NASCAR revealed in an announcement this week that, going forward, they may limit the number of NASCAR Cup Series teams attempting to qualify for a race to 40.
Open teams will be permitted, but priority would be given to teams that are higher in the owner standings.
For some time now, limiting the number of entrants hasn’t been much of an issue. There have been ample situations where the number to teams attempting to qualify has been equal to or even less than the number of available starting spots.
The inaugural Brickyard 400 was most certainly not one of those aforementioned situations. Just being in the race was as important to some teams as winning it would be to others.
From the moment NASCAR announced in April 1993 that it would race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 43 starting slots were worth more than a top-10 finish in some events on the schedule. To put that in perspective, the last-place finisher at Indy earned over $21,000, which was more than the seventh-place driver got for the previous race at Talladega Superspeedway.
On Thursday, Aug. 4, 1994, a total of 86 cars took a shot at the pole position. Only the top 20 drivers were guaranteed their position on that day, with the rest being left to compete for the remaining 23 spots the next day.
To this day, I’ve never seen a more intriguing and suspenseful Cup qualifying
session. There was the battle for the pole, expected to be a contest between the usual suspects, such as Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvan and Mark Martin, among others.
But that seemed to pale in comparison to the high pressure challenge of getting into the show.
The quality of the competition only added to the intensity. There were, of course, the stars of NASCAR, but they were joined by open wheel talent such as past Indianapolis 500 winners AJ Foyt and Danny Sullivan. Other Indy regulars piloting stock cars for the weekend included Davy Jones, Stan Fox and Gary Bettenhausen.
The format favored what was then the Winston West Series competitors, as NASCAR prioritized the top 10 in points in that series. Those drivers could still make the show if not all of the provisionals were used by eligible Cup teams, although that scenario didn’t play out favorably for the West Coast wheelmen.
Ron Hornaday Jr., Rick Carelli and Butch Gilliland (grandfather of current Cup driver Todd Gilliland) all gave it a shot but each came up short in their bid to participate in the race.
The prestige of the Brickyard also drew out some legends of NASCAR. Charlie Glotzbach, winner of the first Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1971, attempted to make his first start in nearly two years. However, he too came up short. It was the final time that Glotzbach tried to qualify for a Cup race.
Hershel McGriff, winner of four Cup races back in 1954, also took his final shot at making a Cup field. But like Glotzbach, the 66-year-old McGriff failed to get in the show.
One driver that few expected to top the speed chart was journeyman Rick Mast. Mast had just one pole and just four top-five finishes in his 141 Cup Series races prior to that weekend. But it was Mast besting Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Geoff Bodine and Bobby Labonte for the first ever Brickyard 400 pole.
Another surprise of day one was Geoff Brabham. The son of three-time Formula 1 champion Jack Brabham, he found the majority of his success in sports cars. But he laid down a lap that earned him 18th on the grid in a car owned by Michael Kranefuss. At the time, Kranefuss owned the IndyCar team that Michael Andretti drove for, and he would go on to be a co-owner of the Team Penske No. 12 beginning in 1998 for a few years.
Most of the top names locked in their positions on day one, including 10 of the top 12 drivers in the points standings. Of those, only Ken Schrader and Lake Speed had to try again the next day. Speed ended up needing one of the provisionals as his qualifying time wasn’t fast enough.
Terry Labonte put down the best lap on day two, landing him the 21st starting position. Foyt and Sullivan both made the show, while it was ARCA competitor Mike Chase who snagged the 43rd and final starting position.
I’m not sure if we will ever see 86 cars attempt to qualify for a single Cup race again, but it certainly made for an intriguing show.
Frank Velat has been an avid follower of NASCAR and other motorsports for over 20 years. He brings a blend of passionate fan and objective author to his work. Frank offers unique perspectives that everyone can relate to, remembering the sport's past all the while embracing its future.
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