Aug. 5, 2001
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race 22 of 37 on Winston Cup circuit (21st points race)

TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET

Laps: 160
Track length: 2.5 miles
Race length: 400 miles

Qualifying record: Ricky Rudd, Ford, 181.068 mph, 2000
Race record: Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 155.912 mph, 2000

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Jeff Burton -- was sixth at Brickyard last year after finishing fifth in 1999; has enjoyed better results lately after a poor start to the season; finished outside the top 15 in the season's first seven races; after winning the Coca-Cola 600 at the end of May, put together four top-10 finishes and is 15th in the standings.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Moved up to seventh in the Winston Cup standings following second place at Pennsylvania 500 on July 29; won at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona where his legendary father was killed in an accident in February; also has a pole this season, five top-five finishes and nine top-10s; finished 13th here last year after starting sixth on the grid.

Bill Elliott -- Recorded five top-10s in six races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; had best race of the year on July 29, when he finished fourth at the Pennsylvania 500; only one other top-five this year and a total of five top-10s; sits 16th in Winston Cup standings.

Jeff Gordon -- At the top of the Winston Cup standings with 2,847 points, 45 ahead of Ricky Rudd; has collected three wins this season; leads circuit with five pole wins; finished eighth in Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on July 29; won the Brickyard 400 in 1994 (inaugural race) and 1998; finished third in 1999 and fourth in 1997.

Dale Jarrett -- Leads tour with four wins; finished seventh in last year's Brickyard 400; joined Jeff Gordon as two-time winner at the famed speedway with a nearly perfect race in 1999, leading 117 of the 160 laps to beat Bobby Labonte to the checkered flag by 3.351 seconds; first Brickyard 400 win was in 1996; looks to bounce back from poor showing at Pocono Raceway on July 29, finishing 41st at the Pennsylvania 500 due to an accident; fell to third place in Winston Cup standings; 44-year-old son of NASCAR legend Ned Jarrett.

Bobby Labonte -- Won last year's Brickyard 400; captured first win of 2001 at last week's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway, which has a similar 2.5-mile track with low-banked turns; has posted six top-five finishes this year, putting him eighth in the standings; steady performances at the Brickyard with finishes of second in 1997 and 1999, third in 1998 and ninth in 1995.

Mark Martin -- Has shown consistency at the track with top-six finishes in five of his last six starts with a second-place showing in 1998; was fourth in 1999; top results of the year were fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 and Talladega 500; finished seventh at Pennsylvania 500 on July 29; up to 11th in the standings, 28 points out of the top 10.

Ricky Rudd -- Trails Jeff Gordon by 45 points for lead in Winston Cup standings; won pole here last year; winner of the 1997 Brickyard 400; his Pocono 500 victory on June 17, snapped an 88-race winless streak; finished 11th on July 29 at Pennsylvania 500; has not finished lower than 14th in 13 consecutive races and leads the series with 15 top-10s; finished fourth or better in five of the last seven races.

Tony Stewart -- An Indiana native, would like nothing better than to win in front of friends and family; has never won any race at the world famous track; will make third start in Brickyard 400; stands fourth in the points, 261 behind leader Jeff Gordon; finished fifth in Brickyard 400 last year after placing seventh in his inaugural Brickyard 400 en route to the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honor; has made five starts in Indianapolis 500.

Rusty Wallace -- Should be considered a contender for victory at the Brickyard after finishing second last year; one win this year was in April at California Speedway; rebounded from worst finish at Loudon to take sixth at the Pennsylvania 500; recorded six top-five finishes this season; finished among the top-10 in seven of his eight starts at Indianapolis.