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2004 Ford 400
Race details
Race 36 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
2004 Ford 400 program cover
2004 Ford 400 program cover
Date November 21, 2004 (2004-November-21)
Location Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 271 laps, 406.5 mi (654.198 km)
Scheduled Distance 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Weather Temperatures averaging about 73.3 °F (22.9 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 10.2 miles per hour (16.4 km/h) [1]
Average speed 105.623 miles per hour (169.984 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Roush Racing
Time 30.114
Most laps led
Driver Greg Biffle Roush Racing
Laps 117
Winner
No. 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, & Wally Dallenbach Jr.

The 2004 Ford 400 was an NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on November 21, 2004 at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 36th and final race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Greg Biffle won the race and Kurt Busch won the championship, both driving for Roush Racing. This was the last race without Kyle Busch until the 2011 AAA Texas 500.

Background

Homestead-Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the IndyCar Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the Championship Cup Series.

Since 2002, Homestead-Miami Speedway has hosted the final race of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Ford Motor Company sponsors all three of the season-ending races; the races have the names Ford 400, Ford 300 and Ford 200, respectively, and the weekend is marketed as Ford Championship Weekend.

Entry list

# [2] Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Mike Bliss Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet NetZero
00 Kenny Wallace Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Aaron's
1 Martin Truex Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Enterprise Rent-A-Car
01 Joe Nemechek MBV Motorsports Chevrolet U.S. Army
2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Jasper Racing Ford Miller Lite
02 Hermie Sadler SCORE Motorsports Chevrolet Drive for Diversity, Sam Bass
4 Mike Wallace Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Lucas Oil
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Viagra
06 Travis Kvapil Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge Mobil 1, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Budweiser
9 Kasey Kahne Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dodge Dealers, UAW
09 Johnny Sauter Phoenix Racing Dodge Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts
10 Scott Riggs MBV Motorsports Chevrolet Valvoline
11 J. J. Yeley Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Vigoro, The Home Depot
12 Ryan Newman Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge Alltel
13 Greg Sacks Sacks Motorsports Ford ARC Dehooker, Vita Coco
14 John Andretti ppc Racing Ford VB, APlus at Sunoco
15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts
16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford National Guard, Subway
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford DeWalt
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac Interstate Batteries
19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dodge Dealers, UAW
20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Home Depot
21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Motorcraft, U.S. Air Force
22 Scott Wimmer Bill Davis Racing Dodge Caterpillar
23 Shane Hmiel Bill Davis Racing Dodge Bill Davis Racing
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Brian Vickers Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet GMAC Financial Services
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench
30 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet America Online
31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Cingular Wireless
32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. PPI Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
36 Boris Said MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet USG Durock
37 Kevin Lepage R&J Racing Dodge Carter's Royal Dispos-all
38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford M&M's
40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Coors Light
41 Casey Mears Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Target
42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Texaco, Havoline
43 Jeff Green Petty Enterprises Dodge Chex Party Mix
45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Ford Georgia-Pacific, Brawny
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's
49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge Schwan's Home Service
50 Todd Bodine Arnold Motorsports Dodge Arnold Development Companies
51 Tony Raines Competitive Edge Motorsports Chevrolet Consort Hair Care for Men
70 Larry Foyt BAM Racing Dodge BAM Racing
72 Kirk Shelmerdine Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Ford Freddie B's
75 Mike Garvey Haefele Racing Dodge Jani-King
77 Brendan Gaughan Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge Kodak, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
80 Carl Long Hover Motorsports Ford Adesa Impact
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford UPS
89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Ford Racing With Jesus, Red Line Oil
93 Geoff Bodine GIC–Mixon Motorsports Chevrolet Global Industrial Contractors
97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford Sharpie, Irwin Industrial Tools
98 Randy LaJoie Mach 1 Motorsports Ford Mach One Inc.
99 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford Roush Racing

Qualifying

Qualifying took place on November 19, 2004. During Casey Mears' warmup lap, Mears would lose the back end of his car in the middle of Turns 3-4, slamming the back end into the wall and destroying the car. Mears would not be able to complete a lap in qualifying, so the #41 team took a provisional because the team was in the Top 35 in owner's points. However, they would have to start in the back because they had to bring in a backup car. [3] The #93 of Geoff Bodine would also not run qualifying laps, this time due to unspecified reasons and would withdraw from the event.

Pos. [4] [3] # Driver Make Team Time Avg. Speed (mph)
1 97 Kurt Busch Ford Roush Racing 30.114 179.319
2 16 Greg Biffle Ford Roush Racing 30.116 179.307
3 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 30.152 179.093
4 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Evernham Motorsports 30.186 178.891
5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 30.215 178.719
6 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 30.245 178.542
7 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Wood Brothers Racing 30.336 178.006
8 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 30.360 177.866
9 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 30.370 177.807
10 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 30.387 177.708
11 6 Mark Martin Ford Roush Racing 30.405 177.602
12 0 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Haas CNC Racing 30.425 177.486
13 23 Shane Hmiel Dodge Bill Davis Racing 30.436 177.421
14 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 30.471 177.218
15 38 Elliott Sadler Ford Robert Yates Racing 30.475 177.194
16 8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 30.491 177.101
17 77 Brendan Gaughan Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 30.497 177.067
18 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 30.504 177.026
19 01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet MBV Motorsports 30.522 176.922
20 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Evernham Motorsports 30.529 176.881
21 22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Bill Davis Racing 30.531 176.869
22 99 Carl Edwards Ford Roush Racing 30.535 176.846
23 14 John Andretti Ford ppc Racing 30.535 176.846
24 15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 30.595 176.499
25 10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet MBV Motorsports 30.601 176.465
26 06 Travis Kvapil Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 30.642 176.229
27 88 Dale Jarrett Ford Robert Yates Racing 30.667 176.085
28 4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Morgan–McClure Motorsports 30.671 176.062
29 32 Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Chevrolet PPI Motorsports 30.719 175.787
30 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Roush Racing 30.723 175.764
31 43 Jeff Green Dodge Petty Enterprises 30.742 175.656
32 36 Boris Said Chevrolet MB2 Motorsports 30.758 175.564
33 31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 30.766 175.518
34 13 Greg Sacks Dodge Sacks Motorsports 30.801 175.319
35 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 30.812 175.256
36 02 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet SCORE Motorsports 30.814 175.245
37 00 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Michael Waltrip Racing 30.849 175.046
38 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 30.850 175.040
Provisionals
39 48 Jimmie Johnson* Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 30.852 175.029
40 30 Jeff Burton* Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 30.866 174.950
41 41 Casey Mears* Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 0.000 0.000
42 5 Terry Labonte** Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 31.318 172.425
43 49 Ken Schrader* Dodge BAM Racing 31.076 173.768
Failed to qualify
44 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises 30.896 174.780
45 09 Johnny Sauter Dodge Phoenix Racing 31.037 173.986
46 75 Mike Garvey Dodge Haefele Racing 31.040 173.969
47 51 Tony Raines Chevrolet Competitive Edge Motorsports 31.083 173.728
48 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge R&J Racing 31.134 173.444
49 50 Todd Bodine Dodge Arnold Motorsports 31.254 172.778
50 11 J. J. Yeley Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 31.365 172.166
51 70 Larry Foyt Dodge BAM Racing 31.485 171.510
52 98 Randy LaJoie Ford Mach 1 Motorsports 31.604 170.864
53 89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Shepherd Racing Ventures 31.705 170.320
54 72 Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 32.185 167.780
55 80 Carl Long Ford Hover Motorsports 32.319 167.084
WD 93 Geoffrey Bodine*** Chevrolet GIC–Mixon Motorsports 0.000 0.000

*Qualified by being Top 35 in owner's points.

**Champion's Provisional.

***Did not start qualifying due to problems.

Race recap

This race was known as the deciding race of the 2004 Nextel Cup champion in the first ever Chase for the Nextel Cup, in which five drivers were still mathematically alive for the championship including the points leader, Kurt Busch with an 18-point margin ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who earned the most wins in 2004, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and veteran Mark Martin. Those five chasers are separated by an 82-point margin from first to fifth for the final race. At the start of lap 1, Hermie Sadler got turned sideways while Mike Bliss was spun around but Johnson survived the wreck in the following caution. On lap 93, championship leader Kurt Busch was about to come to pit road. Busch told his crew on the radio that he had a flat right front tire. As Busch came out of the access road off of turn 4 that leads to the pits, Kurt lost the right front wheel. As the wheel came off, he almost hit the yellow barrels on the entrance of pit road which could have ended in a much different result. The caution came out as the wheel rolled down the entire front stretch. As a result of the tire loss, he lost the championship lead to Jeff Gordon, though Busch took back the points lead. With 3 laps to go, race leader Ryan Newman made some contact and lost the right side of the tire, the caution was out and set a Green-white-checker finish at Homestead. At the restart, Greg Biffle held off the hard charging Hendrick teams of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon for the race lead and took the checkered flag to win the Ford 400, while Johnson and Gordon finished 2nd and 3rd. Kurt Busch won the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Championship by just 8 points over Johnson with a 5th-place finish after starting on the Pole and leading the opening 4 laps, the closest margin in Cup history until the 2011 season, won by Tony Stewart. Stewart and Carl Edwards were tied following the 2011 season's last race, the Cup going to Stewart by virtue of more wins on the season, 5 to 1 respectively.

Race results

Fin [5] [6] St # Driver Make Team Sponsor Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 2 16 Greg Biffle Ford Roush Racing National Guard, Subway 271 117 running 190 $314,850
2 39 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's 271 0 running 170 $231,705
3 5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports DuPont 271 0 running 165 $208,708
4 8 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot 271 34 running 165 $167,003
5 1 97 Kurt Busch Ford Roush Racing Sharpie, Irwin Industrial Tools 271 4 running 160 $130,650
6 17 77 Brendan Gaughan Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing Kodak, Jasper Engines & Transmissions 271 0 running 150 $102,000
7 18 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing Texaco, Havoline 271 0 running 146 $88,950
8 10 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing Miller Lite 271 26 running 147 $110,983
9 7 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft, U.S. Air Force 271 0 running 138 $90,806
10 9 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing GM Goodwrench 271 0 running 134 $99,728
11 11 6 Mark Martin Ford Roush Racing Viagra 271 8 running 135 $67.950
12 6 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing Interstate Batteries 271 10 running 132 $100,133
13 21 22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Bill Davis Racing Caterpillar 271 0 running 124 $86,175
14 22 99 Carl Edwards Ford Roush Racing Roush Racing 271 0 running 121 $91,867
15 25 10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet MBV Motorsports Valvoline 271 0 running 118 $84,712
16 38 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Coors Light 271 0 running 115 $91,925
17 24 15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. NAPA Auto Parts 271 0 running 112 $89,881
18 14 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports GMAC Financial Services 271 0 running 109 $65,225
19 30 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Roush Racing DeWalt 271 0 running 106 $104,203
20 23 14 John Andretti Ford ppc Racing VB, APlus at Sunoco 271 0 running 103 $55,150
21 29 32 Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Chevrolet PPI Motorsports Tide 271 0 running 100 $79,500
22 37 00 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Michael Waltrip Racing Aaron's 271 0 running 97 $52,800
23 16 8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Budweiser 271 0 running 94 $100,703
24 27 88 Dale Jarrett Ford Robert Yates Racing UPS 270 0 running 91 $86,717
25 43 49 Ken Schrader Dodge BAM Racing Schwan's Home Service 269 0 running 88 $55,500
26 41 41 Casey Mears Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing Target 268 0 running 85 $68,575
27 19 01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet MBV Motorsports U.S. Army 267 0 running 82 $73,375
28 32 36 Boris Said Chevrolet MB2 Motorsports USG Durock 266 0 transmission 79 $51,575
29 33 31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing Cingular Wireless 266 0 running 76 $86,552
30 3 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing Alltel 264 72 crash 78 $107,017
31 42 5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports Kellogg's 264 0 running 70 $81,100
32 35 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Enterprise Rent-A-Car 251 0 tire 67 $50,750
33 28 4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Morgan–McClure Motorsports Lucas Oil 247 0 wheel bearing 64 $54,480
34 15 38 Elliott Sadler Ford Robert Yates Racing M&M's 232 0 running 61 $89,183
35 20 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dealers, UAW 231 0 running 58 $69,039
36 40 30 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing America Online 231 0 running 55 $57,935
37 31 43 Jeff Green Dodge Petty Enterprises Chex Party Mix 223 0 engine 52 $75,975
38 4 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dealers, UAW 192 0 crash 49 $73,400
39 26 06 Travis Kvapil Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing Mobil 1, Jasper Engines & Transmissions 163 0 crash 46 $49325
40 12 0 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Haas CNC Racing NetZero 145 0 crash 43 $49,100
41 13 23 Shane Hmiel Dodge Bill Davis Racing Bill Davis Racing 115 0 crash 40 $48,910
42 34 13 Greg Sacks Dodge Sacks Motorsports ARC Dehooker, Vita Coco 3 0 overheating 37 $48,605
43 36 02 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet SCORE Motorsports Drive for Diversity, Sam Bass 0 0 crash 34 $48,630
Failed to qualify
44 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises Georgia-Pacific, Brawny
45 09 Johnny Sauter Dodge Phoenix Racing Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts
46 75 Mike Garvey Dodge Haefele Racing Jani-King
47 51 Tony Raines Chevrolet Competitive Edge Motorsports Consort Hair Care for Men
48 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge R&J Racing Carter's Royal Dispos-all
49 50 Todd Bodine Dodge Arnold Motorsports Arnold Development Companies
50 11 J. J. Yeley Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing Vigoro, The Home Depot
51 70 Larry Foyt Dodge BAM Racing BAM Racing
52 98 Randy LaJoie Ford Mach 1 Motorsports Mach One Inc.
53 89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Shepherd Racing Ventures Racing With Jesus, Red Line Oil
54 72 Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Freddie B's
55 80 Carl Long Ford Hover Motorsports Adesa Impact
WD 93 Geoffrey Bodine Chevrolet GIC–Mixon Motorsports Global Industrial Contractors

Race statistics

  • Time of race: 3:50:55
  • Average Speed: 105.623 miles per hour (169.984 km/h)
  • Pole Speed: 179.319 miles per hour (288.586 km/h)
  • Cautions: 14 for 79 laps
  • Margin of Victory: 0.342
  • Lead changes: 14
  • Percent of race run under caution: 29.2%
  • Average green flag run: 12.8 laps

References

  1. ^ Weather information at The Old Farmers Almanac
  2. ^ "2004 Nascar Cup Series Ford 400 | Motorsport Stats". results.motorsportstats.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  3. ^ a b 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Ford 400 Bud Pole Qualifying, retrieved 2021-06-29
  4. ^ "Qualifying times: Ford 400". Crash. 2004-11-19. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  5. ^ "2004 Ford 400 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn.
  6. ^ "2004 Ford 400 race results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28.