There is no dearth of unique trophies in the NASCAR Cup Series. But the one that will be given at the end of the upcoming Brickyard 400 is a tad bit more special. The celebrated event is coming back to the schedule after a three-year hiatus and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is bent on making a great spectacle out of it. Part of this plan is the return of the Brickyard trophy.
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When Jeff Gordon won the maiden Brickyard 400 in 1994, he was given a trophy that was a brick supported by a tiny pedestal. In 1995, the pedestal was made considerably larger. The trophy remained in this form and was used every year from then till 2020 when the sanctioning body decided to take a break from the event. As the race returns in 2024, so does the trophy.
Track president Doug Boles explains the key difference between trophies past and the one for this year to the in-house media, “Coming back to the Brickyard on the oval we decided to go back to that historic and iconic trophy that features the brick. One difference this year – this brick was actually molded from an original brick here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not a fake polished brick.”
Interestingly, the Brick trophy is not all that the winner will get. The PPG trophy is a unique artifact that is permanently housed in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. It is topped by the track’s flying wheel emblem and its base has a turntable that rotates the trophy at 1 RPM. The black marble base also houses 51 bricks which have been engraved with the names of winners since 1994.
The uniqueness of the PPG trophy in Indianapolis
In 1910, the founders of the IMS had to replace the original gravel on the race track with bricks owing to the excessive accidents that were occurring. These bricks are what led to the venue being called the “Brickyard.” And the silver-plated bricks that are on the PPG trophy represent these paving bricks.
The trophy’s entirety is made from aircraft alloy and the flying wheel finial and bolt heads are plated with 24-karat gold. It was crafted before the first Brickyard 400 by Campbell Machine and Fabricating of Pittsburgh and stands 36 inches in height and 135 pounds in weight.
Stephen R. France, who conceived the design for the trophy, notably said then that the finish would last for a couple of centuries. Adding their names to this shiny object is the dream of every driver who races in Indianapolis. For the last three years, the winners’ names have been engraved with the letters “RC”, symbolizing their victories on the road course layout. That won’t be the case this time around.
