2004 Pepsi 400

2004 Pepsi 400

Race details
Race 17 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
Map of the track
Date	July 3, 2004
Location	Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02 km)
Distance	160 laps, 400 mi (643.27 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching as low as 70 °F (21 °C); wind speeds up to 16.9 miles per hour (27.2 km/h)[1]
Average speed	145.117 miles per hour (233.543 km/h)[2]
Pole position
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	61
Winner
No. 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy Darrell Waltrip Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings	5.2[3]

The 2004 Pepsi 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on July 3, 2004 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race, the twentieth of the season, was contested over 160 laps. Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet,^[4] won the race from the pole position, and also led the most laps. Former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich was the grand marshal for the race; NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady was originally the grand marshal, but was replaced by Leftwich due to scheduling conflicts.^[5]

Race

The race was delayed for two hours due to rain. Ten laps into the race, Michael Waltrip passed pole-sitter Jeff Gordon for the lead. On Lap 19, the caution flag was thrown after a multi-car accident. Waltrip continued leading until Lap 55, in which Dale Earnhardt Incorporated teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. After Bobby Hamilton, Jr. had an accident on Lap 70, Earnhardt led the race into pit road, but was pushed out by Gordon and Brian Vickers, and fell to fifteenth, giving Mike Wallace the lead entering Lap 74. Shepherd pitted on the following lap, and Morgan Shepherd took the lead. However, Shepherd would later pit, as Gordon regained the lead. Waltrip then retook the lead from Gordon on Lap 86, though Gordon then took the lead again 13 laps later. Ten laps later, Gordon pitted, and Waltrip was given the lead. On the ensuing lap, Earnhardt took the lead, though he later pitted, and Jimmy Spencer gained the lead. On Lap 113, Spencer lost the lead to Gordon when he pitted, who led the pit stops on Lap 139. Dave Blaney stayed out, and took the lead, though Ryan Newman gained first-place when Blaney went to pit road. Newman pitted on Lap 143, giving Tony Stewart the lead.^[6] With ten laps left in the race, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson followed in third and fourth, respectively, behind Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Johnson then pushed Gordon past Stewart and Earnhardt, and Gordon subsequently won, his fourth of the season and second consecutive. The victory by Gordon made him the first driver since Cale Yarborough to win the Pepsi 400 from the pole.^[7] A version of the race's waning moments was included in the prologue of the video game NASCAR 06: Total Team Control, which involved Johnson pushing Gordon past Earnhardt.^[8]

Race results

Source:^[9]

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
4. Kurt Busch
5. Tony Stewart
6. Mark Martin
7. Bobby Labonte
8. Terry Labonte
9. Brian Vickers
10. Joe Nemechek
11. Casey Mears
12. Ryan Newman
13. Michael Waltrip
14. Kevin Harvick
15. Dave Blaney
16. Dale Jarrett
17. Ricky Rudd
18. Bill Elliott
19. Robby Gordon
20. Sterling Marlin
21. Scott Riggs
22. Jeremy Mayfield
23. Jeff Burton
24. Kyle Petty
25. Kasey Kahne
26. Elliott Sadler
27. Rusty Wallace
28. Kerry Earnhardt
29. Jimmy Spencer
30. Jeff Green
31. Greg Biffle
32. Scott Wimmer
33. Morgan Shepherd
34. Larry Gunselman
35. Ken Schrader
36. Brendan Gaughan
37. Jamie McMurray
38. Ricky Craven
39. Matt Kenseth
40. Ward Burton
41. Mike Wallace
42. Bobby Hamilton, Jr.
43. John Andretti

Did not qualify

• Chad Blount
• Tony Raines
• Derrike Cope
• Eric McClure
• Kenny Wallace
• Kirk Shelmerdine

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[9]
1	Jimmie Johnson	2545
2	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	2518
3	Jeff Gordon	2313
4	Tony Stewart	2203
5	Matt Kenseth	2189

References

1. "Weather of the 2004 Pepsi 400". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
2. "NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Coke Zero 400 Preview". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
3. "TV RATINGS 2004". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
4. "Special Paint Schemes". Jeff Gordon Online. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
5. "Pepsi 400". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
6. "Lap by Lap: Pepsi 400". NASCAR. 2004-07-05. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
7. Rodman, Dave (2004-07-05). "Pepsi 400 a total team effort for Hendrick". NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2004-08-03. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
8. Sulic, Ivan (2005-09-01). "NASCAR 06: Total Team Control". IGN. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
9. "2004 Pepsi 400". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2013-01-06.