2004 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

Note: This article uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia.

The 2004 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 56th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 33rd modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Sunday, January 25, and ended on Sunday, December 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drove a Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., was the RCA Cup champion.

The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was won by Chevrolet when they captured 26 wins and 266 points. Ford finished in second place with 10 wins, and 224 points, while Dodge followed in third with 4 wins and 194 points.

2004 was the first season without Pontiac (though a few Pontiacs without factory support ran several early-season races). It would return for the 2015 season.

It was the last season until 2021 without Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson and the same time before Denny Hamlin joins NASCAR as a driver (he ran the last 7 races in 2005 before joining full-time in 2006).

As 2004 was a leap year, the season had 44 races instead of the now-standard 43.

Teams, drivers, and manufacturers

Manufacturers

Company	Marquee	Model	Status
General Motors	Chevrolet	Monte Carlo LS	Full factory support
		Impala	Full factory support
	Pontiac	Grand Prix	Factory support ended after 2003
Ford Motor Company	Ford-Cosworth	Taurus	Full factory support
		Mustang	Full factory support
		Roush Mustang	In-house variant
Chrysler Corporation	Dodge	Intrepid	Full factory support (final year with support)
		Stratus	Full factory support

Complete schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model	Primary Sponsor
Chevrolet	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	98	Jeremy Mayfield		2004 Impala	General Electric
	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Tony Eury	2004 Monte Carlo	ACDelco
		17	Michael Waltrip			NAPA Auto Parts
		38	Kelley Earnhardt			Pennzoil
	Haas CNC Racing	0	Jason Leffler	Bootie Barker	2004 Monte Carlo	NetZero
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Terry Labonte	Jim Long	2004 Monte Carlo	Kellogg's
		24	Jeff Gordon	Tommy Baldwin Jr.		DuPont
		25	Jack Sprague	Robbie Loomis		Lowe's
		52	Casey Atwood	Chad Knaus		M&M's
	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Dale Jarrett	Michael McSwain	2004 Monte Carlo	Interstate Batteries
		19	Kelly Watson			Circuit City
	MBV Motorsports	01	Joe Nemechek	Ryan Pemberton	2004 Monte Carlo	US Army
		10	Scott Riggs	Doug Randolph		Valvoline
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Clifford Allison	Chris Carrier	2004 Impala	Kodak
	PPI Motorsports	32	Jamie McMurray	Harold Holly	2004 Impala	Nickelodeon
	Richard Childress Racing	3	Dale Earnhardt	Kevin Hamlin	2004 Monte Carlo	GM Goodwrench
		29	Steve Park			AOL
		31	Kevin Harvick			Budweiser
	SFS Racing	14	Tony Stewart	Greg Zipadelli	2004 Impala	Home Depot
Dodge	AK Racing	7	Alan Kulwicki		2004 Intrepid	Walmart
		11	Ernie Irvan			Microsoft
	BAM Racing	49	Ken Schrader	David Hyder	2004 Stratus	Schwan's Home Service
	Bill Davis Racing	22	Bobby Labonte		2004 Intrepid	Caterpillar
		23	Ward Burton	Frank Stoddard		Whelen Engineering
	Chip Ganassi Racing	1	Jimmie Johnson	Lee McCall	2004 Intrepid	UAW-Delphi
		41	Emily Senn	Jimmy Elledge		Target
	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	9	Kasey Kahne (R)		2004 Intrepid	Coors Light
		13	Jerry Nadeau			BellSouth
		94	Casey Elliott			Dodge Dealers
	Moroso-Rudd Racing	82	Rob Moroso		2004 Stratus	Mountain Dew
		83	Ricky Rudd			Tide
		84	Kenny Irwin Jr.			RCA
	Penske Racing	02	Ryan Newman	Matt Borland	2004 Intrepid	Alltel
		2	Rusty Wallace	Bill Wilburn		Miller Lite
		12	Tim Richmond	Peter Sospenzo		Mobil 1
	Petty Enterprises	43	Adam Petty	Gary Putnam	2004 Intrepid	STP
		44	Kyle Petty			Georgia-Pacific
	Team SABCO	40	Shawna Robinson		2004 Intrepid	Kmart
		42	Blaise Alexander			Mello Yello
		45	Patty Moise			Barbie
Ford	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	72	Kirk Shelmerdine	Phil Harris	2004 Mustang	Freddie B's
			Tom Hubert
			Ted Christopher
			Brad Teague
	Orr Motorsports	37	Rodney Orr		2004 Taurus	Craftsman
	Robert Yates Racing	28	Davey Allison		2004 Taurus	Texaco/Havoline
		88	Sterling Marlin	Shawn Parker		UPS
	Roush Racing	6	Mark Martin	Pat Tryson	2004 Roush Taurus	Pfizer/Viagra
		16	Greg Biffle	Doug Richert		National Guard
		60	Matt Kenseth	Robbie Reiser		DeWalt Tools
		97	Kurt Busch	Jimmy Fennig		Rubbermaid/Sharpie
		99	Jeff Burton	Paul Andrews		SKF
	Steele-Favre Racing	15	Tim Steele		2004 Taurus	Nike/Sony
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Elliott Sadler	Michael McSwain	2004 Taurus	Motorcraft

Limited schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model
Chevrolet	Bill McAnally Racing	61	Austin Cameron	Doug George	2003 Impala
	Brewco Motorsports	27	David Green		2004 Monte Carlo
	Competitive Edge Motorsports	51	Kevin Lepage		2002 Camaro
			Tony Raines
	Conley Racing	79	Stan Boyd		2003 Monte Carlo
	Gary Keller Racing	135	Mike Wallace		2003 Impala
			Kenny Hendrick
	GIC-Mixon Motorsports	93	Geoff Bodine		2004 Impala
	Haas CNC Racing	160	Jason Leffler		2004 Monte Carlo
	Hendrick Motorsports	57	Kyle Busch	Gary DeHart	2004 Monte Carlo
			Ricky Hendrick
	Hollenbeck Motorsports	62	Larry Hollenbeck		2003 Impala
	Joe Gibbs Racing	20	J.J. Yeley	Doug Hewiit	2004 Monte Carlo
			Ricky Craven
		180	Mike Bliss
	MB2 Motorsports	36	Boris Said		2004 Monte Carlo
	Michael Waltrip Racing	00	Kenny Wallace		2004 Monte Carlo
	McGlynn Racing		Ryan McGlynn		2003 Monte Carlo
			Carl Long
		08	Ryan McGlynn
			Carl Long
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	04	Eric McClure		2004 Monte Carlo
Dodge	Arnold Motorsports	150	Derrike Cope	Mike Hillman	2003 Intrepid
			Mike Wallace
			P.J. Jones
			Todd Bodine
			Jeff Fuller
	BAM Racing	59	Klaus Graf		2004 Stratus
			Larry Foyt
		170
	Chip Ganassi Racing	139	Scott Pruett		2004 Intrepid
	Donlavey Racing	90	Andy Hillenburg	Junie Donlavey	2004 Stratus
			Kevin Ray
			A.J. Henriksen
	Evernham Motorsports	91	Bill Elliott	Sammy Johns	2004 Intrepid
	Gary Trout Autosports	34	Geoff Bodine		2003 Intrepid
	Glenn Racing	47	Carl Long		2003 Stratus
	Haefele Racing	75	Mike Garvey		2003 Intrepid
	Penske-Jasper Racing	106	Chad Blount	Roy McCauley	2004 Intrepid
			Travis Kvapil
	Phoenix Racing	09	Johnny Benson	Jerry Pitts	2004 Stratus
			Joe Ruttman
			Bobby Hamilton Jr.
			Tony Raines
			Scott Pruett
			Mike Wallace
			Johnny Sauter
	R&J Racing	137	Todd Bodine	Billy Poindexter	2002 Stratus
			Chad Blount
			Kevin Lepage
			Andy Hillenburg
			Stanton Barrett
	Sacks Motorsports	13	Greg Sacks		2003 Stratus
	Shepherd Racing Ventures	89	Morgan Shepherd	Troy Kelly Darin Kummrow Terry Allen	2004 Intrepid
	Ultra Motorsports	107	Jimmy Spencer	Bob Temple	2004 Intrepid
			Dave Blaney
	Ware Racing Enterprises	52	Stanton Barrett		2004 Stratus
	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	14	Larry Foyt	Keith Koppenal Dave Charpentier	2004 Intrepid
Ford	ppc Racing		John Andretti		2004 Taurus
	Front Row Motorsports	92	Brad Teague		2004 Mustang
			Tony Raines
			Stanton Barrett
	Harrah Racing	78	Jeff Fultz		2004 Taurus
	Hover Motorsports	180	Andy Hillenburg	Stan Hover	2003 Taurus
			Randy LaJoie
			Carl Long
			Tony Ave
			Ted Christopher
			Derrike Cope
			Mario Gosselin
			Andy Belmont
Pontiac	Andy Belmont Racing	59	Andy Belmont		2003 Grand Prix
Dodge Chevrolet	Mach 1 Motorsports	96	Larry Gunselman	Mike Steurer	2003 Monte Carlo 2003 Intrepid
			Derrike Cope
			Randy LaJoie
		198	Larry Gunselman	Mike Steurer Sammy Johns
			Todd Bodine
			Geoff Bodine
			Bill Elliott
			Derrike Cope
			Chad Chaffin
			Randy LaJoie
Chevrolet Ford Pontiac	SCORE Motorsports	102	Carl Long	Ernie Cope Ed Ash Jeff Buckner	2003 Monte Carlo 2003 Taurus 2003 Grand Prix
			Andy Belmont
			Hermie Sadler
			Derrike Cope
			Brandon Ash
			Jason Jarrett
Chevrolet Dodge Ford	W.W. Motorsports	94	Stanton Barrett	Terry Allen	2004 Monte Carlo 2004 Taurus 2004 Intrepid
			Derrike Cope
			Brad Teague

Schedule

No.	Race title	Track	Date	TV
1	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway, Sonoma	January 25	WBC
	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 7	WBC
	Gatorade 125s		February 12	WBC
2	Daytona 500		February 15	WBC
3	Subway 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham	February 22	WBC
4	San Jose 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	February 29	WBC
5	UAW-Dodge 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas	March 7	ESPN
6	Golden Corral 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton	March 14	ESPN
7	Carolina Dodge Dealers 400	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	March 21	ESPN
8	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	March 28	TNN
9	Texas 400	Texas World Speedway, College Station	April 4	WBC
10	Advanced Auto Parts 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	April 11	TNN
11	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	April 18	WBC
12	Auto Club 500	California Speedway, Fontana	April 25	WBC
13	Chevy American Revolution 400	Richmond International Speedway, Richmond	May 1	TNN
14	Diet Coke 500	Denver International Speedway, Denver	May 9	WBC
15	Coors 400	Pikes Peak International Speedway, Fountain	May 15	TNN
	RCA Open	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord	May 22	TNN
	RCA All-Star Challenge XX			WBC
16	Coca-Cola 600		May 30	WBC
17	MBNA America 400 "A Salute to Heroes"	Dover International Speedway, Dover	June 6	TNN
18	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis	June 13	ESPN
19	Dodge Magnum 400	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth	June 20	WBC
20	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Speedway, Riverside	June 27	WBC
21	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	July 3	WBC
22	Meijer 400	Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero	July 11	ESPN
23	Music City USA 420	Music City Motorplex, Nashville	July 18	TNN
24	Siemens 300	New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon	July 25	WBC
25	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond	August 1	ESPN
26	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway	August 8	WBC
27	Sirius at The Glen	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen	August 15	TNN
28	GFS Marketplace 400	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	August 22	TNN
29	Sharpie 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	August 28	TNN
30	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	September 5	WBC
31	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond	September 11	TNN
32	Tyson Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	September 19	WBC
33	MBNA America 400	Dover International Speedway, Dover	September 26	TNN
34	EA Sports 500	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	October 3	WBC
35	Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City	October 10	ESPN
36	UAW-GM Quality 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord	October 17	WBC
37	Subway 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	October 24	TNN
38	Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton	October 31	ESPN
39	Checker Auto Parts 500	Phoenix International Speedway, Avondale	November 7	TNN
40	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham	November 14	TNN
41	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead	November 21	WBC
42	Apple iPod 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	November 28	WBC
43	Sprite 500	Denver International Speedway, Denver	December 5	WBC
44	Los Angeles Times 500	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario	December 12	WBC

Results

No.	Race	Pole Position	Most Laps Led	Winner	Make/Model
1	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Boris Said	Bobby Labonte	Mark Martin	Roush Mustang
	Budweiser Shootout	Jeremy Mayfield	Terry Labonte	Davey Allison	Ford Taurus
	Gatorade 125 #1	Greg Biffle	Greg Biffle	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	Gatorade 125 #2	Elliott Sadler	Elliott Sadler	Elliott Sadler	Ford Taurus
2	Daytona 500	Greg Biffle	Tony Stewart	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3	Subway 400	Ryan Newman	Matt Kenseth	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
4	San Jose 500	Kasey Kahne	Rodney Orr	Tim Steele	Ford Taurus
5	UAW-Dodge 400	Kasey Kahne	Matt Kenseth	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
6	Golden Corral 500	Ryan Newman	Tony Stewart	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7	Carolina Dodge Dealers 400	Kasey Kahne	Kurt Busch	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
8	Food City 500	Ryan Newman	Kurt Busch	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
9	Texas 400	Bobby Labonte	Kasey Kahne	Elliott Sadler	Ford Taurus
10	Advanced Auto Parts 500	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Rusty Wallace	Dodge Intrepid
11	Aaron's 499	Ricky Rudd	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
12	Auto Club 500	Kasey Kahne	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
13	Chevy American Revolution 400	Brian Vickers	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
14	Diet Coke 500	Ricky Rudd	Kasey Kahne	Clifford Allison	Ford Taurus
15	Coors 400	Michael Waltrip	Ryan Newman	Casey Elliott	Dodge Intrepid
	RCA Open	Dave Blaney	Jamie McMurray	Sterling Marlin	Dodge Intrepid
	RCA All-Star Challenge XX	Rusty Wallace	Ryan Newman	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
16	Coca-Cola 600	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Adam Petty	Dodge Intrepid
17	MBNA America 400 "A Salute to Heroes"	Jeremy Mayfield	Tony Stewart	Mark Martin	Roush Mustang
18	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	Kasey Kahne	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
19	Dodge Magnum 400	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Tim Richmond	Dodge Intrepid
20	Budweiser 400	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
21	Pepsi 400	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
22	Meijer 400	Jeff Gordon	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
23	Music City 420	Mark Martin	Greg Biffle	Adam Petty	Dodge Intrepid
24	Siemens 400	Ryan Newman	Ryan Newman	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
25	Pennsylvania 500	Casey Mears	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
26	Brickyard 400	Casey Mears	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
27	Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen	Jimmie Johnson	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
28	GFS Marketplace 400	Jimmie Johnson	Greg Biffle	Greg Biffle	Roush Mustang
29	Sharpie 500	Jeff Gordon	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
30	Southern 500	Brian Vickers	Mark Martin	Elliott Sadler	Ford Taurus
31	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Ryan Newman	Jeremy Mayfield	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
32	Tyson Holly Farms 400	Jeff Gordon	Kurt Busch	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
33	MBNA America 400	Jeremy Mayfield	Jeremy Mayfield	Ryan Newman	Dodge Intrepid
34	EA Sports 500	Joe Nemechek	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
35	Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods	Joe Nemechek	Jeremy Mayfield	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
36	UAW-GM Quality 500	Ryan Newman	Kasey Kahne	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
37	Subway 500	Ryan Newman	Kurt Busch	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
38	Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500	Ryan Newman	Mark Martin	Adam Petty	Dodge Intrepid
39	Checker Auto Parts 500	Ryan Newman	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
40	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Kurt Busch	Jeff Gordon	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Mone Carlo
41	Ford 400	Kurt Busch	Greg Biffle	Greg Biffle	Roush Mustang
42	Apple iPod 500	Dale Earnhardt	Adam Petty	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
43	Sprite 500	Joe Nemechek	Elliott Sadler	Davey Allison	Ford Taurus
44	Los Angeles Times 500	Tony Stewart	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Cars Used in 2004 (incomplete)

Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Ford Taurus

Dodge Stratus

Dodge Intrepid (final year)

Pontiac Grand Prix (no factory support)