After a much-needed weekend off for the hard-working crews in NASCAR, the Nextel Cup Series travels to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 14th running of the All State 400 at the Brickyard this weekend. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has earned its fame through years of open-wheel racing and the ultra-popular Indianapolis 500 race on Memorial Day weekend.
And now the popularity of stock car racing has added to that legend. The Brickard 400 has become one of the richest purses in the Nextel Cup Series and every team wants to do well at the famous track. Fans also enjoy the visit to the 2.5-mile historical speedway, as the crowd can grow to be the largest on the circuit as well.
This weekend plenty of activities are planned to help support the massive amount of hype that surrounds the Brickyard race weekend. For starters, a few major country music stars will be performing live throughout the weekend. On Friday at noon Rocky Comfort Records artist Tracy Lawrence will get the weekend started at the Coca-Cola stage, located in the Pagoda Plaza behind the Bombardier Learjet Pagoda. Lawrence has 17 No. 1 singles to his name, and his latest hit is "Find Out Who Your Friends Are."
Saturday afternoon Grammy Award winner Gretchen Wilson will entertain fans at the Miller Lite Stage in the infield. She will take to the stage, located adjacent to the Hall of Fame Museum, at 4:45 p.m. Wilson's debut album, "Here For the Party," went quadruple-platinum in 2004 and she's remained one of the hottest country stars ever since. The last of the country stars will perform on Sunday prior to the race. CURB Records artist Jo Dee Messina will headline the weekend with a performance at noon. Messina gained lots of popularity with her sophomore recording effort, the 1998 album "I'm Alright." All concerts throughout the weekend are free with gate admission.
Fans will have the opportunity to show their support for military personnel this weekend. The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes (CSAH) is an organization that provides many programs to benefit wounded veterans of the United States military and their families. Their mission is to give back to those soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much for our country and help them resume productive and fulfilling lives. CSAH t-shirts and dog tags will be on sale in the Pagoda Plaza throughout the weekend, with proceeds going to the CSAH to directly benefit soldiers.
Actor James Denton has been named as the grand marshal for this weekend's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard race. Denton has many television and film projects under his belt, but he's best known for his current role as Mike Delfino on the hit show, "Desperate Housewives." Denton will be on hand to participate in all the pre-race activities with the exception of one. He will not be giving the command to fire the engines. As a continued Indianapolis Motor Speedway family tradition, IMS Chairman of the Board Mari Hulman George will give the legendary command, "Gentlemen, start your engines."
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Quick Facts
Indianapolis Lap Record: Casey Mears (48.311 seconds and 186.293 mph), Aug. 7, 2004
Indianapolis Race Record: Bobby Labonte (2 hrs., 33 min., 56 sec/155.912 mph), Aug. 5, 2000
2006 Nextel Cup Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Total Purse: $9,533,587
