesn't go anywhere. But if it ends up being removed from the schedule in the future, I wont be surprised.

To be fair nascar as a whole has been on the decline in quality and attendance. When you can’t even fill the Bristol night race you have a bigger problem. Brickyard is a symptom not a cause of nascar’s decline

Now Indycar drivers are friendly and sociable and the NASCAR drivers are the closed-off ones (except for Dibenedetto, Chastain, Lajoie, and a few others)

In one way or another, you can always trace something back to the CoT.

I think it's important to note that the more reliant on aerodynamics NASCAR cars have become, the harder it's been to have good racing and passing under green. If you go back and watch the 1995 Brickyard 400, Earnhardt started 13th while Wallace and Jarrett started in the 20s. That race only had one caution flag yet all three of those guys were able to drive to the front. Of course, with stages something like that can't happen now but even with stage breaks it's hard to pass and a driver as to screw up in the corners or get held up by a slower car for a driver behind him to get a decent run.

At least in 2008 the entire field didn’t retire in protest before the start

Racing is not always about constant passing, nonstop action, and a photo finish every time. The fans have some blame in the idiotic changes NASCAR, and other series, have been making to try and make each race an instant classic.

PLEASE do a video on the 96 US 500

Didn't even know they still held the Brickyard 400 - which shows how much interest I have in it. And running the race the opening week-end of the new NFL season is the mark of genius...........

I'd like to see a video on the Indy car split from you

Even though I don't like this track, I will admit that Last Year's Brickyard 400 had a good Finish. So will this year be a good one? Maybe.

You hit your stride David when you do these documentaries!! This includes your self documented opportunity to race carts at Indy. You definitely have a talent for telling stories. I'm all in everytime you do one of these, which in my humble opinion, isn't nearly enough. Well done!!!! Again!!!!

That was some great storytelling David, you did a good job painting a picture for a fan of both sports to understand. Well done

the pre-1993 Indy would have been more suitable to NASCAR stock cars.

Such a shame to see a once-previously revered event decay to the state it's in now. I loved the Brickyard 400 in its prime, I love everything about the Indy 500. Overall, excellent video David! Very well done!

Really enjoyed the video, David. I remember my first race of any kind at IMS was the 2000 Brickyard 400 during the rise of NASCAR. I still enjoy the race, but it is sad that this race has lost its luster. I remember attending the 2009 race and it not being hard to leave our lot afterwards. Hope you do a video in depth on the timeline of the Indycar/CART split.

At 13:34 you can see a yellow shirt covering a fan with his body in case any debris flew into the stands.

Minor quibble: Jeff Gordon didn't ignore CART for NASCAR. Ed Hinton's article "Honor, Blood and a Brewing Battle" has Gordon's stepfather John Bickford on record as saying, "We went on our knees to the CART teams," and Gordon himself confirming, "They basically said, 'Show us the money and we’ll show you the seat.'" Jeff didn't sidestep CART, he was locked out. Still loving this kind of content though, keep it up.

well put together, man. It's like this should be broadcast on TV!

Continue with these historical videos. The more history you know, the more you are invested in seeing the race every year. Fantastic job David. Maybe do a video on motor sports tragedies and safety improvements made. Knowing the loss of life invested into this sport also makes me feel how monumental each race is. Motorsport is constantly pushing the human race forward and is the epitome of what we are. Risk, reward, loss, heartbreak. I love it.

This was a very interesting video. Thank you for teaching me quite a lot today.

I like these mini-documentary videos, especially with good release timing like this one.

Thanks for the video! I've been a casual NASCAR fan for a couple of years now and had no idea of the history behind them racing at Indy. I learned a lot from this video.

Keep cup at the Brickyard, send xfinity and trucks to IRP.

Great video, very well done. Would love to see more in this style.

Being a former NASCAR fan who is older than NASCAR here's my opinion on the problem. In the beginning they raced STOCK CARS totally stock. Until they started to play with body designs and templates making every car look the same, and allowing custom make chassis it was interesting to watch. There is not a cup car that could be called stock for the past 20 plus years. In a sport that used to favor backyard mechanics working to improve grandma's grocery getter into a speed machine, we now have teams of engineering specialists running the car preparation. As for the drivers they don't work their way to the top anymore. Their daddies with deep pockets buy them a ride. Most modern cup drivers that are legends in their own minds that ignore the fans. You kids should go to the Richard Petty school of building a fan base. First or last he always had a smile on his face when signing every autograph for everyone no matter how late it got to be. Young guys take care of the fans the pay your way.

Fantastic video David, very informative and easy to watch. Thanks

This has been your best work yet David! Keep it up!

Tiregate was not just Goodyear's fault. IMS diamond ground the track and Goodyear didn't know. Some good Info about the 08 Brickyard 400

Intersting history lesson. Thanks for the work and video.

I never realized that the track did not always have the grass area! Great video.

Great video, I really hope some people actually learned something from this

Good vid. btw, you were the one to get me into IndyCar. Thanks

Kyle says he's a traditionalist and that Indycars don't go to Daytona, but they did once upon a time. Scared the you know what outta AJ Foyt too

Very well put together. 👏🏽

Very good, well produced video!

I love indy. I could watch a lawn mower race there. it is sacred ground no matter what is going around the track; however, the tire fiasco's there have been with nascar, i understand why people got turned off. But, overall, i dont find the brickyard 400 to be boring.

That race also has lost local appeal with Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, and Jeff Gordon now retired and no drivers with ties to Indiana or IndyCar in Cup.

Nice history and take on all this.good stuff.

I will say this I never noticed the timing of the indycar drama and nascar hype around IMS thank you for giving me more of an understanding my dude 🙏

This gave me a different take & perspective on the motorsports landscape from the last 25 years. I didn't think that the Brickyard 400 was the catalyst for the open-wheel split, and the following unification be similar for the NASCAR decline

Great look at this. Good deep dive.

There's a corner of motorsport Hell exclusively saved for Tony George. Right next to several generations of the France's. They make Bernie Ecclestone look like a soft touch genius.

Thanks David as a new post quarantine fan here I love nascar and now I know the brickyards rise and fall!!!

I would like to hear more about this US 500

Outstanding Job David.

Good documentary style video, well done.

The fact that they reprofiled the track and 93 is partially to why the racing is not that good there

That was some great details on the race ..awesome job

I would say the 2005 USGP and 2008 BY400 comparison is a very, very long reach. Having attended F1 at Indy as well as NASCAR races at Bristol, very little crossover between the two fan bases.

excellent content. more please thanks

Great video thank you David !

I can't remember what year between '08-'13, Bobby Labonte was signing autographs at a walmart in Lawrence and we had a ticket w/ the goodyear tire testers on it and Bobby was talking to my dad reminiscing about that year.

I forget who said this but someone pointed out ratings and literally they were right for the NFL vs. NASCAR or differences. The biggest thing was I attended the Indy 500 this year. It seems two things are prevalent. 1. Indy doesn't know how to market the Brickyard anymore. If I put my finger to it is that neither the older nor younger fans see Indy as a NASCAR bucket list track and the younger generation just tunes out NASCAR altogether. People were talking about Darlington "only having 47k seats" yet Indy only had 50-60 thousand for the race. We can say all we want but the metro Indy area has what, 2 million people compared to anywhere around Darlington? 2. As much as NASCAR wants to preach this, Indy really is on the schedule for the history of the track. That marketing thing? Yeah each time I went to the Indy 500, there was no mention from fans about the Brickyard 400. It is evident that despite Indy maybe wanting a change, NASCAR is stuck in itself with Indy where nothing will change other than the date. Watch for next years race and see if attendance is even worse.

I'd be willing to move the race to IRP. I think that Indianapolis is still a good market and people are asking for short tracks, and would get rid of the terrible look of empty seats everywhere.

Awesome informational educational video experience Y'alls

The Brickyard 400 made a huge mistake when they decided to sell the sponsorship name rigts to the race. They completely destroyed the name brand equity it had. It started with the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, then every year the name of the race changing. They've even named the race after some random people. Marketing 101, don't mess with brand equity. Put the Brickyard 400 name back. You wouldn't change the name of the Daytona 500 or Indy 500.

In August of 1994 NASCAR did not race at Kansas, Chicagoland and Kentucky and maybe even more. The possibility that these midwest tracks have taken away from The Brickyard from many midwest fans that would travel to Indy for the BY4 to possibly see their only NASCAR race. Its too bad that the crowds are way down and the only solution is to put the BY4 in the playoff. That would bring many fans back to the IMS.

Good research! I didn't know this was so controversial. I guess I am too simple. I just look forward to getting 40 guys out there on the track and see who can win.

Enjoyed that very much. I don't mind watching the Brickyard 400 even if its a snoozer. Hope they never leave.

Great vid David, probably your best. But as a "local" I attended just one 400 (always was, always remained an Indy car guy over NASCAR) and the year was 08 or 09, Juan Montoya was set to win, no one could come close to him, then they got him speeding in the pits, assigned a penalty and the only pass of the race occurred while he was in the pit for the penalty. No passing, just boring and oh yes, the year of the tire fiasco started the decline but lack of competitiveness ever since has been the 400's demise. Instead of Indy car dropping Pocono I wish Nascar would just keep its interest out at IRP instead of the "hallowed" ground of 16h and Crawfordsville Road. Again though, excellent vid, content and writing. Keep it up!

2:49 Very, very tragic that Davey Allison never actually got to race competitively at the Brickyard.

Being from Indianapolis I was proud of Tony George to do what he did, trying to the best of his ability to make the "Track" and " Indianapolis " and "racing" better for every one.

More of this type of video please!

Epic piece David changes to the cars and the chase led to the demise of NASCAR and though they'll never admit it their obsession with beating the NFL was the root cause.Auto racing has always been about HIGH POINT CHAMPION placing emphasis on running consistent through the entire season.The fact that it was tweaked every year shows it wasn't working.Then the playoffs came and that was it.You want playoffs and regular season and overtime watch football and if you are going to stay with the playoffs at least score the drivers in the playoffs in the order they finish amongst them ie highest finishing driver gets 1st place points and so on throughout the field again great piece.🏁

I think that the 400 doesn't really fit in with NASCAR. It's an Indycar track. IRP would be a better fit in my opinion.

A couple of things that are missing here, the proposed IROC race in May was actually suppose to be a one off race using IROC cars for Indy Car Legends. Second Tony got the idea to bring Nascar there when he took some laps in AJ Foyt's stock car around the speedway, when AJ came to the Speedway to film a commercial for Sears Craftsman on September 23, 1991.

I was at that ‘08 race. Second row back turn 4. Loved the race before then, dreaded going back after. Only been back once since in 2015 at what was supposed to be Jeff Gordon’s last race at Indy. Love the 500 and wouldn’t miss it for anything, but just no interest in going back to the 400.

Thanks David.

Stock cars dont fit at indy. That is also why they dont fit at Pocono either. If they want to spice up the event make it a road course race. It keeps its prestige with better racing.

I really like these mini documentary videos

But still expecting about 50,000 which is more than the sell out crowd at darlington last week

NASCAR in my view opened the floodgates in terms of other series coming to the Brickyard as F1 and MotoGP both held US GP's there over the next 25 years with mixed success. The 2005 debacle with the tires really killed the F1 US GP at Indy while MotoGP at Indy never really attracted that many fans as more went to the other US MotoGP event at Laguna Seca. After 3 years, MotoGP decided to have only one race in the US and after 2007 F1 disappeared from the US eventually returning in 2011 at COTA in Austin Texas.

This is an excellent video.

PAY THIS MAN. Amazing content.

My suggestion: 1 -drop the second date at Michigan and go to Berlin Speedway 2 - 86 Indy altogether and race at Mid-Ohio Loved Kyle Petty's quote in the video. Tony George is trash btw, I miss CART.

And now, due to how poorly the Indy500 was handled this year, the Brickyard400 got more television viewership. Times change but some things stay the same.

How much is one ticket for the brickyard ? There was more fans at the original Goodyear tire test than at the race today in 2019. So much has changed.

Winston Cup, giving away my age, Series should try running the road course at Indy, if that also sucks go back to IRP, or whatever they are calling it now.

Just looking at the testing footage, I think the racing would've been better with the paved apron as there would've been the option of the main racing surface and the apron, instead of just the main racing surface which really enhanced the aero push. I hope they can find a middle ground someday with IMS because I'd love to see NASCAR race at Indy with the apron someday... if we ever get there.

There was talk about bringing NASCAR to IMS as early as 1981... newspaper articles were written about it.

Can't sugarcoat it. Now they will try to get fans on the 4th of July next year replacing the traditional Independence Day weekend at Daytona.

Did you see the amount of fans disguised as empty seats today? I'm aware of the decline but my Lord I couldn't believe how empty the stands were! Yikes!

As far as the debate of keeping it on the schedule goes, I say keep it. Sure, you may get lackluster races there (even Daytona and Talladega are boring sometimes - it just happens,) but a good race still also happens every now and then too. Plus, it's something different from yet another 1.5 mile oval.

Because the racing had been "boring" recently and that's what the vocal fans complain about most, thus they say the track should be taken off the schedule. Sounds logical to me, it's not like any track can get better or anything...

watching those practice videos , made me even more in favor of repaving the apron through the turns

Watched the race yesterday , looked like 30,000 people in the stands . Its a dead race , they should add another road race or short track in it's place .

NASCAR’s product is so boring at Indy. Use the road course. That’s the one thing Nascar is good at now a days. Also why can’t IMSA come to Indy to be a double header with Indycar on Indy GP weekend?

Crazy to look back and think 50k people showed up for a tire test and only 35k yesterday 🤔

All of NASCAR’s problems today can somehow be traced back to that damn CoT. 2008 was NASCAR’s incompetence in the modern era finally catching up to them. Drivers that fans can’t relate to, cars that (while we’re undoubtedly safer) raced horribly, unpopular championship gimmicks, and a tire supplier butt-fumbling at every opportunity. And to this day NASCAR continues to throw its product under the knife. The Brickyard’s time has come and gone. With the current state and trajectory of the sport it’s long past time IMS and NASCAR parted ways.

The track surface is what killed the Brickyard 400. It was once a must watch race, but now it's become an afterthought.

What NASCAR should do is have a Saturday night race at Indy. This would clearly distinguish it from the Indy 500 and it would (more importantly for the fans) avoid the hot weather.

We know now that the 2021 Brickyard 400 is going to be on the road course. I wonder if that will help.

It seems so funny remembering when NASCAR fans were bragging about how it was only a matter of time before the BY400 would muscle its way into the Memorial Day weekend slot to replace the weakening 500! My how things have changed.

I was at the 2005 Brickyard 400. It was sold out. This year the empty seats far outnumbered those that were filled.

Dogs don't race at Churchill Downs, well-said.

One mistake to point out and one reason why a lot of Nascar fans don't like IMS. The mistake was when you were talking about the 2008 tire screw up. It was every 20 laps for a caution not 10. Now, the reason why a lot of Nascar fans don't like IMS is because when sitting in the stands, you can not see all the way around the track. IF you go to any other track that host a Nascar race, for the most part, you can see 90 percent of the track. At IMS you can see at best, 60 percent of the track depending on where you are sitting. As an example, the seats that I had until around 2010 was in stand A, row AA. From those seats we were able to see the last half of pit road and the cars at the very end of the front stretch going into turn 1. We could still see them through about half of the short chute and then again at the end of turn 2 and going into the back stretch. After that, maybe here and there in between the trees going into turn 3 and then again coming out of turn 4 and the start of the front stretch. And that was it. Using this last weekends race, Darlington, I have attended races there with the track in it's as built configuration and after it was flip flopped. In original configuration, you could see the cars as they went into turn 1 through turn 2 and down the back stretch only losing them behind a building or two for a second. Then into turn 3 around though turn 4 and finally loosing the cars about a quarter way down the front stretch due to the fact of the cars being right up on the wall. After the flip flop, pretty much the same thing.

I hate the idea of nascar taking away any tracks from the schedule, even if the race sucks I just think about all the people who don’t get a chance to see nascar in person with their nearby track getting cut, I think this can be fixed if nascar goes to IRP (which i always loved the trucks and xfinity racing there and always thought they should’ve stayed there)