2004 MBNA America 400 "A Salute to Heroes"
Race details | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 13 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
The 2004 MBNA America 400 program cover, honoring the 60th anniversary of D-Day. The 2004 MBNA America 400 program cover, honoring the 60th anniversary of D-Day. | |||
Date | June 6, 2004 | ||
Official name | 36th Annual MBNA America 400 "A Salute to Heroes" | ||
Location | Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
Distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
Average speed | 97.042 miles per hour (156.174 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 140,000 | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Evernham Motorsports | ||
Time | 22.288 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
Laps | 234 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | FX | ||
Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | Motor Racing Network |
The 2004 MBNA America 400 "A Salute to Heroes" was the 13th stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 36th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 6, 2004, before a crowd of 140,000 in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Mark Martin of Roush Racing would survive through a wreck-fest to win his 34th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win, his first of the season, and would break a 72-race losing streak.[1] To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Dover_International_Speedway.svg/300px-Dover_International_Speedway.svg.png)
Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
Entry list
*Withdrew due to failing inspection.[2]
**Withdrew due to unknown reasons.[2]
Practice
There were three scheduled practices to occur, with one on Friday and two on Saturday. However, the first practice on Saturday would be canceled to rain, so only two practices were held.[2]
First practice
The first practice session would occur on Friday, June 4, at 11:05 AM EST and would last for one hour and 55 minutes.[2] Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.393 and an average speed of 160.764 miles per hour (258.725 km/h).[3]
Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 22.393 | 160.764 |
2 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske-Jasper Racing | Dodge | 22.494 | 160.043 |
3 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.578 | 159.447 |
Full first practice results |
Second and final practice
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Saturday, July 24, at 11:10 AM EST and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Kurt Busch of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.155 and an average speed of 155.474 miles per hour (250.211 km/h).[4]
Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 23.155 | 155.474 |
2 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 23.198 | 155.186 |
3 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 23.199 | 155.179 |
Full Happy Hour practice results |
Qualifying
Qualifying would occur on Friday, June 4, at 2:30 PM EST. 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.[5]
Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 28.776 and an average speed of 132.360 miles per hour (213.013 km/h).[6]
Two crashes would occur in qualifying. First, Greg Biffle would hit the wall coming out of the second turn on his first lap, causing Biffle to not make a lap and forcing the team to qualify on a provisional.[7] Then, Michael Waltrip would spin and slam the wall on the second lap, causing Waltrip to go to a backup car and start at the rear for the race.[8]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Hermie Sadler, Todd Bodine, and Larry Gunselman.
Full qualifying results
Race results
References
- ^ Pearce, Al (2004-06-13). "Last Man Standing: Mark Martin wins MBNA 400 at Dover". Autoweek. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ^ a b c d e f "Jayski's® Silly Season Site - 2004 Dover 1 Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2004 Dover 1 Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. 2004-06-06. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2004 Dover 1 Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. 2004-06-06. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ^ "Jayski's® Silly Season Site - Provisional Land Page". 2005-02-05. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
- ^ "Mayfield grabs Dover pole". Autosport. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ^ 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series MBNA America 400 Bud Pole Qualifying, retrieved 2021-12-22
- ^ Michael Waltrip Dover Crash, retrieved 2021-12-22
- ^ "2004 MBNA America 400 "A Salute to Heroes" - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.