The 2004 Checker Auto Parts 500 was the 34th stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, the eighth race of the 2004 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and the 17th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 7, 2004, before a crowd of 105,000 in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race was extended from its scheduled 312 laps to 315 due to a green–white–checker finish. On the final restart, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. would hold off the field on the final restart to win his 15th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his sixth and final win of the season. To fill out the podium, Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing and Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Phoenix International Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Entry list #DriverTeamMakeSponsor0Ward BurtonHaas CNC RacingChevroletNetZero Hi Speed00Ryan McGlynnMcGlynn RacingChevroletHowes Lubricator, Buyer's Choice Auto Warranties01Joe NemechekMBV MotorsportsChevroletU. S. Army2Rusty WallacePenske-Jasper RacingDodgeMiller Lite02Hermie SadlerSCORE MotorsportsChevroletTreasure Island Hotel and Casino4Mike WallaceMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletLucas Oil, Love's5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's, The Incredibles6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordViagra8Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletBudweiser9Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodgeDodge Dealers, UAW09Johnny SauterPhoenix RacingDodgeMiccosukee Resort & Gaming10Scott RiggsMBV MotorsportsChevroletValvoline12Ryan NewmanPenske-Jasper RacingDodgeAlltel TXT2WINMVP 14John Andrettippc RacingFordA-Plus, VB15Michael WaltripDale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletNAPA Auto Parts16Greg BiffleRoush RacingFordNational Guard17Matt KensethRoush RacingFordDeWalt Power Tools18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries19Jeremy MayfieldEvernham MotorsportsDodgeDodge Dealers, UAW20Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletThe Home Depot21Ricky RuddWood Brothers RacingFordMotorcraft22Scott WimmerBill Davis RacingDodgeCaterpillar24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletDuPont "Always In Our Hearts"25Brian VickersHendrick MotorsportsChevroletGMAC Financial Services "Always In Our Hearts"29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench30Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevroletAmerica Online31Robby GordonRichard Childress RacingChevroletCingular Wireless32Bobby Hamilton Jr.PPI MotorsportsChevroletTide, The Incredibles37Kevin LepageR&J RacingDodgeR&J Racing38Elliott SadlerRobert Yates RacingFordPedigree40Sterling MarlinChip Ganassi RacingDodgeCoors Light, U.S. Marine Corps41Casey MearsChip Ganassi RacingDodgeTarget42Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingDodgeTexaco, Havoline43Jeff GreenPetty EnterprisesDodgeCheerios, Betty Crocker45Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodgeGeorgia-Pacific Brawny48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletLowe's "Always In Our Hearts"49Ken SchraderBAM RacingDodgeSchwan's Home Service50Todd BodineArnold MotorsportsDodgeArnold Motorsports51Tony RainesCompetitive Edge MotorsportsChevroletMarathon Oil72Kirk ShelmerdineKirk Shelmerdine RacingFordFreddie B's75Mike GarveyHaefele RacingDodgeJani-King77Brendan GaughanPenske-Jasper RacingDodgeKodak80Mario GosselinHover MotorsportsFordHover Motorsports88Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFordUPS89Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesDodgeRacing with Jesus "Keep The Passion Going"93Geoff BodineGIC–Mixon MotorsportsChevroletQuality Plus Services94Stanton BarrettW. W. MotorsportsFordW. W. Motorsports97Kurt BuschRoush RacingFordIrwin Industrial Tools98Randy LaJoieMach 1 MotorsportsFordAiraid99Carl EdwardsRoush RacingFordRoush RacingOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice The first practice session was held on Friday, November 5, at 9:20 AM PST, and would last for two hours. Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 26.697 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed112Ryan NewmanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge26.697134.847229Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet26.950133.58139Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge26.955133.556Full first practice results
Second practice The second practice session was held on Saturday, November 6, at 8:30 AM PST, and would last for 45 minutes. Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 27.526 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed117Matt KensethRoush RacingFord27.526130.785229Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.559130.629397Kurt BuschRoush RacingFord27.578130.539Full second practice results
Third and final practice The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, November 6, at 10:10 AM PST, and would last for 45 minutes. Robby Gordon of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 27.626 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed131Robby GordonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.626130.31229Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge27.754129.71132Rusty WallacePenske-Jasper RacingDodge27.786129.562Full Happy Hour practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Friday, November 5, at 1:10 PM PST. 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.
Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 14.930 and an average speed of .
Seven drivers failed to qualify: Mike Garvey, Tony Raines, Stanton Barrett, Mario Gosselin, Ryan McGlynn, Kirk Shelmerdine, and Geoff Bodine.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed112Ryan NewmanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge26.499135.854225Brian VickersHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26.890133.879301Joe NemechekMBV MotorsportsChevrolet26.937133.64549Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge26.950133.581529Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet26.979133.437620Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet26.980133.432741Casey MearsChip Ganassi RacingDodge27.006133.304824Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.044133.116938Elliott SadlerRobert Yates RacingFord27.045133.1111042Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingDodge27.050133.0871110Scott RiggsMBV MotorsportsChevrolet27.068132.9981243Jeff GreenPetty EnterprisesDodge27.088132.9001348Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.093132.876148Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet27.101132.836152Rusty WallacePenske-Jasper RacingDodge27.126132.7141617Matt KensethRoush RacingFord27.160132.5481731Robby GordonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.165132.5231849Ken SchraderBAM RacingDodge27.172132.4891915Michael WaltripDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet27.183132.4362030Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet27.219132.2612114John Andrettippc RacingFord27.237132.173226Mark MartinRoush RacingFord27.251132.1052316Greg BiffleRoush RacingFord27.261132.0572419Jeremy MayfieldEvernham MotorsportsDodge27.280131.9652521Ricky RuddWood Brothers RacingFord27.309131.8252688Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord27.318131.7812718Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet27.324131.7522897Kurt BuschRoush RacingFord27.340131.6752999Carl EdwardsRoush RacingFord27.347131.6413009Johnny SauterPhoenix RacingDodge27.394131.416315Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27.406131.3583232Bobby Hamilton Jr.PPI MotorsportsChevrolet27.435131.219344Mike WallaceMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet27.453131.1333345Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodge27.481131.0003540Sterling MarlinChip Ganassi RacingDodge27.524130.7953650Todd BodineArnold MotorsportsDodge27.539130.7243737Kevin LepageR&J RacingDodge27.574130.5583822Scott WimmerBill Davis RacingDodge27.603130.421Provisionals390Ward BurtonHaas CNC RacingChevrolet27.684130.0394077Brendan GaughanPenske-Jasper RacingDodge27.630130.2934198Randy LaJoieMach 1 MotorsportsFord27.664130.1334202Hermie SadlerSCORE MotorsportsChevrolet27.995128.5944389Morgan ShepherdShepherd Racing VenturesDodge28.147127.900Failed to qualify4475Mike GarveyHaefele RacingDodge27.625130.3174551Tony RainesCompetitive Edge MotorsportsChevrolet27.662130.1424694Stanton BarrettW. W. MotorsportsFord27.927128.9084780Mario GosselinHover MotorsportsFord28.123128.0094800Ryan McGlynnMcGlynn RacingChevrolet28.218127.5784972Kirk ShelmerdineKirk Shelmerdine RacingFord——5093Geoff BodineGIC–Mixon MotorsportsChevrolet——Official qualifying results
Race results