By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Wednesday, August 6, 2003
Three-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon finished fourth in the 10th NASCAR Winston Cup Brickyard 400 on Aug. 3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and climbed into fourth place on the all-time money-winning list at the track.
This includes both Indianapolis 500 drivers and Brickyard 400 competitors.
Gordon collected $260,853 for his charge from 19th starting position and that brought his total for 10 Brickyard starts to $4,170,109.
That moves him past two-time 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi into fourth behind only two-time Indy winners Arie Luyendyk and Al Unser Jr., and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears.
Luyendyk, who holds all of the track's official speed records, has picked up paychecks from 17 starts at Indy totaling $5,903,586. He would have moved past the $6-million mark if lingering effects from a practice crash in May hadn't forced him to withdraw from his ride with Mo Nunn Racing.
Unser pushed his winnings to $5,346,300 with a ninth-place finish in May in his 16th start.
Mears is third on the all-time list with winnings of $4,299,392. Mears attended Sunday's race along his father, Bill, and brother Roger to watch Roger's son Casey compete as a rookie. Casey Mears finished 29th and collected $116,275.
Fittipaldi fell to fifth on the all-time Speedway money list, behind Gordon, with $4,042,767.
Helio Castroneves is moving up the money ladder quickly. In just three Indianapolis 500 starts, he already has earned $3,616,355, an average of $1,205,451.60 per race. He now is seventh all time in Indianapolis 500 winnings.
Gordon has far outdistanced any other NASCAR driver at the pay window. Second place belongs to Dale Jarrett with $2,501,115. A two-time winner, Jarrett finished a miserable 39th Sunday and received a check for $148,333.
Gil de Ferran edged Castroneves in this year's 500 and claimed a healthy winner's payout of $1,353,265. That brings his career Indianapolis 500 total for four races to $2,278,658. He first qualified in 1995, then missed the next five while driving for CART teams that didn't race at Indy.
The Brickyard total purse of $8,175,873 was a record. It brings the 10-year purse total to $57,980,482. The Indianapolis 500 purses for 87 races total $171,924,271, so drivers from these two races have collected $229,904,753 over the years.
The 11th Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Aug. 8, 2004. To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
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