One's beginnings can be traced to sand; the other's, to bricks.

Both are cornerstones of the motorsports landscape, but which city is the racing capital of NASCAR Nation: Daytona or Indianapolis?

Certainly Daytona has more stock car tradition, but when it comes to racing in general, nothing compares to Indy.

"Everything (that exists today) in motorsports started at Indianapolis and built from there," Kyle Petty said. "So Indy, yeah, is the birthplace of Indy-car racing but it is also the birthplace of American car racing. Whatever stock-car racing is today it is because of what Indy-car racing was in the early years."

Those early years date back to the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, nearly eight and a half decades before the first stock car ever hit the bricks.

This Sunday will mark the tenth running of the Brickyard 400 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But despite receiving instantaneous crown jewel status with the inaugural 1994 race and nine years of growth, most drivers believe this event still falls short of the Daytona 500 in terms of significance.

"I don't think (the Brickyard 400) has exceeded (the Daytona 500)," said 1997 Brickyard winner Ricky Rudd. "I don't think it ever will in our sport. I don't think the France family will ever let that happen. They're not gonna let it steal the Daytona 500's thunder."

Petty, whose grandfather, Lee, won the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959, agrees.

"Stock-car racing has no tradition at Indianapolis," Petty said. "Daytona has a tradition that nobody will ever match. The Daytona 500 is the stock car race. Everybody wants to win it."

This seems to be the majority opinion. However, there is a dissenting faction. Those drivers with Indiana roots tend to have a different perspective.

"It's an honor to have won at Indianapolis, especially that inaugural 400 in '94," said three-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon. "That was by far the biggest, I think, win I'll ever have. I don't think I'll ever top that."

That's high praise coming from a man who has won 62 races, including two Daytona 500s. But it shouldn't come as a surprise considering Gordon spent much of his youth growing up in Pittsboro, Indiana. For him, and for others from the Hoosier state, IMS is hallowed ground.

"There's something in everyone's life that they're very passionate about and for me it's winning at the Brickyard," said Stewart, the Rushville, Ind., native who won last year's pole at Indianapolis.

In addition to four Brickyard 400s, Stewart has also raced the Indy 500 on five occasions, leading a cumulative total of 122 laps. But he still hasn't achieved his ultimate goal of winning.

Ryan Newman grew up in South Bend, Ind. He shares Stewart's love of the 2½-mile track and says he sees no comparison between it and Daytona.

"Not at all, not as far as I look at it," said Newman. "I think Daytona is a great race. It's the first race of the year, getting all the glitches out of your system. But to me Indianapolis is a better race."

John Andretti spent his teen years in Indianapolis where he drove by the speedway everyday on the way to high school.

"It's the coolest place in the world to me," said Andretti, nephew of 1969 Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti. "I've always said if they ran tour busses around there and had a race, then I'd want to be in it and it would be an important race to win. It's just a place that carries so much prestige and it really doesn't matter what race it is."

Regardless of background, all drivers share a mutual respect for the Indianapolis tradition. What St. Andrews is to golf, Indianapolis is to auto racing. It's the place where the sport was originally popularized and with that comes admiration.

"The first time when you go there, you're blown away by the prestige and the history that Indianapolis has," said Kurt Busch.

"Indianapolis, when we're there, is all about the speedway," adds Gordon. "Indianapolis is one we all want to win, but it's mainly because it's Indianapolis."

The speedway's reputation is sterling, but that is only partially responsible for its significance. To secure its status among NASCAR's other crown jewel events -- the Daytona 500, Southern 500 and Coca-Cola 600 -- the Brickyard 400 has also produced memorable racing.

Gordon's victory in 1994 had a certain, 'hometown boy makes good,' feel to it. When Rudd beat Bobby Labonte by .183 seconds in 1997 it was a triumph for him not only as a driver but more so as an independent car owner. The Brickyard 400 winner has also gone on to win that year's Winston Cup championship four times.

With his win last year, Bill Elliott joined Dale Earnhardt and Gordon as the only drivers ever to win all four crown jewel events. Elliott said the win was emotional but stopped short of defining its place among NASCAR's elite events.

"As far as ranking it against winning the Daytona 500 or the Winston Million, you just can't," said Elliott. "They're all special in their own way, and it's hard to say that one win is more special than the other."

So the debate continues with no definitive answer. Which is the capital of NASCAR Nation, Daytona or Indianapolis? If perception is reality, it all depends upon who you ask.

Mike Massaro covers NASCAR for ESPN and ESPN.com.