When most motor racing fans think of the number 43 their first thought turns towards NASCAR legend Richard Petty. Unfortunately however a combination of his loyalty to the Southern series added with the exclusivity of the Brickyard to Indycar racing meant that the King of stock car racing was never able to compete in the 500 during his illustrious career. That however didn’t deter many of NASCAR’s best and finest from competing at the Brickyard come the month of May, with some attracting the interest of many of Indy’s best and finest with their performances come Memorial Day.

Although figures from outside of single seater racing had competed at the Indianapolis 500 for many years, it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the major influx of NASCAR talent began to compete at Indy on a regular basis. In 1960 NASCAR patriarch Bill France Sr. announced the introduction of a brand new event for his series intended to take place at the newly constructed Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The race, initially known as the World 600, was designed with the intention of competing directly against the Indianapolis 500, and after taking place in June for its inaugural running was moved to Memorial Day weekend in time for the 1961 Grand National Season. Despite the introduction of the new event, the Indianapolis 500 chose to remain in it’s traditional 30th of May starting date, in the process creating a window for over a decade that could allow for drivers from both series to contest each event. This prompted a handful of NASCAR regulars to attempt to race in the Indy 500. On a few occasions, drivers were able to “cross-over” and compete in both events, or skip the race at Charlotte in favour of Indy.

Although NASCAR regulars Junior Johnson and Curtis Turner expressed interest in competing at the Indianapolis 500 in 1963, the first high profile defection from the NASCAR to Indy came in 1965, when NASCAR semi-regular Bobby Johns competed in the 500 for the first time driving as the team-mate to Jim Clark in the formidable rear-engine Lotus 38. Johns had previously finished third in the NASCAR Grand National series in 1960, and the previous year had managed to make headlines for the wrong reasons at the Brickyard when he failed in his attempt to qualify for the bizarre sidecar special prepared by NASCAR visionary Smokey Yunick. Driving the Lotus 38, Johns safely qualified 22nd on the grid, before slowly working his way through the field to finish a credible seventh in his inaugural outing at the speedway. The race also saw NASCAR veterans of another kind competing at the Brickyard, with a pit-crew provided by the Wood Brothers being hired by Team Lotus to provide the servicing for both Johns and Jim Clark during the race.

Following John’s performances the following years would see a number of high profile NASCAR choosing to compete in the 500 come Memorial Day weekend. The extended length of the 600 was seen as a deterrent to many of the crews and drivers competing within the series, whilst the points system implemented by the Grand National Series at the time was much more forgiving for drivers who chose to miss sporadic events. In 1966, future NASCAR hall of famer Cale Yarborough made the decision to skip Charlotte to compete at the Brickyard for the first time, driving the #66 Vollstedt Ford owned by Jim Robins to compete in the showpiece event. Despite great speculation and intrigue surrounding his performance, Yarborough’s day at the Speedway would ultimately be short-lived, with a start-line accident putting the Timmonsville native out of action on the first lap of the race, officially being classified in 28th place. Undeterred, Yarborough would make three further visits to the Brickyard, picking up a best finish of tenth in his final outing at the Speedway in 1972, before turning his attention fully to a NASCAR career that would see him claim three successive Grand National Championships.

After both Lee Roy Yarborough and Jerry Grant contested the 500 with limited success during 1967 and 1969, 1970 saw the NASCAR influx into the Indianapolis 500 enter a new level, when former NASCAR Grand National rookie of the year Donnie Allison announced his intention to compete in that season’s Indianapolis 500. The Alabama native had been held as one of the rising stars of the rising stars of NASCAR racing during the 1960s, and came into Memorial Day fresh off the back of a dominant win at the World 600 six days previously. Despite having a limited knowledge of single seater racing Allison remained competitive throughout the entire month of May, qualifying 23rd on the grid and working his way through the field on the lead lap in an encouraging fourth place, a result that saw him win that season’s rookie of the year honours. Allison would return to the Brickyard again in 1971, driving the No. 84 Purolator Filters Coyote-Ford V8 to a sixth placed finish.

By the time Donnie’s brother’s Bobby contested the 500 in 1973, rule changes implemented introduced into the Grand National series started to make the Indianapolis 500 a less desirable option for NASCAR participants. A new points system designed to reward consistency, was introduced to the series in 1972, meaning that drivers could no longer afford to skip sporadic races in the way that the had done prior to the reformation of the series during the early seventies. Added to this, the introduction of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act saw the 500 move permanently to the Sunday before Memorial Day, putting it in direct competition with the 600 which starting to establish itself as one of the crown jewels of the NASCAR calendar. Despite this however, the Brickyard still saw some NASCAR names express an interest in competing in the 500. Veteran driver Neil Bonnett attempted to qualify for the race in 1979, only to suffer a blown engine on pole day that ruled him out of contention for the event, while future NASCAR driver Ken Schrader registered an entry for the race in 1983, only to fail to qualify following an accident in practice.

Thanks to Kurt Busch’s strong showing at the 2014 Indy 500, the idea of NASCAR drivers competing at the Brickyard has come to the forefront once again in recent years, with Kyle Larson, Brian Vickers and Kurt’s brother Kyle all rumoured to be interested in taking part in the race at some point in their career. The idea of a driver from the other side of American motor racing’s North South divide competing in the 500 still attracts intense speculation around the Brickyard even to this day, and many racing fans remain hopeful that those names will join the likes of Allison, Yarborough and Busch in entering their name amongst the 500’s bravest and best.