The 2004 Grand Prix of Sonoma was the fourth race for the 2004 American Le Mans Series season held at Infineon Raceway. It took place on July 18, 2004.
This race saw Corvette Racing enter a third Corvette C5-R for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and co-driven by Boris Said. The car was successfully qualified but in warm-up the morning of the race, Earnhardt, Jr. went off course and collided with a barrier, causing a rupture of a fuel line. The broken fuel line was sparked when the car came to a stop and caused the car to be engulfed in flames, with Earnhardt, Jr. inside dazed by the accident and unable to get himself out immediately. Once Earnhardt, Jr. was able to become aware of his situation and rescue crews were able to arrive, Earnhardt, Jr. was successfully pulled from the burning vehicle. He received second and third degree burns to his neck, chest, and legs, partially due to not wearing a fire-retardant balaclava with his helmet.
The Corvette C5-R was burned beyond repair and did not race. The Corvette Racing team quickly examined the car and found that there was no design flaw in their fuel system. At the end of the 2004 ALMS season, Corvette Racing restored the car (Chassis No. C5-009) to its 2003 Le Mans specification and sold it to a collector.
Earnhardt, Jr. was forced to return to the Nextel Cup Series unable to complete full races as he underwent treatment, being relieved the next two races by Martin Truex, Jr. and John Andretti.
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).
American Le Mans Series | ||
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Previous race: 2004 New England Grand Prix | 2004 season | Next race: 2004 Portland Grand Prix |
The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual spring showdown Dixie Vodka 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup series.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for NASCAR on NBC. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for his team JR Motorsports. He is the son of Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He is also the grandson of NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt, the brother of Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt and the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt.
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Ronald Charles Fellows CM is a Canadian SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA, and American Le Mans Series driver. Fellows holds the record for most wins by a foreign-born driver in NASCAR's top three series with six – four in Nationwide and two in trucks. He also is a member of the Order of Canada.
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The Chevrolet Corvette C5-R is a grand touring racing car built by Pratt & Miller and Chevrolet for competition in endurance racing. The car is based on the C5 generation of the Chevrolet Corvette sports car, yet is designed purely for motorsports use. It became one of the most successful cars in GT categories, with wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, and 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as championships in the American Le Mans Series. The Corvette C5-Rs debuted in 1999 and continues to be raced to this day in vintage racing events, although the C5-R was effectively replaced by the Corvette C6.R in 2005.
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Andrew Pilgrim is a British-born racing driver, who became a United States citizen in 1998. He has competed in the SCCA World Challenge, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and NASCAR.
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This article documents historical records, statistics, and race recaps of the Daytona 500, held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Marcel Fässler is a Swiss retired racing driver. From 2010 to 2016 he competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship as part of Audi Sport Team Joest with co-drivers André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times and capturing the World Endurance Drivers' Championship in 2012.