The first Chase for the Nextel Cup, a new title sponsor, an eight-point finish at Homestead and the plane crash that changed the closing weeks of the season.
Ford driver Kurt Busch took the 2004 Nextel Cup title for Roush Racing by eight points over Jimmie Johnson. The year also saw the Chase playoffs begin and Nextel take over the title sponsorship, and it closed with a fatal Hendrick plane crash in October.
Kurt Busch won the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup championship for Roush Racing, finishing eight points clear of Jimmie Johnson in one of the closest title battles in the series' history. The season introduced the Chase for the Nextel Cup playoff format and a new title sponsor, and it was overshadowed in October by the death of ten people in a Hendrick Motorsports charter plane crash.
Who won the 2004 Nextel Cup championship?
Kurt Busch won the 2004 Nextel Cup title, driving a Ford for Roush Racing. He beat Jimmie Johnson by eight points at Homestead, the closest margin in the series until 2011. Busch was the sixth different champion in six years.
The title was decided in the final race. Busch's right-front wheel came loose while he ran second and broke away on the way to pit road, but the caution it caused kept him on the lead lap. He finished behind Johnson and Jeff Gordon and still took the championship, and afterwards he dedicated the title to the Hendrick family.
Ten people died in October, and the championship was decided by eight points, a result that made the 2004 season one of the most sombre in the series' history.
How did the Chase for the Nextel Cup change the season?
The Chase for the Nextel Cup was a ten-race playoff introduced in 2004. The top 10 drivers, plus any within 400 points of the leader, qualified after 26 races. Their points were then reset so that only five points separated each driver, and the title was decided over the final stretch.
The format took effect at New Hampshire on September 19, when Kurt Busch won the Sylvania 300 ahead of Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart's title hopes ended after he unintentionally became caught up in a wreck caused by Robby Gordon.
The Chase field was settled at Richmond on September 11, when Jeremy Mayfield climbed from 14th to ninth and took the last place. Gordon led the reset standings on 5050 points, with Johnson at 5045 and Earnhardt Jr. at 5040.
How did sponsors and manufacturers change in 2004?
Nextel took over as the Cup title sponsor from Winston, which had held the role for 33 seasons from 1971 to 2003. Sunoco also replaced Unocal 76 as the official fuel, so the series had a new sponsor and a new fuel supplier at the same time.
Nextel became only the second title sponsor in the history of the Cup Series. Unocal had been the official fuel since the sport's inception in 1948, which made Sunoco only the second gas company to hold that role.
Chevrolet won the manufacturers' championship with 26 wins and 266 points. Ford finished second with 10 wins and 224 points, and Dodge was third with four wins and 194 points.
How did the 46th Daytona 500 open the season?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 46th Daytona 500 on February 15, at his fifth attempt. It came six years to the day after his father, Dale Earnhardt, won his only Daytona 500 at the twentieth attempt, and Greg Biffle had taken the pole.
Tony Stewart was second and Scott Wimmer third. Kirk Shelmerdine and Andy Hillenburg failed to qualify.
What happened in the spring races?
Kurt Busch won the Food City 500 at Bristol and Rusty Wallace won at Martinsville for his 55th and final career win. Elliott Sadler edged Kasey Kahne by .028 seconds at Texas, and Jeff Gordon won at Talladega under caution.
Bristol was red-flagged after Dale Jarrett hit the wall with nearly five laps left, and the restart produced Busch's first win of the season. Earlier, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 25 driver points, fined $10,000 and placed on probation after intentionally spinning himself out to force a caution.
The Aaron's 499 at Talladega ended in controversy. Brian Vickers crashed with four laps to go, Gordon kept his lead under caution while fans threw drinks at his car, and NASCAR responded by introducing the green-white-checkered finish that season.
Which summer races produced the dominant drives?
Jimmie Johnson won the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's on May 30, leading 334 of its 400 laps. Mark Martin ended a 73-race winless streak at Dover in June, and Gordon won at Infineon Raceway after leading 92 of 110 laps from pole.
Gordon's four consecutive poles at Chicagoland were the first such run since Darrell Waltrip in 1981. The Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland, won by Stewart, is remembered for a pit road fight after Stewart spun Kahne and caused a crash. The pit crews, crew chiefs and owners involved were fined $50,000 each, while Stewart was not penalised.
Earnhardt Jr. was burned in a practice crash for a sports car race at Sonoma during the off-week, and Martin Truex Jr. replaced him at New Hampshire. Busch won the Siemens 300 there on July 25, and Johnson won at Pocono on August 1.
How did the Hendrick plane crash affect the season?
On October 24 a charter aircraft owned by Hendrick Motorsports crashed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, near Martinsville Speedway, and ten people aboard died. Four relatives of team owner Rick Hendrick were among them, along with Randy Dorton, the team's chief engine builder.
Johnson had won that day's race at Martinsville, but the victory ceremony was cancelled as the news spread. The four Hendrick cars then ran a special paint scheme for the rest of the season, and Johnson's win at Atlanta a week later was the first time since Gordon that a driver had won three Cup races in a row.
How did the Chase races unfold?
Ryan Newman led 325 of 400 laps at Dover on September 26 and won by 8.149 seconds. Matt Kenseth later crashed into a tire barrier at the end of pit road in an unusual incident during the same race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the EA Sports 500 at Talladega on October 3, and was later penalised 25 points for an obscenity during his NBC interview. Joe Nemechek won the Banquet 400 at Kansas on October 10, his fourth and final Cup victory.
Johnson won the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's, while Kasey Kahne led 207 laps before a blown tire ended his chance. Johnson then won the Subway 500 at Martinsville and the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta a week later.
At Darlington on November 14, Johnson won the Mountain Dew Southern 500 and completed a season sweep at three tracks, the first driver to do so since Dale Earnhardt in 1987. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman were eliminated, each more than 156 points behind the leader.
After Darlington, five drivers were still mathematically eligible for the title. Busch held an 18-point lead over Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr. and Martin, and all five were separated by 82 points going into the final race.
At Homestead on November 21, Greg Biffle won the Ford 400, with Johnson second and Gordon third. Busch's eight-point margin was enough for the title, and the series had a champion who had finished behind the leaders that afternoon.
Who were the rookies and the standouts of the early season?
The season opened with the Budweiser Shootout on February 7, an exhibition race in which Dale Jarrett won after a random draw set the grid. The Gatorade Twin 125s followed on February 12, and they set the field for the Daytona 500.
Kasey Kahne took the rookie award, finishing 14 times in the top 10 and 13 times in the top five. He had started the year with a 41st-place finish at the Daytona 500, and he was narrowly beaten by Matt Kenseth at Rockingham the following week before settling into a consistent run.Brendan Gaughan was a pleasant surprise, posting four top 10s and finishing runner-up to Kahne for the award. Scott Riggs managed only two top 10 finishes, and Johnny Sauter was released from his ride in mid-season.
Kyle Busch made his Cup debut at Las Vegas in March, starting 18th and finishing 41st. At Darlington the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 was won by Jimmie Johnson, and it was the last 400-mile race held there until 2020.
The inaugural Pop Secret 500 was held at California Speedway on September 5, and Elliott Sadler won it. Kahne finished second, his fifth runner-up finish of the season, and Sadler's victory was the only time in his Cup career that he won more than one race in a season. It also turned out to be the final win of his career. Portions of the race were filmed for the movie Herbie Fully Loaded.
Selected 2004 race winners
| Race | Winner | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Budweiser Shootout | Dale Jarrett | Exhibition race, random draw for the grid |
| 46th Daytona 500 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | His fifth attempt at the race |
| Subway 400 | Matt Kenseth | Final race at Rockingham |
| Food City 500 | Kurt Busch | Red-flagged; no overtime |
| Samsung/Radio Shack 500 | Elliott Sadler | Edged Kasey Kahne by .028 seconds |
| Advance Auto Parts 500 | Rusty Wallace | 55th and final career win |
| Aaron's 499 | Jeff Gordon | Won under caution |
| Coca-Cola 600 | Jimmie Johnson | Led 334 of 400 laps |
| MBNA America 400 (June) | Mark Martin | Ended a 73-race winless streak |
| Pepsi 400 | Jeff Gordon | Gordon also won the pole |
| Tropicana 400 | Tony Stewart | Pit road fight with Kasey Kahne's team |
| Sylvania 300 | Kurt Busch | First race of the Chase |
| MBNA America 400 (September) | Ryan Newman | Led 325 of 400 laps |
| EA Sports 500 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Penalised 25 points for an obscenity |
| Banquet 400 | Joe Nemechek | Fourth and final Cup win |
| UAW-GM Quality 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Kahne led 207 laps before a blown tire |
| Subway 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Ceremony cancelled after the plane crash |
| Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Third straight win |
| Checker Auto Parts 500 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Extended to 315 laps |
| Mountain Dew Southern 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Season sweep at three tracks |
| Ford 400 | Greg Biffle | Busch won the title by 8 points |
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