INDIANAPOLIS -- Six times a driver has won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and gone on to win the Sprint Cup Series championship. Jeff Gordon is hoping to make that seven.

The four-time series champion comes into this Sunday's 15th visit by NASCAR to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the middle of this year's Chase field holding the sixth position.

'It's my home race,' says Tony Stewart, who conquered the Brickyard last year and in 2005. (Getty Images)

But Gordon isn't putting too much pressure on himself to achieve the feat.

"It's just coincidence, but I do think the strong teams run well here," said Gordon. "Winning or losing this weekend does not mean you will win or lose the championship."

Winning at Indianapolis is something Gordon has done more than any other stock car driver in history. He's a four-time Brickyard winner, taking the inaugural race in 1994 and adding trips to Victory Lane in 1998, 2001 and 2004.

His overall record at Indy is indeed impressive with three poles, eight top 5s, 11 top 10s and a record 433 laps led in 14 career starts. But it's the victory mark that puts Gordon in an elite group, joining legendary open-wheel drivers Al Unser, Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt -- all Indianapolis 500 champions -- for most victories at the 2.5-mile track.

"I have four wins here -- four of the most amazing wins of my career," Gordon said. "Any time you win at Indy, whether it's your first win or your fourth, is incredible."

One more Indy win would put him ahead of the 500 contingent, but only tie what Michael Schumacher did when Formula One held the United States Grand Prix at the track.

But Gordon doesn't think comparing the different accomplishments is fair.

"I witnessed Schumacher's fifth win and knew the comparisons would begin," Gordon said. "But I don't even compare what we've done in a stock car to what Mears, Unser and Foyt did. Those guys are legends here."

Juan Pablo Montoya has a chance to put himself into the legend category. The Sprint Cup Series sophomore, who finished second in the 2007 edition of the race, could become the first driver in history to win both the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 with a victory on Sunday.

Montoya, who made history last year as the only driver to run Indy Cars, NASCAR and Formula One at the track, knows getting his first stock car win at the Brickyard won't be an easy task.

"It is pretty hard to compare," Montoya said of the difference in racing open wheel cars to stock cars at Indy. "Before last season when we came in second, the last time I was here was seven years ago and we were running wide open all the way around the track. It is a little bit different with the Cup cars. It is pretty hard."

Montoya realizes what winning at Indy, in any kind of car, means in the world of motorsports.

"I think winning the Indy 500 was a huge deal for me," he said of his 2000 victory. "At the time, I didn't realize how big it was. But I know just how special this place is and I would love to win here again, this time in a stock car. That would be very, very cool."

While Indy is important to most every driver, it may be most special to Tony Stewart, who dreamt about racing at the Brickyard as a child, growing up literally in the shadow of the speedway.

"It's my home race, obviously," said Stewart, who considers his emotional 2005 Brickyard win the highlight of his career. "Growing up in Indiana and every year watching the Indy 500 and the whole month of May leading up to it, a race at the Brickyard is more than just a regular points race. It's always been a big race to all of the Cup drivers, but then when you grow up in Indiana, it just makes it that much more important."

Sunday's race carries added importance to a group of drivers who are fighting for their playoff lives with only seven races to go for this year's Chase field to be set.

That includes 2003 Brickyard winner Kevin Harvick, who holds the ninth spot in the standings but is only 25 points ahead of Denny Hamlin who sits in the 12th and final Chase transfer position.

Harvick would like nothing more than to make a repeat visit to Indy's Victory Lane at a track he considers hallowed grounds.

"Winning at Indy ranks right up there with winning the Daytona 500," Harvick said. "I grew up an open wheel fan and a huge fan of Rick Mears and always wanted to race in the Indy 500. Winning at Indianapolis was pretty special and every time we go there it's just the history and the mystique of the whole race track that I enjoy."

Harvick's third-place finish at the last series race in Chicago moved him up in the standings and provided precisely the shot of momentum the No. 29 team was looking for to carry into the Chase stretch run.

"I don't think we need to do one particular thing better," Harvick said of his up and down season to date. "I think it's just trying to get the momentum on our side and get things going our way. I think if we can get the momentum to shift our way and stay away from the other 42 cars we'll be in pretty good shape."