2004 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500

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.

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway was formerly a oval until 1997, when two doglegs were added and the track became 1.54 miles long and a quad-oval. As of the 2014 season, the track is considered one of 16 intermediate tracks on the Cup schedule.

One week after the plane crash prior to the Subway 500 that killed ten people, six of whom affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports, the four teams replaced their standard hood designs with a decal of the ten people killed.

59 cars were initially entered for the race, the most since the 1999 Daytona 500. After the preliminary list was released, J. J. Yeley, Greg Sacks, Larry Hollenbeck, and Andy Belmont entered the race, while Carl Long and Derrike Cope withdrew. Afterwards, Randy LaJoie replaced Larry Gunselman, and two days later, Cope replaced Stanton Barrett, and Mike Wallace replaced Jimmy Spencer.

Entry list # Driver Team Make 0 Ward Burton Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet 00 Kenny Wallace Michael Waltrip Racing Chevrolet 1 Martin Truex Jr. Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 01 Joe Nemechek MBV Motorsports Chevrolet 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge 02 Hermie Sadler SCORE Motorsports Chevrolet 4 Mike Wallace Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 06 Travis Kvapil Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 9 Kasey Kahne (R) Evernham Motorsports Dodge 09 Johnny Sauter (R) Phoenix Racing Dodge 10 Scott Riggs (R) MBV Motorsports Chevrolet 11 J. J. Yeley Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 12 Ryan Newman Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge 13 Greg Sacks Sacks Motorsports Dodge 14 John Andretti ppc Racing Ford 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Scott Wimmer (R) Bill Davis Racing Dodge 23 Shane Hmiel Bill Davis Racing Dodge 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25 Brian Vickers (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. PPI Motorsports Chevrolet 33 Kerry Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37 Kevin Lepage R&J Racing Dodge 38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 41 Casey Mears Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 43 Jeff Green Petty Enterprises Dodge 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge 50 Todd Bodine Arnold Motorsports Dodge 51 Tony Raines Competitive Edge Motorsports Chevrolet 59 Larry Foyt BAM Racing Dodge 62 Larry Hollenbeck Hollenbeck Motorsports Chevrolet 72 Kirk Shelmerdine Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Ford 77 Brendan Gaughan (R) Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge 80 Andy Belmont Hover Motorsports Ford 84 Kyle Busch Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Dodge 94 Derrike Cope W.W. Motorsports Dodge 96 Randy LaJoie Mach 1 Motorsports Ford 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 98 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Dodge 99 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford

Qualifying Brendan Gaughan went out for qualifying first, and Larry Foyt was the last driver to qualify. Ryan Newman won the pole with a lap time of 28.939 seconds and speed of , his 26th career pole and second straight. 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, Hollenbeck, and Kenny Wallace failed to qualify; Wallace never made an attempt due to a battery failure. 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.

Pos.#DriverMakeTeamTimeAvg. Speed (mph) 1 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 28.939 191.575 2 01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet MBV Motorsports 28.978 191.318 3 38 Elliott Sadler Ford Robert Yates Racing 29.014 191.080 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Roush Racing 29.028 190.988 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford Roush Racing 29.093 190.561 6 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Inc. 29.198 189.876 7 6 Mark Martin Ford Roush Racing 29.219 189.740 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 29.256 189.500 9 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 29.264 189.448 10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 29.290 189.280 11 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Evernham Motorsports 29.307 189.170 12 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 29.361 188.822 13 25 Brian Vickers (R) Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 29.371 188.758 14 31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 29.373 188.745 15 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 29.374 188.738 16 41 Casey Mears Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 29.388 188.648 17 14 John Andretti Ford ppc Racing 29.393 188.616 18 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises 29.398 188.584 19 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 29.443 188.296 20 88 Dale Jarrett Ford Robert Yates Racing 29.456 188.213 21 30 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 29.476 188.085 22 97 Kurt Busch Ford Roush Racing 29.533 187.722 23 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge R&J Racing 29.567 187.505 24 50 Todd Bodine Dodge Arnold Motorsports 29.581 187.418 25 77 Brendan Gaughan (R) Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 29.597 187.316 26 06 Travis Kvapil Dodge Penske-Jasper Racing 29.651 186.975 27 32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet PPI Motorsports 29.663 186.899 28 84 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 29.682 186.780 29 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 29.686 186.755 30 51 Tony Raines Chevrolet Competitive Edge Motorsports 29.721 186.535 31 23 Shane Hmiel Dodge Bill Davis Racing 29.723 186.522 32 9 Kasey Kahne (R) Dodge Evernham Motorsports 29.728 186.491 33 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Inc. 29.735 186.447 34 0 Ward Burton Chevrolet Haas CNC Racing 29.750 186.353 35 43 Jeff Green Dodge Petty Enterprises 29.770 186.228 36 11 J. J. Yeley Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 29.812 185.965 37 49 Ken Schrader Dodge BAM Racing 29.831 185.847 38 98 Bill Elliott Dodge Bill Elliott Racing 29.841 185.785Provisionals 39 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Roush Racing 29.942 185.158 40 15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Inc. 30.447 182.087 41 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 29.877 185.561 42 5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 30.075 184.339 43 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Wood Brothers Racing 30.142 183.929Failed to qualify 44 10 Scott Riggs (R) Chevrolet MBV Motorsports 29.941 185.164 45 22 Scott Wimmer (R) Dodge Bill Davis Racing 30.032 184.603 46 33 Kerry Earnhardt Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 30.063 184.413 47 09 Johnny Sauter (R) Dodge Phoenix Racing 30.169 183.765 48 02 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet SCORE Motorsports 30.223 183.436 49 4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Morgan–McClure Motorsports 30.225 183.424 50 94 Derrike Cope Dodge W.W. Motorsports 30.331 182.783 51 96 Randy LaJoie Ford Mach 1 Motorsports 30.437 182.147 52 13 Greg Sacks Dodge Sacks Motorsports 30.447 182.087 53 59 Larry Foyt Dodge BAM Racing 30.558 181.425 54 72 Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 30.710 180.528 55 89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Shepherd Racing Ventures 31.468 176.179 56 80 Andy Belmont Ford Hover Motorsports 31.581 175.549 57 62 Larry Hollenbeck Chevrolet Hollenbeck Motorsports 32.272 171.790 58 00 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Michael Waltrip Racing 0.000 0.000

Race 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.

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, 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. 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. The win was Johnson's 13th career Cup win, seventh of 2004, first at Atlanta, and third consecutive, making him the first driver to win three straight races since Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon in 1998–1999, and the first to do so in a season since Gordon during the 1998 season. 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.

Race results