While it may not have the same lengthy pedigree as that of its older brother, the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 has come a long way in a very short time.

Since its debut in 1994, "The Brickyard" has quickly become one of the premier events in Winston Cup. For many diehard NASCAR fans, the Brickyard has become the second- or third-most significant race on the 36-race schedule, in many cases right behind the Daytona 500.

How significant has the Brickyard 400 become? Of its six winners, five have been Winston Cup champs, including a streak of four consecutive years where the Brickyard winner would go on to win the championship later that same year (Jeff Gordon in 1998, Dale Jarrett in 1999, Bobby Labonte in 2000 and Gordon again in 2001). The only Brickyard winner who has never won a Winston Cup title remains Ricky Rudd, who won at Indy in 1997.

What's more, there have only been two multiple winners in the event: Gordon has won three times (1994, 1998, 2001), and Jarrett has won twice (1996 and 2000). Single winners have been Rudd, Labonte, the late Dale Earnhardt and last year's winner, Bill Elliott.

With much of the same spectacle and pageantry of its older sibling, the first weekend of August has become an annual celebration of color, speed, pure stock-car excitement and plenty of memories.

Speaking of memories, as the Winston Cup community prepares for the 10th renewal of the Brickyard 400 this Sunday at the 94-year-old Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we thought we'd take a trip back in time and try to recapture some of the most exciting moments of the first nine Brickyards. While the rankings may be subjective, the end result has more often than not been thrilling year after year -- a trend we can most likely expect to continue this Sunday:

1) 1995 -- The second time around for the Brickyard proved to be the most exciting battle to date. After waiting out a four-hour rain delay, pole-sitter Jeff Gordon finally got things going. Bill Elliott lead the most laps (47), but the turning point came 31 laps from the end of the 160-lap event. Dale Earnhardt, who had already pitted, would take advantage of a pit-road accident on lap 129 between Joe Nemechek and Rich Bickle that slowed then-race leader Rusty Wallace trying to get around the mess. Earnhardt would take the lead and then, in near heart-stopping fashion, beat Wallace to the checkered flag by .37 seconds. Also notable: there was only one yellow caution flag thrown in the entire race, which saw Earnhardt win with a scorching 155.218 mph average speed.

2) 1994 -- It seemed only fitting that the inaugural running of the Brickyard 400 would be won by a driver with long Indiana ties, that being Jeff Gordon, who spent much of his teen years in nearby Pittsboro, Ind. Rick Mast would be the first pole-sitter in Brickyard history (only to finish a disappointing 22nd). There would be 21 lead changes, a mark that still stands, among 13 different drivers. While Brett Bodine sent brother Geoffrey spinning on Lap 101, leading to a major post-race verbal battle, the biggest battle was on the track between Gordon and Ernie Irvan. The duo would trade the lead four times in the last 21 laps before Irvan cut a tire with four laps to go, sending him into the pits and relegating him to a 17th-place finish. Gordon celebrated his 23rd birthday by beating Brett Bodine to the finish line by .53 seconds, at a winning speed of 131.932 mph.

3) 2002 -- Veteran driver Bill Elliott earned his first Brickyard 400 triumph in unique fashion, being the first driver in the race's brief history to win from the front row (Elliott started second to pole-sitter and Indiana native Tony Stewart). It was also the second winning weekend in a row for Elliott, who had won the previous Sunday at Pocono (Pa.). Elliott dominated the Brickyard, leading 93 of the 160 laps around the 2½-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

	Dale Earnhardt won the 1995 Brickyard 400.

Also notable: it was the slowest average winning speed (125.033 mph) in event history, eight cautions for a record 36 laps under yellow, 30 cars finished on the lead lap (the previous high had been 24 in 1998) and Stewart set a record for fastest pole qualifying lap (182.960 mph). There also was the dubious distinction for Rusty Wallace, who finished second for the third time in Brickyard history (1995, 2000 and 2002), more than any other driver.

4) 1998 -- A mathematical miscalculation cost Dale Jarrett a likely win in the fifth Brickyard 400. Jarrett had the dominant car and was slated to come in for gas around lap 82. Unfortunately, he ran out of gas two laps early while holding a big lead, coasting all the way around from the backstretch and into the pits. By the time he got going again, Jarrett was four laps down and his chance of winning gone (eventually finished 16th). The guy with the second-fastest car, Jeff Gordon, took advantage of Jarrett's misfortune and would lead a total of 97 laps, including taking the lead from Dale Earnhardt on lap 127 and holding on for the remainder of the race.

The race was particularly notable because Gordon would also win the $1 million Winston No Bull Five bonus with the victory, which finished under caution, and he would become the first multiple winner in Brickyard history. Also notable: Ernie Irvan won the pole for the second consecutive year (finished sixth), and the race had a record nine caution periods for 34 laps.

5) 1999 -- Dale Jarrett finally accomplished what he failed the year before by winning the sixth Brickyard 400, making him the second multiple winner (also won in 1996). In much the same way he showed the year before unfortunately running out of gas, Jarrett was clearly dominant in this race, leading 117 of the 160 laps, and winding up with a nearly 3½-second winning margin over runner-up Bobby Labonte, who would go on to win the Brickyard the following year. Also notable: Gordon earned his third career Brickyard 400 pole (179.612 mph), and finished third in the race.

6) 1996 -- There's no love lost between teammates, as Robert Yates Racing partners Dale Jarrett and Ernie Irvan demonstrated in a nip-and-tuck battle to the checkered flag. Jarrett started from the 24th position after hitting the wall during qualifying, yet methodically worked his up through the field to take the lead on lap 135. Irvan would rally to regain the lead from laps 139 to 153, but Jarrett would take the lead for good in Turn 2 and not look back, the victory being locked when Robert Pressley hit the Turn 4 wall on Lap 158, bringing out the yellow flag that caused the race to finish under caution.

Jarrett became the first driver in Winston Cup history to win the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400 all in the same year. But perhaps the biggest story of the race was Dale Earnhardt, who had suffered a broken collarbone and cracked sternum just six days earlier in a horrendous wreck at Talladega (Ala.). Against the advice of his doctors, Earnhardt came to Indianapolis, ignored the pain to qualify 13th and completed the first six laps before turning over driving duties of the No. 3 Chevrolet to Mike Skinner. It was one of the most gritty and determined performances of Earnhardt's storied career.

7) 1997 -- Patience paid off for Ricky Rudd in the fourth running of the Brickyard. Chasing leaders Ernie Irvan (who won the pole), Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon all day (they led 95 of the first 147 laps), Rudd's strategy to pit on lap 114 of the 160-lap event for fuel and tires paid off 33 laps later when all three leaders had to pit, allowing Rudd to stay out on the track and take the lead. A late race caution on lap 155 helped Rudd conserve what little fuel he had remaining, and then he beat Bobby Labonte to the finish line shortly after the restart, winning by .183 seconds, the closest finish in Brickyard history. How close was Rudd to empty when he crossed the finish line? He ultimately ran out of gas and coasted into Victory Lane.

8) 2000 -- After finishing second, third and second in the three previous Brickyards, Bobby Labonte finally nailed down that elusive win in a most convincing manner, with a record-setting winning margin of 4.23 seconds and an average speed of 155.918 mph in a race that saw only two yellow caution periods for a total of just seven laps. For many, it was Rusty Wallace who should have won the race, leading a total of 110 laps of the 160-lap event. But Labonte did what he needed to do when it counted the most. After trading the lead with Wallace four different times, the fifth lead change was the charm for Labonte, who first nudged Wallace's car on the front straightaway heading into lap 147, and then passed him for good heading into Turn 1. Thirteen laps later, Labonte took the checkered flag, relegating Wallace to yet another runner-up finish. Also notable: Darrell Waltrip, in his final driving appearance at Indianapolis, reached back into his old bag of tricks to qualify second for the race.

9) 2001 -- Last in this list, but certainly not least, Jeff Gordon became the only three-time winner of the Brickyard (and in just eight starts) to date. The story wasn't so much that he won his third, it was how he did it, starting 27th, the furthest back any Brickyard winner has ever begun the event. While he didn't have the best car in the field that day, Gordon used strategy to take the checkered flag.

A gutsy call by crew chief Robbie Loomis on Lap 132 is what proved to be the race winner. Loomis ordered Gordon to pit for fuel and only two tires, a move Gordon wasn't exactly in favor of at the time. But the plan worked: while several other drivers also pitted along with Gordon when the caution flag flew, race leader Sterling Marlin stayed on the track. Gordon was able to beat the other drivers back out onto the 2½-mile superspeedway and pulled to second-place behind Marlin. Four laps later on the restart, Gordon passed Marlin heading into Turn 1 and eventually pulled away to a nearly one-second winning margin (at 130.790 mph).

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Motorsportwriter@Yahoo.com