IROC at Indy was an auto race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from 1998 through 2003, as a support race to the

Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...

. It was part of the

International Race of Champions International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...

series, and served as the season finale each of the six years it was run. In March 1992, IROC drivers Dave Marcis and

Dick Trickle Richard Leroy Trickle (October 27, 1941 – May 16, 2013) was an American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All ...

were invited to test at the Speedway. At the time, the Speedway was considering hosting an IROC event during the month of May, during activities leading up the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. The test was considered successful, but several improvements would have to be made to the track before it was safe for modern stock cars to race there. After consideration, it was determined that it would not be economically feasible to hold an IROC race at the time, and plans for that event were put on hold. Instead, the Speedway moved forward on plans to host a NASCAR race, the

, which would debut in 1994. After the Brickyard 400 was deemed to be a huge success, and since the sufficient track improvements had been made, the Speedway re-opened talks to bring an IROC to Indy. The event was held for the first time in 1998. As with all IROC races, there were no qualification sessions held. Grid positions were determined on a handicap basis, with starting positions opposite to the current points standings. All cars were identically prepared stock cars, based upon the

Pontiac Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

. The cars were prepared and serviced by the series, rather than by a team which employed the driver. By winning the IROC event from 1998–2000,

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series s ...

became the first driver to "

three-peat In North American sports, a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, during their unsuccess ...

" any single annual event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Due to dwindling interest, the IROC race was removed from the IMS schedule after 2003 and, following the 2006 season, the IROC series itself folded.

Race results

Event records

Drivers

In the six years that this race was contested, 38 drivers participated:

References

IROC website
(Website is inactive. Preserved on archive.org) *''2004 Brickyard 400 Official Program'', Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2004. {{Indy 500 Auto races in the United States Motorsport in Indianapolis

Indy Indy may refer to: Computing and technology *Indy (software), used for Internet access to music *Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library *SGI Indy, a computer workstation Periodicals *''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include " ...