 | | Matt Kenseth (17) captured the final race at Rockingham in a photo finish. Credit: Autostock |
Compiled by B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
December 24, 2004
10:06 PM EST (03:06 GMT)
This is the first of our top 10 lists for 2004. Saturday: Celebrations. To say the 2004 Nextel Cup season was like no other would not begin to tell the tale. First, a radically new point system was implemented -- complete with a 10-race "playoff." Toss in a new series sponsor, a new racing fuel sponsor, the retirement announcement for three of the series' top drivers, plus the stunning deaths of 10 people aboard a Hendrick Motorsports plane. ... Yes, it was a year to remember. On the track, the racing was as edge-of-your-seat as ever -- and more than one person shed a tear when the checkered flag flew at North Carolina Speedway in February. While "The Rock" no longer will be a series stop, the track's finale was a fitting send-off for one of stock car racing's venerable facilities. Matt Kenseth held off rookie Kasey Kahne at the stripe to win the Subway 400 in the fourth-closest finish in NASCAR history. Thus ended a legacy that began in October 1965, the consequence of the sport outgrowing its Southern roots (and a 60,000-seat capacity venue). Rockingham doesn't make the year-end countdown of the top 10 races. In short, it deserves a better fate. It deserves a once-a-year-spot on the Nextel Cup schedule. It deserves to be so much more than an entry on a contrived list. Then again, I believe the same thing about long-forgotten North Wilkesboro. Take it for what it's worth. After the last Rockingham race, two-time Cup champion car owner Jack Roush may have said it best: "I want to say how much I enjoy coming to Rockingham, how much I'm going to miss the race going forward. "The fact that we get to race on a track where a driver's judgment and crew chief's anticipation have a great degree of influence on the result -- this is racing the way I enjoy it." So we bid adieu to "The Rock." As for the top 10 races of '04: • What: Sirius at the Glen
• Where: Watkins Glen International
• When: Aug. 15 Tony Stewart knew he was in trouble shortly after the start of the race, but overcame an upset stomach to win at Watkins Glen International. "It started about the 15th or 17th lap," he said. "It got better toward the end but I still don't feel well." Stewart went back to his hauler as soon as he exited the car after winning the Sirius at the Glen. He was driven back to his motor coach in a golf cart to change his uniform and attempt to recover. That delayed his celebration in Victory Lane, marking the third consecutive week that had happened. Jimmie Johnson was fined $10,000 for violating protocol two weeks earlier at Pocono by obscuring the product of a rival sponsor with a placard of his own. Then Jeff Gordon stayed on the track at Indianapolis until the TV coverage ended. He said he was overcome by the emotion of his victory in the Brickyard 400, apologized and was not punished. "These guys have never given up on me, no matter what has happened, and I'll never give up on them," Stewart said. "I wasn't going to take a win away from them. "It's hard to say how close you are. Either you're in or you're out. But there's no substitute for being in the lead, that's for sure." Stewart averaged 92.249 mph in a race slowed five times by 11 laps of caution. There were 13 lead changes among nine drivers.
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Samsung/Radio Shack 500
• Where: Texas Motor Speedway
• When: April 4 Elliott Sadler took advantage of another hard-luck moment for Jeff Gordon in Texas, then barely held off rookie Kasey Kahne in an exciting finish. Sadler's victory in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 -- his second career Cup win -- came by two-hundredths of a second over Kahne, the rookie who has three runner-up finishes and a third-place showing in seven races for Ray Evernham. "It's unbelievable," said Sadler, in his second season for Robert Yates Racing. "I've always had a good knack for this track, so a good win is just very, very special." Sadler and Kahne were racing alone at the front of the field, with the rookie trying to get back in the lead for the seventh time. He led 148 laps, but not the one that mattered. Sadler led by a half-second with 10 laps left, but Kahne kept trimming the space between the two cars. He tried to go high several times in the corners, but never could get back in front. Coming out of the last turn, Kahne made one last push and had his left front panel just alongside the rear of Sadler's Ford as they crossed the finish line around the lapped car of Johnny Sauter. It was the eighth-closest finish in Cup history. Sadler averaged 138.845 mph in the race slowed by seven caution periods that took 45 laps. Twelve drivers led the race, with Sadler topping the field the final 27 laps.
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Advance Auto Parts 500
• Where: Martinsville Speedway
• When: April 18 Rusty Wallace ended his nearly three-year victory drought, outrunning Bobby Labonte over the final 30 laps to win the Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway, a race that took more than five hours to complete. "Finally," Wallace said after emerging from his car in Victory Lane, suddenly able to push aside the self-doubt that had been creeping in, making him wonder if his days as a star might be ending, or over. "I questioned myself a little bit. I was like, 'Man, this schedule is wearing me out and these bad performances are wearing me out,' " he said. "I questioned a lot of things for a long time during that dry spell. It feels good to finally get back in Victory Lane." The race was halted for more than an hour with 210 laps to go after a block of concrete came loose in the third turn, leaving a hole a foot long and a foot wide that damaged Jeff Gordon's car and had to be filled. Repairs to the hole took an hour and 17 minutes, but when the race finally restarted, a refreshed Wallace started making his move. He came out of the pits third after a caution with 120 laps to go, passed teammate Ryan Newman for second with 55 laps to go and then ran down Jimmie Johnson, who was stuck on older tires after failing to pit with the lead. Passing Johnson with 45 laps to go, Wallace pulled away on a restart 10 laps later as the contenders behind him fought for position, then held off the charging Labonte after he, too, broke free from the pack. "I looked up and I saw Bobby Labonte break loose too and I thought, 'Uh-oh, this is going to be a dogfight here,' " Wallace said. A little self-help at 120 mph didn't hurt either, especially when he found himself in front and wanted to ensure that streak-ending victory. "Once I got in the lead, I just talked to myself. 'Get smooth. Hit your marks. Don't screw up. Don't give this thing away,' " he said. Wallace won by just .538 seconds, his first victory since April 29, 2001, at California Speedway -- a span of 106 races. The triumph was his seventh at Martinsville and the 55th of his career, breaking a tie with Lee Petty and giving Wallace sole possession of eighth on the Cup career list.
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Brickyard 400
• Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• When: Aug. 8 Jeff Gordon couldn't wait to kiss the bricks after matching his heroes with a fourth victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The driver, who spent his teen years living within 25 miles of the track, made history with his fourth victory in the Brickyard 400, joining open-wheel stars A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as four times winners at the storied speedway. "It feels amazing," Gordon said. "I can't compare four [wins] in a stock car to what my heroes like Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt and those guys did here. To win at this speedway, I can't even describe the feeling right now." As he crossed the finish line, the jubilant Gordon yelled into his radio: "Let's go kiss those bricks, yeah." He was referring to the NASCAR tradition started in 1996 -- the third year the race was held here -- by two-time Brickyard winner Dale Jarrett of the victorious driver and team kneeling and kissing the yard of bricks that mark the Indy finish line. Gordon stopped his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the front straightaway, scrambled out of the car and hugged team owner Rick Hendrick, then stood staring for a long moment at what is left of the original brick track. "That yard of bricks right there is so special and it feels so incredible to win this race," Gordon said. Gordon made it look easy most of the day, dominating on the way to his fifth win of the season and the 69th of his NASCAR career. The four-time series champion, who won the inaugural NASCAR event here in 1994 and added victories in 1998 and 2001, led 124 of the 161 laps on the 2 1/2-mile oval, but still had to fend off Jarrett in a pair of late restarts. The last restart on lap 160, which was supposed to be the final lap, was the first green-white-checkered overtime since NASCAR added the rule in July in an effort to assure that races finished with the cars racing, instead of driving slowly behind the pace car. A crash involving Ryan Newman and rookie Brian Vickers on lap 155 -- the record 13th caution of the day -- set up the final restart after it took until the end of lap 159 to get the track cleared and ready for racing.
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Ford 400
• Where: Homestead-Miami Speedway
• When: Nov. 21 Kurt Busch struggled mightily with an oversized champagne bottle, trying with all his strength to pry the cork out and begin his NASCAR championship celebration. He tugged at it, and banged the bottle against the championship podium. Nothing worked. The cork wouldn't budge, and he eventually gave up. It was the only obstacle Busch couldn't overcome in the Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship. Busch wrapped up his first career title at Homestead-Miami Speedway the same way he raced for all 10 of the playoff races: He stayed calm at every speed bump -- including a freak mishap when his wheel broke and his tire sailed off the car midway through the Ford 400. "It's unbelievable to be able to put such an effort into what it takes to make a championship caliber team," Busch said. "Many things have to fall into place." That they do, especially under the new format started this season and designed to add drama to what had become a series of lackluster championship battles. Busch, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson jockeyed for position for each of the 271 laps. Every spot was critical, every point furiously calculated by their car owners and crew chiefs. When the race went into overtime because a late caution made it impossible to finish in the original 267 laps, everyone strapped in for what was sure to be a wild shootout to the end. The contenders stacked up in a line, fender-to-fender, knowing what was at stake. Gordon was in third, Johnson was in fourth and Busch in fifth. Busch's part was easy -- stay out of trouble over the final four laps and the title was his. Gordon and Johnson, who came into the race trailing Busch in the standings, knew they had to do much more: One of them needed to win the race to wrap up the title. The field got the green flag, and the desperation was obvious in Gordon and Johnson, teammates and the closest of friends. Their Chevrolets darted to the bottom of the track, then back to the top, each looking for the tiniest bit of room to squeeze through. Johnson found a hole and skyrocketed past Gordon. Neither of them saw Greg Biffle, Busch's teammate, race past them and steadily pull away. With Biffle stealing the win they needed, and Busch staying pat in fifth place, the championship was over. A 26-year-old Las Vegas native considered an outsider in the NASCAR world drove off with the title. "We beat the best of the best over 10 races, and to have my name along the best names in history, it means so much to me," Busch said.
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Aaron's 499
• Where: Talladega Superspeedway
• When: April 25 Ah, nothing like a beer-splashed victory lap to help Jeff Gordon celebrate his big victory. Unfortunately, the spray came from cans heaved onto Talladega Superspeedway's track after Gordon's controversial victory over fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Aaron's 499. Gordon seized the lead from Earnhardt with six laps remaining and barely beat him in a controversial finish, ending DEI's winning streak at Talladega Superspeedway. With Earnhardt making a strong move to pass for the lead coming off turn four on lap 184 of the 188-lap event, rookie Brian Vickers and Casey Mears collided, sending Vickers sliding and bringing out the 11th caution flag of the race. Under NASCAR's rule change from last fall, freezing the field when the yellow comes out rather than letting the competitors race to the flagstand, Gordon got his first Nextel Cup victory of the season. Earnhardt, who tucked his car alongside the wall to shield himself from the cans, wasn't bothered by the display. "I don't think they really trashed the place," he said. "They were just expressing themselves in the only manner that they saw fit." The race was completed under caution, with NASCAR ruling Gordon was ahead of Earnhardt at the time. It also was clearly completed under protest -- by Earnhardt's many fans, at least. Gordon didn't let it dampen his celebration too much, stopping for a moment to give them a better target and spinning his wheels on the track. "I took a lot of satisfaction from a lot of things in that moment, and that was one of them," he said. "Anytime that Junior doesn't win here and he's got a shot it's going be controversial because he's got so many people pulling for him. "It's not the same if they just stand up and turn around and leave. You want some action. I don't mind a little controversy either, but when they were throwing all that stuff out there it made me smile. It made me laugh. I wanted to enjoy the moment."
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Mountain Dew Southern 500
• Where: Darlington Raceway
• When: Nov. 14 Jimmie Johnson took advantage of a pit mistake by Jeff Gordon's team and won the final Southern 500, making the tightest championship chase in NASCAR history even closer with one race remaining. Kurt Busch, who fought an ill-handling car after his Ford was damaged early in the race, somehow overcame adversity again to post a sixth-place finish and retain the points lead going into the season finale at Homestead. "My guys' last two pits stops got me off pit road first and that was the key," said Johnson, who had to overtake rookie Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray. They stayed out when the other leaders pitted for tires during the last of eight caution periods. The race restarted with 18 to go in the 367-lap event and Johnson, in third, passed Kahne for second place on lap 352 and took the lead from McMurray on 359. Then he pulled away to his series-leading eighth victory of the year and fourth in the last five races. Johnson, who beat Mark Martin to the finish line by 0.959-seconds -- about six car-lengths -- also won the race in March on Darlington's tough 1.366-mile oval. Gordon led a race-high 155 laps. Johnson led 124. Johnson's teammate Gordon, a six-time Darlington winner, appeared on the way to an easy victory, dominating the second half of the race until he pitted on lap 337 during another caution period. His car came down on an air hose, costing him precious time and the four-time series champion, leading coming entering pit road, came out sixth. The Southern 500, traditionally run on Labor Day weekend, was moved to November when NASCAR gave the holiday date to the newer, bigger California Speedway. Darlington, which holds only about 60,000 spectators, will lose the second event to Texas Motor Speedway next year and will have only a May race. For the first time, the race began in sunshine and finished under Darlington's new lights, challenging all the drivers with constantly changing conditions.
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Chevy Rock and Roll 400
• Where: Richmond International Raceway
• When: Sept. 11 NASCAR took a risk when it overhauled its points system, but the end results far exceeded chairman Brian France's expectations. "We couldn't ask for anymore," he said. "It's raising the level of competition, more drivers are going to have a chance to win the title at the end of the year and it's put a lot at stake in a lot of races." The battle to get into the 10-race playoff system ended with the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. At least three spots in the Chase were up for grabs when the race began, with eight drivers battling to get in. It turned what was once just the 26th race on a 36-event schedule into an all-out event. "When there's a lot at stake, you can feel it, there is drama, there is a buzz," France said. "Before, this was just another sold out race with not a lot at stake. It was just a good show." The task was clear for Jeremy Mayfield: Win the race and don't worry about making NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup. Mission accomplished. Mayfield raced to his first victory in the more than four years, taking the win after leader Kurt Busch ran out of gas eight laps from the finish. The victory locked Mayfield into NASCAR's race for the Nextel Cup title in the final qualifying event. "We had no choice but to try to win the race and lead the most laps," Mayfield said. "We really put it all together because we had to win. We focused all week on that." But Mayfield was the only driver to jump into the Chase. Kasey Kahne, his teammate at Evernham Motorsports, finished 12th and dropped out of the top 10. • Joe Nemechek's team, sponsored by the U.S. Army, hosted Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for the race, and Rumsfeld received warm welcomes everywhere he went before the event. "My first stock car race was at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1948," Rumsfeld said after receiving a standing ovation at the drivers' meeting. "I don't know if there's one of you alive that was there."
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Daytona 500
• Where: Daytona International Speedway
• When: Feb. 15 Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn't driving alone. Daddy came along for the ride. With the impatience of youth and the brash, fearless style of his father, Earnhardt Jr. won NASCAR's biggest event Sunday to add another bittersweet chapter to his family's Daytona legacy. It all came rushing back after Junior crossed the finish line -- the Intimidator's 20-year pursuit of a Daytona 500 victory, his death on this track three years ago, a son's quest to live up to the family name. "There are days when I feel I'm as good as my dad was," the 29-year-old Earnhardt said. "I'll say to myself, 'He couldn't have done it any better than that.' It's not long before I realize I was wrong. You know, he was pretty tough." Maybe so, but score one for the MTV generation. Junior needed only five tries to win the Daytona 500; his hardscrabble father didn't win until his 20th attempt. "He was over in the passenger side with me," said Earnhardt Jr., who barreled past Tony Stewart with 20 laps to go. "I'm sure he was having a blast." The race was attended by President Bush, launched the Nextel Cup era and came six years to the day that The Intimidator won his first -- and only -- Daytona 500. It's still one of the sport's most cherished scenes: the black No. 3 car rolling down pit road while the rival crews lined up to congratulate Earnhardt before he pulled into Victory Lane. On Feb. 18, 2001, he was killed on a last-lap crash in the 500, depriving the sport of a seven-time champion and its most popular driver. The Earnhardts became the third father-son combination to win the Daytona 500, joining Lee and Richard Petty and Bobby and Davey Allison. And, once again, Dale Earnhardt Inc. -- the team founded by The Intimidator -- proved its muscle in restrictor-plate races. Its drivers had won 10 of the last 12 races at Daytona and Talladega. The president watched half the race from a suite above the start-finish line, but left early to beat thousands of revelers pouring out into the Daytona Beach streets. While the cars circled the 2 1/2-mile track, the 747 lifted off from behind the second turn. Bush gave the winner a telephone call after the race. "It was the most exciting race of my life," Junior told the president. "Thank you very much. Take it easy."
-- The Associated Press --- • What: Subway 500, Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500
• Where: Martinsville Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway
• When: Oct. 24, Oct. 31  |  | | Credit: AP |
| |  | CRASH VICTIMS |
Son of Rick Hendrick and a Hendrick Motorsports executive
Brother of Rick Hendrick and president of Hendrick Motorsports
Daughter of John Hendrick
Daughter of John Hendrick
Hendrick Motorsports general manager
Director of engine department at Hendrick Motorsports
Director of DuPont's motorsports program
Former helicopter pilot for Tony Stewart
Pilot of the King Air 200
Co-pilot of the King Air 200
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Jimmie Johnson's series-high sixth victory of the season was overshadowed by word that a plane carrying members of the Hendrick Motorsports organization crashed on the way to Martinsville Speedway. Eight passengers and two pilots died in the crash. NASCAR officials informed Johnson and three other Hendrick drivers -- Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers -- of the crash after the race. Johnson was excused from Victory Lane. In the Subway 500, Johnson pulled away from Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman on a restart with seven laps to go to climb four spots in the season-ending Chase. Kurt Busch was solid again and moved one step closer to wrapping up NASCAR's first playoff championship. The Hendrick teams returned to the track in Atlanta with a renewed sense of purpose, determined to honor those who were killed. "I've never been so inspired and driven in my life," Gordon said. Jimmie Johnson usually smokes his tires to celebrate a victory. Not this time. Instead, he drove back to the finish line to pick up the checkered flag. A little something to ease the pain. Johnson became the first driver since 1998 to win three consecutive races in a season, holding off Mark Martin for a poignant victory at AMS. When Johnson got to Atlanta, he couldn't think of a better way to honor the victims than by winning the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. But he had to beat Martin, who clearly had the strongest car on the track. "With five [laps] to go, the butterflies hit me," Johnson said. "I don't think I took five breaths the rest of the way. I didn't even want to look in the mirror, but I knew I had to because Mark was back there." "The No. 6 car was coming, but I had 10 angels riding along," Johnson said. "I feel bad for Mark. He had the dominant car. But things happen for a reason." Johnson pulled his winning car up to the flagstand, picking up the checkered banner. Then, with it flapping out the driver's side, he circled the 1.54-mile trioval in reverse, soaking up the cheers of everyone in the crowd -- even those wearing the colors of rival drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Typically, I would have been booed," Johnson said, managing a smile. "There's a lot red up there. They don't like blue. That's cool. "But all I could see was people on the fence who were happy to see what took place." When Johnson finally got to Victory Lane, he made a quick cell phone call to team owner Rick Hendrick, who'll be getting the checkered flag. Hendrick asked everyone on the team to wear their hats backward -- a tribute to the fashion sense of Hendrick's son. Ricky Hendrick, who died in the crash, was being groomed to take over the team. Three other family members were killed, along with the team's general manager and chief engine builder. Rick Hendrick's brother, John, was the team president. "Rick always yelled at his son for wearing his hat backward," Johnson said, managing a smile.
-- The Associated Press → Click here for other Top 10 Lists. | 
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