The original configuration of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built on 328 acres of farmland, a few miles northwest of Indiana metropolis. The track was financed and built by four Hoosier businessmen, namely Carl Fisher, James Allison, Frank Wheeler and Arthur Newby. Completed in the spring of 1909, the track consisted of four turns, each banked at nine-degrees and 440-yards from entrance to exit. The surface of the track was made up of crushed stone and tar, and when the first motorcycle race was help upon its surface in 1909, many riders were badly injured. Knowing the ancient surface had to go, immediately thereafter, Carl Fisher had the track paved with 3.2 million bricks and “The Brickyard” (as we know it) became a proper racetrack.

It is now the April of 2008 and while the original and historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway remains, new sections have been created to include a 2.620-mile, 16-turn (10 lefts and six rights) MotoGP track which will host the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday, September 14, 2008. This week, Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP Word Champion, put in a few laps around the new track, a few on a 1909 American-built Indian and a few on a 2008 Honda CBR 1000 production bike.

"It was pretty unique and quite an honor to be the first guy around the new track here at the famous Speedway," said Hayden, who initially motored around the speedway on a 1909 Indian at 40 miles per hour. "When they first fired it up, I thought, 'Man, what did I get myself into here?'" Hayden said. "When she fired up, I wasn't ready for all that throttle going like this. But it was really cool. The backward brake was like from my bicycle back in the day. "Those guys were men. I can't imagine racing that bike around here."

From there, Hayden then changed into his Alpinestars Repsol Honda leathers and his racing helmet and boots, rolled out onto the track on the CBR 1000 and began to put in Iaps punctuated by 150 speeds on the front straight. "When I saw the track map, I didn't realize how quick the front straightway is," Hayden said. "It's a long straightaway; it's going to be quick. You're going to need some ponies.

"My initial impression (of the circuit) was great. I didn't see any concerns,” he added, citing the 80cc MotoGP bikes will easily get into the 200 MPH race here come September. I'll be excited to get the GP bike out there."

All in all the kid from Owensboro, Kentucky was awed by the Speedway in so many different respects. "I imagined it being big, but I didn't imagine the whole Speedway, the grandstands, the golf course, everything, being so huge," Hayden said. "Even for me, I've been to speedways and a lot of tracks, but just the size of this place was enormous."

Eric Johnson