| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
 The 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 program cover, featuring the finish of 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch. | |||
| Date | March 21, 2004 | ||
| Official name | Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.366 miles (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 293 laps, 400 mi (644.12 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 293 laps, 400 mi (644.12 km) | ||
| Average speed | 114.001 miles per hour (183.467 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 56,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Evernham Motorsports | ||
| Time | 28.638 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 76 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
The 2004 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 was the fifth stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 49th iteration of the event. The race was held before a crowd of 56,000 on March 21, 2004 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would win the race, leading 69 laps. Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing and Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would take 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Contents
- Background
- Qualifying
- Race
- Pre-race ceremonies
- Race recap
- Post-race driver comments
- Race results
- References
The race would be the last spring Darlington race until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced NASCAR to race at Darlington in the spring, as the Ferko lawsuit would move the second race that Darlington originally had, the Southern 500, to Texas Motor Speedway for a promised second date to Texas. The Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 would therefore move to the fall and be lengthened to 500 miles, making the race the new Southern 500. [1] In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic would make NASCAR race once again at Darlington in the spring, [2] [3] and in 2021 after rekindled fan interest, would announce that Darlington would once again get its spring 400-mile race, this time called the Goodyear 400. [4] [5]
