Kissing the Bricks at Indy

It is a car and racing fan's dream to "Kiss the Bricks" at the Indianapolis 500, a tradition started by Dale Jarrett in 1996 after winning the Brickyard 400 at Indy.

In August 2014, Sonax Car Care held a certification seminar and demonstration of their products for the Air Force One Detailing Team at the site of the Indianapolis 500. Following the event, the Sonax team invited the Buff Man and others down to the track where they had opportunities to ride the track.

Indy's Yard of Bricks

The"Yard of Bricks" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is considered some of the most hallowed ground in worldwide motorsports. It began in 1909 when in order to upgrade the crushed rock and tar surface, 3.2 million paving bricks, each weighing 9.5 pounds, were laid on top of the original surface. Asphalt was gradually added to various sections of the brick surface, with patches added to rougher sections of the turns in 1936. All turns were completely paved with asphalt in 1937. In 1938, the entire track was paved with asphalt except for the middle portion of the front straightaway.

The remaining bricks on the front straightaway were covered with asphalt in 1961 but a 36-inch strip of the original bricks was kept intact at the Start/Finish line, where it remains today as the fabled Yard of Bricks.

When Jarrett and his crew knelt to kiss the yard-long strip in 1996, it has become one of the great traditions of the racing world and the Buff Man had his chance to do so in 2014!