Auto race at Atlanta in 2004
Motor car race
The
2004 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500
was a
NASCAR
Nextel Cup Series
stock car
race
held on October 31, 2004 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
in
Hampton, Georgia
. Contested over 325 laps, the race was the 33rd of the 36-race
2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
season.
Ryan Newman
of
Penske-Jasper Racing
won the pole, while
Jimmie Johnson
of
Hendrick Motorsports
won the race.
Roush Racing
teammates
Mark Martin
and
Carl Edwards
finished second and third, respectively.
This was also 2017 Cup Series Champion
Martin Truex Jr.
's First Cup Series Start
Background
[
edit
]
Brian Vickers
' car with decals of the ten people killed in the Hendrick plane crash
Atlanta Motor Speedway was formerly a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) oval
[3]
until 1997, when two doglegs were added and the track became 1.54 miles long and a quad-oval.
[4]
As of the
2014 season
, the track is considered one of 16 intermediate tracks on the Cup schedule.
[5]
One week after the
plane crash
prior to the
Subway 500
that killed ten people, six of whom affiliated with
Hendrick Motorsports
,
[6]
the four teams replaced their standard hood designs with a decal of the ten people killed.
[7]
Qualifying
[
edit
]
59 cars were initially entered for the race, the most since the
1999 Daytona 500
.
[8]
After the preliminary list was released,
J. J. Yeley
,
Greg Sacks
,
Larry Hollenback
, and
Andy Belmont
entered the race, while
Carl Long
and
Derrike Cope
withdrew.
[9]
Afterwards,
Randy LaJoie
replaced
Larry Gunselman
, and two days later, Cope replaced
Stanton Barrett
, and
Mike Wallace
replaced
Jimmy Spencer
.
[8]
Brendan Gaughan
went out for qualifying first, and
Larry Foyt
was the last driver to qualify.
[10]
Ryan Newman won the pole with a lap time of 28.939 seconds and speed of 191.575 miles per hour (308.310 km/h), his 26th career pole and second straight.
[8]
Joe Nemechek
started second, followed by
Elliott Sadler
, Carl Edwards,
Greg Biffle
,
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson,
Kevin Harvick
, and
Jeff Gordon
.
Scott Riggs
,
Scott Wimmer
,
Kerry Earnhardt
,
Johnny Sauter
,
Hermie Sadler
, Wallace, Cope, LaJoie, Sacks, Foyt,
Kirk Shelmerdine
,
Morgan Shepherd
, Belmont, Hollenback, and
Kenny Wallace
failed to qualify;
[11]
Wallace never made an attempt due to a battery failure.
[12]
Due in most part of Riggs and Wimmer?who made every race to that point?failing to qualify, it led to the creation of the "Top 35 Rule" in 2005 to ensure NASCAR's top-tier teams make the field.
[13]
Race
[
edit
]
Prior to the race, a moment of silence was held for the ten killed in the Hendrick plane crash. Rock band
Third Day
performed the national anthem.
[8]
Joe Nemechek took the lead on lap one, though Ryan Newman led for the next 48 laps. Carl Edwards led for four laps before losing the lead to Newman during a caution period for oil on the track;
Bobby Labonte
was the
beneficiary
, allowing him to gain back a lap. From laps 54 to 74, Newman and Edwards led 10 and 11 laps, respectively, before Mark Martin led for 41 laps. Jimmie Johnson led briefly for four laps from 116 to 119, before Martin reclaimed the lead on lap 120; 18 laps later, Bobby Labonte spun in turn 2, bringing out the second caution, and allowing
Casey Mears
to regain a lap. Martin would lead until lap 178, when another oil caution was called, Greg Biffle the beneficiary, with
Michael Waltrip
leading lap 179, before Martin reclaimed the lead. Johnson and Nemechek led laps 237 and 238-239, respectively, until Martin led for another 70 laps; during Martin's lead, another oil caution was waved on lap 287 with
Jeff Burton
getting a lap back, and on lap 301, Kevin Harvick stalled on pit road; Biffle was once again the beneficiary. Johnson led for two laps until lap 312, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed on the backstretch after Edwards made contact with him,
[14]
allowing
Kasey Kahne
to lead for four laps.
Brian Vickers
was the beneficiary of the caution. On the final restart, Johnson took the lead from Jeff Burton, and led for the remainder of the race.
[11]
With 9 laps to go, things started to get crazy behind Johnson. 6 cars with those being Jeff Burton, Michael Waltrip (whose 1 lap down), Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, and Ryan Newman began to race hard behind Johnson. The 6 drivers came off of turn 4 going 3 by 3 down the front stretch. With 8 to go off of turn 2, Jeff Burton slid up the race track in front of Ryan Newman and somehow never wrecked. Johnson beat Martin by 0.293 seconds.
[14]
The win was Johnson's 13th career Cup win, seventh of 2004, first at Atlanta, and third consecutive,
[8]
making him the first driver to win three straight races since Hendrick teammate
[15]
Jeff Gordon
in 1998?1999, and the first to do so in a season since Gordon during the 1998 season.
[8]
Martin finished second, and the top five consisted of Edwards, Nemechek, and Kahne; Burton, Vickers,
Jamie McMurray
,
Tony Stewart
, and Biffle rounded out the top ten.
[11]
Post-race
[
edit
]
"The No. 6 car was coming, but I had 10 angels riding along."
Jimmie Johnson
, speaking in victory lane
[14]
Over the radio, Johnson stated, "in loving memory, all the way," and celebrated his win by driving to the flagstand to receive the checkered flag, then performing a
Polish victory lap
; Johnson later stated he had felt guilty for destroying one of Hendrick Director of Engine Operations
Randy Dorton
's
[16]
(who was among those killed on the flight) engines while celebrating his first career win.
[17]
In victory lane, Hendrick competition director
Ken Howes
gave Johnson a cell phone with
Rick Hendrick
on the line.
[17]
The three other Hendrick drivers (Gordon, Labonte, Vickers) joined Johnson in victory lane,
[18]
and the team wore their caps backwards in honor of Hendrick's son
Ricky Hendrick
.
[19]
After the race, Martin, who led a race-high 227 laps, defended crew chief
Pat Tryson
for their late
pit stop
strategy, stating, "We were a sitting duck. If we pitted, they stay out and win. If we stay out, they pit. So it was nobody's fault but those caution flags." Seven of the
Chase for the Nextel Cup
drivers suffered problems during the race: points leader
Kurt Busch
suffered an engine failure on lap 52, and finished 42nd; defending Cup champion
Matt Kenseth
also blew an engine, finishing 41st; Elliott Sadler crashed in pit road, damaging his steering, and finished 36th; Gordon finished 34th after being forced to go into the garage for a poor-handling car;
Jeremy Mayfield
's tire was cut, forcing him into the wall, and finished 26th; Ryan Newman suffered from pit stop errors, and finished 17th and two laps down; finally, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crash on the backstretch relegated him to 33rd.
[14]
Standings after the race
[
edit
]
Kurt Busch
(pictured in 2015)
led the Chase standings after the race.
Source:
[11]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Weather Information for the 2004 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500"
.
The Farmer's Almanac
. Retrieved
November 1,
2014
.
- ^
"TV RATINGS 2004"
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. Archived from
the original
on February 13, 2014
. Retrieved
October 24,
2014
.
- ^
"1996 General Tire Hoosier 500k"
.
Racing-Reference
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
"TRACK HISTORY"
.
Atlanta Motor Speedway
. Archived from
the original
on November 1, 2014
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
"SPRINT CUP TRACKS"
.
NASCAR
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
Smith, Marty.
"Hendrick stronger 10 years later"
.
ESPN
. Retrieved
October 23,
2014
.
- ^
Van Brimmer, Andy (November 1, 2004).
"Johnson wins a week after plane crash"
.
Athens Banner-Herald
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"THE RACE: Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500"
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. Archived from
the original
on March 4, 2016
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
"2004 Atlanta Entry List"
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. Archived from
the original
on November 12, 2014
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
"Qualifying Order"
.
NASCAR
. October 31, 2004. Archived from
the original
on December 5, 2008
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"2004 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500"
.
Racing-Reference
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
"Newman Rockets To Pole"
.
Motor Racing Network
. October 29, 2014. Archived from
the original
on November 1, 2014
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
"NASCAR to do away with top-35 qualifying rule; 2004 Atlanta race was instrumental in rule's creation"
.
SB Nation Atlanta
. October 17, 2012
. Retrieved
July 20,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Associated Press
(November 1, 2004).
"Johnson gets emotional win in Atlanta"
.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
. Retrieved
November 2,
2014
.
- ^
"Emotional Win For Johnson"
.
Motor Racing Network
. October 31, 2014. Archived from
the original
on November 3, 2014
. Retrieved
November 2,
2014
.
- ^
"RANDY DORTON"
.
Hendrick Motorsports
. Archived from
the original
on 2014-10-24
. Retrieved
October 23,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
James, Brant (November 1, 2004).
"Johnson's victory in memory of fallen"
.
St. Petersburg Times
. Retrieved
November 2,
2014
.
- ^
"Johnson wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway"
.
Clayton Daily Herald
. November 1, 2004
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.
- ^
Associated Press
(November 1, 2004).
"Jimmie Johnson nabs poignant win"
.
Lawrence Journal-World
. Retrieved
October 31,
2014
.