by
Holly CainFiled under: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR
Tony Stewart grew up an hour's drive from America's most revered race track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway home of the world's most famous race, the Indianapolis 500. And he absolutely remembers his initial reaction -- nearly two decades ago -- to the earth-shaking news that
NASCAR might be crashing the party.
"I'll be honest, when I first heard about the test that was going to happen there, I was against it,'' said Stewart, a two-time Brickyard 400 winner and former IndyCar champion.
"But on that day, I was a guy that had grown up in Indiana. ...I was against it because I thought the Indy 500 was the only thing that deserved to be at the Brickyard.
Veteran
Mark Martin called the idea of racing there, "ridiculous.''
"I didn't think we belonged there, I didn't think the race track would be conducive to stock car racing,'' Martin said. "All of which was really wrong.''
As with Stewart and Martin, the idea has won over the toughest of converts. And when 43 cars take the green flag in Sunday's Brickyard 400, it will be more than just another race or just another victory. It's a once-a-season emotional indulgence.
NASCAR Stars All Revved Up for Indy originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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