Year in Review Archive

NASCAR.COM's recap of the top 20 drivers in 2004:

No. 1: Kurt Busch

2004 Stats: 1 Bud Pole, 3 wins, 10 top-fives, 21 top 10s

The good: Busch was amazingly consistent during the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup, posting nine top-10 finishes in the 10-race playoff. His crew repeatedly overcame obstacles and kept him in the running week after week.

The bad: Busch didn't score the most points during the entire 36-race season, three drivers won more races than he did and Busch had the fewest top-five finishes of any champion in NASCAR history.

No. 2: Jimmie Johnson

2004 Stats: 1 Bud Pole, 8 wins, 20 top-fives, 23 top-10s

The good: Johnson had one of the more dominating seasons in recent years. He won a staggering eight races, but more importantly, improved by winning his first short track race. Johnson won three races in a row during the Chase for the Nextel Cup and led the series in top-fives.

The bad: Johnson lost valuable momentum when he failed to finish three straight races in August. Poor finishes at Kansas and Talladega proved costly in the title picture.

No. 3: Jeff Gordon

2004 Stats: 6 Bud Poles, 5 wins, 16 top-fives, 25 top-10s

The good: Gordon had his typical monster season, complete with loads of victories and top-fives. He had a stretch at mid-season where he won three times in six starts, including a fourth career win at The Brickyard.

The bad: Gordon ran very well in the Chase, but he didn't win, and a 34th-place finish at Atlanta ended up costing him dearly.

No. 4: Mark Martin

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 1 win, 10 top-fives, 15 top-10s

The good: Mark Martin's fourth-place effort in 2004 was a remarkable contrast to the year before when he finished 17th in the standings. Martin broke a drought with his victory at Dover in June and proved that after all these years, he's still a championship contender.

The bad: Martin got off to a slow start, with two blown engines and only one top-five (his win) in the first half of the season. Paired with an uneven showing in the Chase, this robbed him of a chance to become a Nextel Cup champion.

No. 5: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 6 wins, 16 top-fives, 21 top-10s

The good: Earnhardt Jr. won six times in 2004, a career high. The biggest of those wins likely came in February, when Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 for the first time. Junior has been a staple of the NASCAR Top 10 for 69 consecutive weeks.

The bad: Due to injuries suffered in a sports car crash at Infineon Raceway in July, Junior was forced to use a relief driver for the first time in his Cup career. He was also docked 25 championship points by NASCAR on two separate occassions.

No. 6: Tony Stewart

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 2 wins, 10 top-fives, 14 top-10s

The good: Stewart visited Victory Lane twice in 2004, including a courageous win at Watkins Glen during which he was battling flu-like symptoms all afternoon. Stewart also had a busy year off the track, buying Eldora Speedway and continuing to help the Victory Junction Gang camp.

The bad: Stewart's 10 top-five finishes mark the lowest total of his six-year career. He was a threat to win the season finale at Homestead before a black-flag penalty and a lack of fuel thwarted one his best runs of the second half.

No. 7: Ryan Newman

2004 Stats: 9 Bud Poles, 2 wins, 11 top-fives, 14 top-10s

The good: Newman further cemented his reputation as the man to beat in Bud Pole Qualifying. He started nine of the 36 Cup races in 2004 from the top spot. He also won twice, but neither victory came from the Bud Pole.

The bad: For every good statistic Newman had in 2004, there's a bad one. He failed to finish nine races in 2004. His four DNFs during the Chase was the most among Chase competitors and he ended the season with back-to-back DNFs.

No. 8: Matt Kenseth

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 2 wins, 8 top-fives, 16 top-10s

The good: Kenseth started the season determined to prove that his 2003 championship was no fluke. He won back-to-back races, taking the checkers at Rockingham and Las Vegas.

The bad: Kenseth had a hard time performing in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Kenseth finished second at New Hampshire in the opener, but failed to garner a top-10 finish for the rest of the season.

No. 9: Elliott Sadler

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 2 wins, 8 top-fives, 13 top-10s

The good: Sadler won two races in 2004, taking the checkered flag at Texas and Fontana. He also posted career highs in top-fives and top-10s. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that Sadler was never outside the top 10 all season.

The bad: Sadler struggled heavily down the stretch. In the final five races of 2004, Sadler failed to crack the top 20. Qualifying was also a bit of an issue, as Sadler failed to win a Bud Pole all season.

No. 10: Jeremy Mayfield

2004 Stats: 2 Bud Poles. 1 win, 5 top-fives, 13 top-10s

The good: Mayfield broke a four-year winless streak and secured himself a spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, finishing 10th in the final standings. He stepped up his qualifying efforts and won two Bud Poles.

The bad: Despite making the Chase, Mayfield was plagued by inconsistency all year, especially during the last 10 races. During the Chase he posted six finishes worse than 20th place and never moved out of 10th in the standings.

No. 11: Jamie McMurray

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 0 wins, 9 top-fives, 23 top-10s

The good: McMurray went on a tear in the latter part of the season, reeling off eight top-10 finishes in the final 10 races to lock down 11th place and a $1 million bonus. His total of 23 top-10 finishes on the year was second only to Jeff Gordon's 25.

The bad: McMurray missed making the Chase for the Nextel Cup by 15 points and he didn't win a race. Six DNFs and a 25-point penalty for a failed inspection put a damper on a season clouded by "what ifs".

No. 12: Bobby Labonte

2004 Stats: 1 Bud Pole, 0 wins, 5 top-fives, 11 top-10s

The good: Labonte was 10th in points after 10 races, thanks in part to a pair of runner-up finishes at Darlington and Martinsville. Five races - and three top-10 finishes -- later, Labonte was fourth in the points. With 11 races left to get in the Chase, Labonte seemed a lock.

The bad: Crew chief Michael "Fatback" McSwain was fired and replaced by Brandon Thomas. The wind slowly went out of the sails of the No. 18 team and Labonte failed to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup. What's more, he went the entire season without a win -- the first time that's happened since 1994.

No. 13: Kasey Kahne

2004 Stats: 4 Bud Poles, 0 wins, 13 top-fives, 14 top-10s

The good: Kahne won the 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. He posted five second-place finishes and was in contention for the win in a couple more races before on-track incidents took him out of the running.

The bad: Kahne was painfully ineffective on road courses and short tracks. He didn't have a single top-10 at any of those events, including the crucial fall Richmond race, where he finished 14th and fell from the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

No. 14: Kevin Harvick

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 0 wins, 5 top-fives, 14 top-10s.

The good: Harvick had two of his five top-five finishes in Chase races: a season's-best second at Talladega and a fourth at Phoenix. He closed the season with another top-10 at Homestead to finish 14th in the points.

The bad: Down the stretch, in the final four races before the Chase, Harvick couldn't manage a top-10.

No. 15: Dale Jarrett

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 0 wins, 6 top-fives, 14 top-10s.

The good: Jarrett and Yates Racing proved they would be competitive right out of the box at Daytona, when Jarrett won the Budweiser Shootout special event for pole winners for the third time

The bad: Jarrett broke his 11-year streak of winning at least one Cup race each year, posting a season-best finish of second at Indianapolis in August.

No. 16: Rusty Wallace

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 1 win, 3 top-fives, 11 top-10s.

The good: Wallace broke a three-year losing streak with a win at Martinsville. At the time, it was his third consecutive top-five finish. After a mid-season slump, he finished the year strong with three top-10s in the last five races.

The bad: On two occasions, Wallace ran out of gas while running well in 2004 (Sonoma, fall Bristol). After his win, Wallace went the final 28 races without a top-five finish.

No. 17: Greg Biffle

2004 Stats: 1 Bud Pole, 2 wins, 4 top-fives, 8 top-10s.

The good: Biffle was the only non-Chase driver who won more than once in 2004. He qualified well all year and got stronger as the second half wore on. A win in the season finale sent him from 21st to 17th in the standings.

The bad: Biffle suffered three engine failures and was leading at Fontana in the spring when he suffered transmission failure. Biffle also tangled with teammate Kurt Busch in the Nextel all-star event.

No. 18: Jeff Burton

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 0 wins, 2 top-fives, 6 top-10s.

The good: Burton's move to RCR in August was generally seen as a positive move. Burton led a chunk of the Sharpie 500 at Bristol and made great strides at RCR, where he consistently finished in the top 15.

The bad: Burton went to RCR after struggling in the first half with Roush Racing. Burton's losing streak continued for a third straight season -- he has not won a race since 2001.

No. 19: Joe Nemechek

2004 Stats: 2 Bud Poles, 1 win, 3 top-fives, 9 top-10s.

The good: Nemechek had the second-best year of his career, winning a race for the third time in four years. Even though he struggled in the first half, Nemechek's contract was renewed for 2005.

The bad: Nemechek was sixth in the Daytona 500, but that was his only top-10 until July. For the year, he completed a paltry 88 percent of his laps.

No. 20: Michael Waltrip

2004 Stats: 0 Bud Poles, 0 wins, 2 top-fives, 9 top-10s.

The good: Waltrip scored three straight top-10s in the spring, including a runner-up finish in the Coca-Cola 600. After that stretch, Waltrip was confirmed in the No. 15 Chevy for 2005.

The bad: Waltrip fell off the map in the second half, scoring just one top-10 after August. Waltrip is one of the best restrictor-plate drivers, but he failed to score a top-10 at any of the four plate races.