INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a well-known racetrack before Aug. 6, 1994. Yet that day, NASCAR held its first race at the 2.5-mile oval — the Brickyard 400. Driver Jeff Gordon won the race for Hendrick Motorsports, and following the event, a tradition was born.

Hours after Sunday’s 30th anniversary running of the race, members of the original event met on the track to take photos and remember the event.

“We all love the history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Gordon said. “I think being here for the month of May (for the Indianapolis 500) makes me appreciate it that much more and then the fans and everybody that makes this speedway so special.”

Just like the 1994 race, this year’s contest saw Richard Hendrick’s team including Gordon — now a co-owner — in the winner’s circle as driver Kyle Larson celebrated his first Brickyard 400 victory.

“This race means a lot to win, no matter what the circumstances may be,” Larson said. “I think just with getting to compete in the Indy 500 and then to come here and run the same paint scheme I was supposed to run at the 600, and then ultimately win in the fashion that we did, it was a pretty emotional win for sure.”

From 2021-23, the race was run on the road course at the speedway. But to the NASCAR world, there’s just something different about the oval.

“This is a special place, and it’s a special oval,” Hendrick said. “This is a special place.”

Larson experienced the track’s magic twice this year as he also competed in the Indianapolis 500 in May. When he was younger, the new champion lived in the Hoosier State and experienced its love for racing, which included local dirt-track races.

“Indiana fans love their dirt-track racing,” he said. “So I’ve always felt the support here, and then yeah, obviously doing the Indy 500, I feel like it exploded.”

Since competing in the 500, the love he received from Hoosiers has affected him. Whether it was in May after finishing in 18th or the countless autographs he signed this weekend, the support was felt.

“When you look in the stands and all the fans get jacked up for me,” Larson said, “anytime you have that support, it makes it special.”

But it’s more than just love for the fans. When Gordon won the original Brickyard race, Larson said it ‘inspired a whole new generation due to the way he competed every race. To him, the track brings the best out of you, and Gordon was the prime example.

“I got to take a picture with Jeff Gordon, just him and I on the bricks together with the trophy,” Larson said. “That’s something that I’ll probably hold on to for a very long time because all of us drivers that are my generation probably wouldn’t be here today if not for him.

“Him winning that race 30 years ago probably helped me get to where I’m at today.”

After parking his car, Larson teased a return to the historic track when the 2025 Indianapolis 500 takes place.

“How about I come back again next May and try to kiss the bricks again in IndyCar?” he asked the crowd.

But until then, the Hendrick Motorsports team plans to cherish the win just like it did when Gordon was the first driver to kiss the bricks on that August day 30 years ago.

“I think (the struggles) — that’s just Indianapolis,” Gordon said. “You’re pushing all the time, and sometimes when you’re pushing, you’re not going to get the results you’re hoping for. But days like today, you’re going to push and you do (get the desired results).”

Contact Zach Carter at zach.carter@heraldbulletin.com.