Bill Elliott poses with wife Cindy and son Chase at the start-finish line. Credit: Autostock
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
August 6, 2002
9:33 AM EDT (1333 GMT)
Brickyard 400 Results | Winston Cup Standings
INDIANAPOLIS - Bill Elliott far outclassed the Winston Cup field Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, building as much as a five-second lead over his nearest suitor en route to Victory Lane in the prestigious Brickyard 400.
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With the win, Elliott joins an elite list of drivers that includes Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd and Bobby Labonte.
Elliott dove low to pass leader Rusty Wallace at the exit of Turn 3 with 11 laps remaining, then built a several car-length lead before the day's eighth and final caution flew for debris in Turn 2.
On the single file restart with four laps remaining, Elliott jumped out to a 10 car-length advantage to run away with his second win in as many weeks.
"This is the greatest, man, this is the greatest," said an elated Elliott in Victory Lane. "Man, Rusty was tough. His old piece went down that straightaway. I thought if I could get to him I'd be okay. Finally I got under him. This car was absolutely awesome. To come here and win at Indy, quite a tribute to this team."
Elliott & Co. certainly put in the preparation time. They came to IMS for a two-day test, running 125 laps the first day and 170 the second.
"I'd already run my two races before we ever got here," he said.
There was but one driver, Dale Jarrett, who appeared capable of challenging Elliott. From the midway point on, he charged through the field as if possessed, moving to second place with 50 laps remaining.
Then, with 33 laps to go and Elliott carrying a 3.6-second lead over Jarrett, Elliott Sadler hit the wall to bring out the day's seventh caution.
The leaders pitted. The No. 88 crew opted for a two-tire stop, and when the jack fell and Jarrett gunned the throttle, the catch can was stuck on the rear of the car. With that mishap came a stop and go penalty, erasing Jarrett's bid to tie Jeff Gordon atop the Brickyard 400 victory list.
 | BRICKYARD BY THE NUMBERS | | | During Sunday's Brickyard 400, the 275,000 fans on hand purchased: |
| | | • 375,000 12-ounce bottles of water |
| | | | | • 1.1 million pounds of ice |
| | | | • The average miles per gallon for a Winston Cup Series car is 4.5, compared to 1.8 used by Indy cars at IMS. |
| | | • The track temperature at race time was 135 degrees. |
| | | --Compiled by Tim Packman |
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With Jarrett removed from the equation, Mark Martin, who had taken just two tires as well, led the field to the green flag just ahead of pole-sitter Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, Kevin Harvick and Elliott. Jarrett restarted 23rd.
Stewart quickly disposed of Martin, then succumbed to a furious charge from Wallace. Meanwhile, Elliott jumped from fifth to third in five laps, then on to second by lap-139.
Wallace, who appeared to have the stronger car on the straightaways, held the lead until Elliott passed him for the final time on lap 149. Wallace, who started 35th, has now finished third three times at Indy.
"That was a really great second place," Wallace said. "We went from 35th to 10th in nothing flat. Four-tired it, got way in the back. Two tired it, got right back up. Two tired it again, adjusted the chassis, then that ol' hot rod took off.
"I really thought we'd win it, but I got a little loose up off of four and Elliott got me."
Matt Kenseth finished third, followed by South Bend, Ind., native Ryan Newman. Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five, while three-time Brickyard winner Gordon finished sixth.
"I knew our car was good, but I didn't know it'd be that good," said Gordon, who started 21st Sunday. "We faded a little bit in the middle of the race, but made some adjustments and just drove to the front. Good day for us."
After a ho-hum first 30 laps, the event picked up steam on lap 37 when Busch got together with Jimmy Spencer heading into Turn 3. Busch had surged into the top-15 from his 38th-place starting position, and was racing Spencer door-to-door down the back straightaway. As they entered Turn 3, Busch steered towards the low line and the two touched, sending Busch hard into the Turn 3 wall.
Upon exit from his Ford following the accident, Busch gestured in a shrugging manner towards Spencer. As Spencer circled around again, Busch pointed at his backside, then up in the air, hoping NASCAR would issue Spencer a black flag penalty. They didn't.
For his actions, Busch was summoned to the NASCAR trailer for a scolding.
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"I shouldn't have been back there in the first place," Said Busch, who celebrated his 23rd birthday Sunday. "We should have just qualified steadily up front and that would have put us with that decrepit old has-been."
The two have history. Busch bumped Spencer out of the way en route to earning his first career Winston Cup win earlier this year at Bristol Motor Speedway. They also had an in-race altercation last year at Phoenix.
"Really, he's so hard-headed," Busch said of Spencer. "It's pretty bad when goes and calls out that he's going to smash back and then does it at a 200 mile an hour racetrack.
"If that's the option he wanted to take, then so be it. I mean, we're racecar drivers out there - all except for the 41 car. I feel bad for (Spencer's owner) Chip Ganassi."
During his accident, Busch became the first Winston Cup driver to wreck into the "soft wall" at IMS. He felt it did the job. Geoffrey Bodine, however, didn't feel much difference during his hard hit on lap-50.
"I wish I could tell you I could feel a difference, but if felt pretty darn hard," Bodine said.
Points leader Sterling Marlin finished 27th, making the most of a car that ran nearly half the race with just seven cylinders. It appeared as if Martin would make huge gains Sunday, as he led the race on the final restart. But Martin faded late and struggled home to a 28th-place finish.
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