BRICKYARD 400 COULD BE STEWART'S RACE TO WIN.

Byline: Juliet Macur Orlando Sentinel 

On the day stock cars invaded Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first Brickyard 400, Jeff Gordon was just a neophyte NASCAR driver.

It was Gordon's second year in Winston Cup racing. At that point in 1994, he had only one Winston Cup victory on his resume. He was a 23-year-old kid from Indiana, the youngest driver in the field who was thrilled just to drive at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

``Right after I won the thing, people started talking about how it was fixed and how NASCAR set up the whole thing,'' the three-time Winston Cup champion said. ``It was a big downer on the whole event. Here, I felt I had just won the biggest race of my career and people were discrediting me. It was the worst feeling in the world.''

Now Gordon fears the same thing will happen to fellow Hoosier Tony Stewart. Stewart will compete in his first Winston Cup race at the Brickyard today, but he won't feel like a foreigner on the legendary 2-1/2-mile speedway. In fact, he can almost call it home.

Stewart has raced in four Indy 500s, including this year's event, but hasn't achieved his childhood dream of winning at the track. He grew up in Columbus, Ind., just an hour south of the speedway.

Nearly every driver, owner and team member in the garage thinks that Stewart, a rookie Winston Cup driver, could win today.He has been one of the most consistent Winston Cup drivers this year, sitting fifth in points and recording 11 top-10 finishes in 19 races. He also has had a solid chance of winning at least five times and could win today - and his competitors recognize that.

``We came here and everybody has been saying it's our weekend, you're going to win this one,'' said Stewart's crew chief, Greg Zipadelli. ``I've heard that forever now, and I know how it feels if people expect you to win and then you don't win. It feels like you let the world down.''

If Stewart does win, though, to become the first rookie to win a race since Davey Allison in 1987, the story might seem too good to be true. Just like a few other moments in NASCAR history.

Richard Petty won the 1984 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, which just happened to be his 200th and final Winston Cup victory. Coincidentally, President Ronald Reagan was in the grandstands to see the magic unfold.

And it was heartwarming to see Dale Earnhardt finally win the 1998 Daytona 500 on his 20th try. It just happened to be a hearty spark to kick off NASCAR's 50th anniversary and a nationwide marketing campaign.

Some races just seemed too perfect and too made-for-TV. Because of that, people questioned the legitimacy of those events.

``If I was cheating when I won the Daytona 500 or if NASCAR let me get away with something, then how did my car get through inspection after the race?'' Earnhardt said. ``I've come so close to winning that race for so many years. If I was never close, then won it, now that would have seemed weird - but that's not how it was. You just can't cheat in racing today. It's too competitive.''

NASCAR officials try to make things fair and square by checking over every car before it goes on the track. Still, those officials don't get frustrated when people question the legitimacy of the sport. That's because they know they can't do anything to refute the skeptics.

``I just wish we were smart enough to be able to figure out what would happen at the end of 400 miles and to be able to adjust the outcome,'' NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Mike Helton said. ``Just look at the number of people you have to involve in that scenario.''

Stewart has been so mobbed by fans at the speedway that he had to get four Indiana state troopers to escort him through the garage so he could get to his car in one piece. And when he went out to qualify Thursday, he couldn't pretend he was at any old track. When he went out on the track, he saw the fans go wild and could barely hold his tears back.

``The emotional part was qualifying,'' said Stewart, who starts 11th. ``When I pulled out (on the track) I could see the people in the stands waving and cheering on the out lap. It was so cool. I really felt good (while qualifying) because of the crowd.''

ON YOUR MARKS

The first 20 places for today's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

1. (24) w-Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 179.612.

2. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 178.941.

3. (41) David Green, Chevrolet, 178.902.

4. (88) w-Dale Jarrett, Ford, 178.859.

5. (7) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 178.816.

6. (31) Mike Skinner, Chevrolet, 178.667.

7. (18) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 178.642.

8. (94) Bill Elliott, Ford, 178.547.

9. (33) Ken Schrader, Chevrolet, 178.518.

10. (43) John Andretti, Pontiac, 178.476.

11. (20) r-Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 178.348.

12. (22) Ward Burton, Pontiac, 178.324.

13. (21) r-Elliott Sadler, Ford, 178.147.

14. (10) w-Ricky Rudd, Ford, 178.130.

15. (28) Kenny Irwin, Ford, 178.052.

16. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 178.038.

17. (2) Rusty Wallace, Ford, 177.985.

18. (3) w-Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 177.971.

19. (12) Jeremy Mayfield, Ford, 177.925.

20. (93) r-Dave Blaney, Pontiac, 177.708.

BRICKYARD 400

Today, 10 a.m.

Ch. 7

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: (Color) Dale Earnhardt checks his cockpit in readiness for today's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

James Yee/Associated Press

Box: ON YOUR MARKS (See text)