The 2004 Samsung/Radio Shock 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the eighth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 4, 2004, before a crowd of 216,000 in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Elliott Sadler of Robert Yates Racing would win in a photo finish against Kasey Kahne of Evernham Motorsports to win his second career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his first win of the season.[1] Sadler would win by 0.028 seconds over Kahne. To fill out the podium, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would finish third.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
 The 2004 Samsung/Radio Shack 500 program cover, with artwork by Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | April 4, 2004 | ||
| Official name | 8th Annual Samsung/Radio Shack 500 | ||
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Average speed | 138.845 miles per hour (223.449 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 216,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 27.849 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kasey Kahne | Evernham Motorsports | |
| Laps | 148 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
Entry list
edit*Withdrew.[2]
Practice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session would occur on Friday, April 2, at 11:20 AM CST and would last for two hours.[2] Casey Mears of Chip Ganassi Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.081 and an average speed of 192.301 miles per hour (309.478 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 28.081 | 192.301 |
| 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 28.092 | 192.226 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.105 | 192.137 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session would occur on Saturday, April 3, at 9:30 AM CST and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Bill Elliott of Evernham Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.759 and an average speed of 187.767 miles per hour (302.182 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 91 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 28.759 | 187.767 |
| 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 28.856 | 187.136 |
| 3 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 28.925 | 186.690 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third and final practice
editThe third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Saturday, April 3, at 11:10 AM CST and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.759 and an average speed of 187.767 miles per hour (302.182 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 28.957 | 186.483 |
| 2 | 23 | Dave Blaney | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 29.003 | 186.188 |
| 3 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 29.124 | 185.414 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, April 2, at 3:00 PM CST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[2] Positions 1-38 would be decided on time, while positions 39-43 would be based on provisionals. Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[6]
Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 27.849 and an average speed of 193.903 miles per hour (312.057 km/h).[7]
Andy Belmont, driving for SCORE Motorsports would crash on his first lap. As the team had already run out of provisionals, Belmont failed to qualify.[8]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Kyle Busch, Morgan Shepherd, Andy Hillenburg, and Andy Belmont.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ "Sadler holds off Kahne in Texas by a nose". ESPN.com. 2004-04-04. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Jayski's® Silly Season Site - 2004 Texas Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2004 Texas Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. April 4, 2004. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2004 Texas Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. April 4, 2004. Archived from the original on April 15, 2004. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2004 Texas Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. April 4, 2004. Archived from the original on April 15, 2004. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "Jayski's® Silly Season Site - Provisional Land Page". 2005-02-05. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
- ^ "Home cooking: Bobby Labonte lands Texas pole". ESPN.com. 2004-04-03. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ^ 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Samsung Radio Shack 500 Bud Pole Qualifying, retrieved 2021-12-12
- ^ "2004 Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-12-12.