2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
 The 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 program cover, featuring the finish of 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch. | |||
| Date | March 21, 2004 | ||
| Official name | Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 293 laps, 400 mi (644.12 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 293 laps, 400 mi (644.12 km) | ||
| Average speed | 114.001 miles per hour (183.467 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 56,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Evernham Motorsports | ||
| Time | 28.638 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 76 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
The 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 was the 5th stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 49th iteration of the event. The race was held before a crowd of 56,000 on March 21, 2004 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would win the race, leading 69 laps. Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing and Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would take 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The race would be the last spring Darlington race until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced NASCAR to race at Darlington in the spring, as the Ferko lawsuit would move the second race that Darlington originally had, the Southern 500, to Texas Motor Speedway for a promised second date to Texas. The Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 would therefore move to the fall and be lengthened to 500 miles, making the race the new Southern 500.[1] In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic would make NASCAR race once again at Darlington in the spring,[2][3] and in 2021 after rekindled fan interest, would announce that Darlington would once again get its spring 400-mile race, this time called the Goodyear 400.[4][5]
Background
[edit]Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying took place on March 19, 2004. Kasey Kahne would win the pole with a 28.638 second lap, with an average speed of 171.716 miles per hour (276.350 km/h). Meanwhile, Michael Waltrip, driver of the #15 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet would not set a time, due to Waltrip scrubbing the wall in Turn 2. Instead of completing a lap, Waltrip would take a provisional and qualify 39th.[7]
Stanton Barrett of W. W. Motorsports would be the only driver not to qualify due to the provisional system set in place by NASCAR at the time.
Race
[edit]Pre-race ceremonies
[edit]Pre-race ceremonies would start with Darlington Raceway chaplain Harold King giving out the invocation. The contemporary Christian music group NewSong would sing the national anthem, with the 108th Squadron of the United States Navy Strike Force from Virginia Beach, Virginia performing the flyover. Five members of the Carolina Dodge Dealers Association would give the starting command.[9]
Race recap
[edit]Post-race driver comments
[edit]Race results
[edit]| Pos.[10][6][11] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 69 | running | 185 | $151,150 |
| 2 | 12 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 293 | 18 | running | 175 | $136,183 |
| 3 | 6 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske-Jasper Racing | Dodge | 293 | 39 | running | 170 | $120,912 |
| 4 | 29 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 293 | 0 | running | 160 | $119,117 |
| 5 | 10 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 293 | 0 | running | 155 | $120,233 |
| 6 | 4 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 293 | 76 | running | 160 | $86,275 |
| 7 | 20 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 293 | 0 | running | 146 | $72,345 |
| 8 | 23 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 293 | 0 | running | 142 | $98,743 |
| 9 | 18 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 293 | 0 | running | 138 | $88,635 |
| 10 | 2 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 293 | 18 | running | 139 | $106,983 |
| 11 | 33 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 293 | 0 | running | 130 | $95,092 |
| 12 | 3 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 293 | 3 | running | 132 | $67,945 |
| 13 | 1 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 293 | 24 | running | 129 | $103,590 |
| 14 | 17 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 293 | 1 | running | 126 | $92,110 |
| 15 | 19 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 293 | 0 | running | 118 | $75,130 |
| 16 | 14 | 22 | Scott Wimmer | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 293 | 0 | running | 115 | $79,285 |
| 17 | 8 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 293 | 1 | running | 117 | $101,118 |
| 18 | 13 | 0 | Ward Burton | Haas CNC Racing | Chevrolet | 293 | 0 | running | 109 | $57,720 |
| 19 | 26 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 0 | running | 106 | $84,140 |
| 20 | 34 | 01 | Joe Nemechek | MBV Motorsports | Chevrolet | 292 | 0 | running | 103 | $77,470 |
| 21 | 21 | 42 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 292 | 40 | running | 105 | $74,705 |
| 22 | 16 | 49 | Ken Schrader | BAM Racing | Dodge | 292 | 0 | running | 97 | $56,390 |
| 23 | 28 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 292 | 0 | running | 94 | $65,000 |
| 24 | 30 | 43 | Jeff Green | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 292 | 0 | running | 91 | $79,010 |
| 25 | 5 | 50 | Derrike Cope | Arnold Motorsports | Dodge | 292 | 0 | running | 88 | $52,920 |
| 26 | 24 | 30 | Johnny Sauter | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 292 | 0 | running | 85 | $63,310 |
| 27 | 37 | 77 | Brendan Gaughan | Penske-Jasper Racing | Dodge | 291 | 0 | running | 82 | $63,110 |
| 28 | 31 | 4 | Kevin Lepage | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 291 | 0 | running | 79 | $62,844 |
| 29 | 7 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Jasper Racing | Dodge | 290 | 0 | running | 76 | $85,588 |
| 30 | 27 | 10 | Scott Riggs | MBV Motorsports | Chevrolet | 290 | 0 | running | 73 | $77,372 |
| 31 | 15 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 289 | 0 | running | 70 | $102,358 |
| 32 | 22 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 279 | 0 | running | 67 | $82,442 |
| 33 | 25 | 21 | Ricky Rudd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 275 | 0 | running | 64 | $77,481 |
| 34 | 32 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 245 | 0 | engine | 61 | $51,365 |
| 35 | 39 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 181 | 0 | crash | 58 | $88,291 |
| 36 | 36 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Chevrolet | 159 | 0 | crash | 55 | $59,265 |
| 37 | 42 | 02 | Andy Belmont | SCORE Motorsports | Pontiac | 69 | 0 | brakes | 52 | $51,225 |
| 38 | 38 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Dodge | 65 | 2 | brakes | 54 | $51,175 |
| 39 | 41 | 72 | Kirk Shelmerdine | Kirk Shelmerdine Racing | Ford | 49 | 0 | too slow | 46 | $51,115 |
| 40 | 35 | 98 | Todd Bodine | Mach 1 Motorsports | Ford | 33 | 2 | rear end | 48 | $51,015 |
| 41 | 9 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27 | 0 | crash | 40 | $98,328 |
| 42 | 43 | 80 | Andy Hillenburg | Hover Motorsports | Ford | 26 | 0 | crash | 37 | $50,890 |
| 43 | 40 | 09 | Joe Ruttman | Phoenix Racing | Dodge | 22 | 0 | vibration | 34 | $50,214 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 44 | 94 | Stanton Barrett | W. W. Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Sports Business Journal". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ "NASCAR announces revised May schedule | NASCAR". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ Bachman, Rachel (2020-04-30). "Nascar Makes Move, Announces May 17 Return From Coronavirus". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ "Darlington welcomes the return of a spring race weekend". wltx.com. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ "NASCAR cup series spring race in Darlington to be named 'Goodyear 400'". WBTW. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ a b "2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 race results". Archived from the original on 2021-04-28.
- ^ 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 Bud Pole Qualifying, retrieved 2021-08-27
- ^ "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site". 2005-02-05. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington (Full race), retrieved 2021-08-28
- ^ "2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ "Carolina Dodge Dealers 400". www.ultimateracinghistory.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.