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. To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing finished 2nd, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. finished 3rd.
Background
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 #DriverTeamMake0Ward BurtonHaas CNC RacingChevrolet00Carl Long*McGlynn RacingChevrolet01Joe NemechekMBV MotorsportsChevrolet2Rusty WallacePenske-Jasper RacingDodge02Hermie SadlerSCORE MotorsportsChevrolet4Jimmy SpencerMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Mark MartinRoush RacingFord7Dave Blaney**Ultra MotorsportsDodge8Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet9Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge09Tony RainesPhoenix RacingDodge10Scott RiggsMBV MotorsportsChevrolet12Ryan NewmanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge15Michael WaltripDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet16Greg BiffleRoush RacingFord17Matt KensethRoush RacingFord18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet19Jeremy MayfieldEvernham MotorsportsDodge20Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet21Ricky RuddWood Brothers RacingFord22Scott WimmerBill Davis RacingDodge23Dave BlaneyBill Davis RacingDodge24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25Brian VickersHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30Johnny SauterRichard Childress RacingChevrolet31Robby GordonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Ricky CravenPPI MotorsportsChevrolet35Kenny Hendrick**Gary Keller RacingChevrolet37Todd BodineR&J RacingDodge38Elliott SadlerRobert Yates RacingFord40Sterling MarlinChip Ganassi RacingDodge41Casey MearsChip Ganassi RacingDodge42Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingDodge43Jeff GreenPetty EnterprisesDodge45Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodge48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet49Ken SchraderBAM RacingDodge50Mike WallaceArnold MotorsportsDodge51Kevin LepageCompetitive Edge MotorsportsChevrolet52Stan Boyd*Rick Ware RacingDodge72Kirk ShelmerdineKirk Shelmerdine RacingFord77Brendan GaughanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge88Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord89Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesDodge90Kevin Ray*Donlavey RacingFord94Stanton BarrettW. W. MotorsportsChevrolet97Kurt BuschRoush RacingFord98Larry GunselmanMach 1 MotorsportsFord99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFordOfficial entry list *Withdrew due to failing inspection.
**Withdrew for unknown reasons.
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.
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. Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.393 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed119Jeremy MayfieldEvernham MotorsportsDodge22.393160.764212Ryan NewmanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge22.494160.043325Brian VickersHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.578159.447Full 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. Kurt Busch of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.155 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed197Kurt BuschRoush RacingFord23.155155.474219Jeremy MayfieldEvernham MotorsportsDodge23.198155.186341Casey MearsChip Ganassi RacingDodge23.199155.179Full 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. 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.
Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 28.776 and an average speed of .
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. 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.
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Hermie Sadler, Todd Bodine, and Larry Gunselman.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed119Jeremy MayfieldEvernham MotorsportsDodge22.288161.522212Ryan NewmanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge22.410160.643325Brian VickersHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.427160.52142Rusty WallacePenske-Jasper RacingDodge22.470160.214577Brendan GaughanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge22.522159.844638Elliott SadlerRobert Yates RacingFord22.568159.51876Mark MartinRoush RacingFord22.634159.053815Michael WaltripDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet22.673158.779942Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingDodge22.674158.7721020Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet22.679158.7371197Kurt BuschRoush RacingFord22.682158.716129Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge22.685158.6951324Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.688158.6741448Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.698158.6041549Ken SchraderBAM RacingDodge22.710158.5201640Sterling MarlinChip Ganassi RacingDodge22.728158.3951741Casey MearsChip Ganassi RacingDodge22.736158.3391818Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet22.743158.2901943Jeff GreenPetty EnterprisesDodge22.750158.2422094Stanton BarrettW. W. MotorsportsChevrolet22.811157.8192122Scott WimmerBill Davis RacingDodge22.821157.7492299Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord22.844157.5912310Scott RiggsMBV MotorsportsChevrolet22.847157.5702431Robby GordonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet22.885157.308250Ward BurtonHaas CNC RacingChevrolet22.888157.288268Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet22.935156.9652723Dave BlaneyBill Davis RacingDodge22.946156.8902821Ricky RuddWood Brothers RacingFord22.965156.7602988Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord22.989156.5973045Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodge22.997156.5423132Ricky CravenPPI MotorsportsChevrolet23.079155.9863201Joe NemechekMBV MotorsportsChevrolet23.095155.8783329Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet23.096155.871345Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet23.106155.8043509Tony RainesPhoenix RacingDodge23.115155.7433650Mike WallaceArnold MotorsportsDodge23.119155.7163730Johnny SauterRichard Childress RacingChevrolet23.143155.5553851Kevin LepageCompetitive Edge MotorsportsChevrolet23.158155.454Provisionals3917Matt KensethRoush RacingFord23.360154.1104016Greg BiffleRoush RacingFord——414Jimmy SpencerMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet23.283154.6194289Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesDodge23.159155.4474372Kirk ShelmerdineKirk Shelmerdine RacingFord24.925144.433Failed to qualify or withdrew4402Hermie SadlerSCORE MotorsportsChevrolet23.318154.3874537Todd BodineR&J RacingDodge24.308148.0994698Larry GunselmanMach 1 MotorsportsFord——WD00Carl LongMcGlynn RacingChevrolet——WD7Dave BlaneyUltra MotorsportsDodge——WD35Kenny HendrickGary Keller RacingChevrolet——WD52Stan BoydRick Ware RacingDodge——WD90Kevin RayDonlavey RacingFord——Official qualifying results
Race Pole sitter Jeremy Mayfield would lead the first lap of the race. The first caution flew on lap 12 of the race when Casey Mears crashed on the frontstretch. The race restarted on lap 19 with Mayfield leading but was soon passed by Brian Vickers. Mayfield would take the lead back on lap 26. On lap 31, the second caution flew for it being the competition caution. Tony Stewart won the race off of pit road but a majority of cars stayed out including Jeff Burton who led them back to green on lap 38. But on the same lap in turn 2, Elliott Sadler got turned by Kurt Busch and Sadler took out Brendan Gaughan in the process bringing out the third caution. The race restarted on lap 45. On lap 49, Tony Stewart took the lead from Jeff Burton. On lap 108, the fourth caution flew for debris. Stewart won the race off of pit road and led the field to the restart on lap 115. On lap 119, Jeremy Mayfield took the lead from Stewart. Stewart would eventually take the lead back 32 laps later. On lap 158, the 5th caution flew when Joe Nemechek crashed on the frontstretch after he got turned by Terry Labonte. Stewart won the race off of pit road again and would lead the field to the restart on lap 165. The 6th caution would fly on lap 222 when Jeff Gordon blew a right front tire and hit the wall in turn 2. Stewart won the race off of pit road again and led the field to the restart on lap 231. The 7th caution would fly on lap 233 for debris. The race got back underway on lap 238. Green flag pitstops began on lap 314. Stewart gave up the lead after holding onto it for 154 laps to pit and gave it to Jimmie Johnson. Johnson would pit and gave the lead to Ryan Newman. On lap 320, Newman attempted to come down pit road but came in too fast and ended up spinning out and hitting the tire barriers which brought out the 8th caution of the race. The caution period went on for another 25 laps while crews were making repairs to the barrier. The race restarted on lap 346 with Jeremy Mayfield as the leader. Mayfield would be quickly be passed by his teammate Kasey Kahne.
Final laps