How Dale Earnhardt Toppled Jeff Gordon and the Elements at Second Brickyard 400

• Jeff Gordon had won the first-ever Cup race at the track in 1994 as an overflow crowd looked on.

• In 1995, race day was almost as much about watching the skies for rain as it was watching to see if Jeff Gordon could repeat his 1994 triumph.

• Dale Earnhardt, who had targeted the inaugural Brickyard 400 the previous season as a race he desperately wanted to win, scored this time.

There are many adjectives—pick one—that could be used to describe the first Brickyard 400 in 1994: Historic. Unprecedented. Dramatic. Spectacular. Scintillating.

There is one adjective that could be used to describe the second Brickyard 400 in 1995: Wet.

After NASCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials brokered the deal that brought the Cup Series to the world’s most famous speedway in 1994—and after the amazing success of that weekend, there was much anticipation for the stock cars’ second visit to the Brickyard the next year.

Jeff Gordon had won the first-ever Cup race at the track the previous season as an overflow crowd—ticket scalpers were quite busy as seats in the IMS grandstands were cherished for the historic afternoon—looked on. Despite the thunder of the NASCAR stockers, cheers for Gordon, an Indiana boy who had reached racing’s heights, could be heard across the grandstands as he led 93 laps and swept to a.53-second win over Brett Bodine.

Another full house was expected Aug. 5, 1995, when Cup drivers returned to IMS. But that ugly word that no one in or around a racetrack wants to hear raised its head for the weekend: Rain.

In mid-week, Hurricane Erin made landfall in Florida, and the remains of the downgraded storm moved into the Midwest during the weekend, soaking the speedway on Friday and Saturday, race day. The weather eliminated a scheduled round of morning practice and second-session qualifying Friday, and there was more rain Friday night. The Saturday forecast promised more ugliness.