2004 IndyCar Series

2004 IndyCar season
IndyCar Series
Season
Races	16
Start date	February 29
End date	October 17
Awards
Drivers' champion	Tony Kanaan
Manufacturers' Cup	Honda
Rookie of the Year	Kosuke Matsuura
Indianapolis 500 winner	Buddy Rice
←  2003 2005  →

Tony Kanaan (left) won his first Drivers' Championship while Dan Wheldon (right) finished second in the championship.

The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series was dominated by two teams, Andretti Green Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing. While there was great parity in 2003 between Honda and Toyota powered teams, in 2004 Honda began to outshine Toyota bringing their teams Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing down with it, leaving Scott Dixon winless and in 10th place in his attempt to defend his 2003 championship.

Season champion Tony Kanaan set a record by completing all 3,305 possible laps, the first IndyCar driver in modern history to do so.

This season was the last to feature an all oval tracks schedule, which was part of the concept that led to the creation of the Indy Racing League. By 2005, road and street courses started to appear in the schedule by a mainstream scheduling method, and by 2015, there were more races run on road/street courses than on oval tracks.

Changes for 2004

• The engine displacement for all IndyCar Series cars was reduced from 3.5 litres (214 cubic inches) to 3.0 litres (183 cubic inches) starting from the 2004 Indianapolis 500 in an effort to reduce speeds and ensure safer and exciting racing. The 3.5 litres (214 cubic inches) engine displacement was used at the first three races of the season but a 3-inch by 12-inch slot was cut into the airbox and engine cover, behind the driver's head. The slot decreased positive airflow to the engine, reducing horsepower as well as reducing overall speeds. ^[1]

Confirmed entries

Team	Chassis	Engine	No.	Drivers	Rounds
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Toyota	14	A. J. Foyt IV	All
	G-Force		41	Larry Foyt (R)	4
Access Motorsports	G-Force	Honda	13	Greg Ray	1–6
				Mark Taylor (R)	8–16
Aguri-Fernández Racing	G-Force	Honda	5	Adrián Fernández	2–16
			55	Kosuke Matsuura (R)	All
Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	7	Bryan Herta	All
			11	Tony Kanaan	All
			26	Dan Wheldon	All
			27	Dario Franchitti	All
CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports	Dallara	Chevrolet	98	P. J. Jones	4
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	24	Robbie Buhl	1–3
				Felipe Giaffone	4–16
Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	91	Buddy Lazier	4
Kelley Racing	Dallara	Toyota	8	Scott Sharp	All
			39	Sarah Fisher	4
Marlboro Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota	3	Hélio Castroneves	All
			6	Sam Hornish Jr.	All
Newman/Haas Racing	G-Force	Honda	36	Bruno Junqueira	4
Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	2	Mark Taylor (R)	1–6
				Townsend Bell	7–16
			4	Tomas Scheckter	All
Patrick Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	20	Al Unser Jr.	4–6
				Jeff Simmons (R)	7
				Jaques Lazier	8–14
				Tomáš Enge (R)	15–16
PDM Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	18	Robby McGehee	4
Pioneer Mo Nunn Racing	Dallara	Toyota	12	Toranosuke Takagi	All
			21	Jeff Simmons (R)	4
Rahal Letterman Racing	G-Force	Honda	15	Buddy Rice	All
			16	Roger Yasukawa	3–4
			17	Vítor Meira	3–16
Red Bull Cheever Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	51	Alex Barron	All
			52	Ed Carpenter (R)	All
Robby Gordon Motorsports	Dallara	Chevrolet	70	Robby Gordon	4
				Jaques Lazier [N 1]
Roth Racing	Dallara	Toyota	25	Marty Roth (R)	4
Sam Schmidt Motorsports	G-Force	Toyota	33	Richie Hearn	4
Target Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Toyota	1	Scott Dixon	All
			10	Darren Manning	1–15

Schedule

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Track	City
1	February 29	Toyota Indy 300	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida
2	March 21	Copper World Indy 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona
3	April 17	Indy Japan 300	Twin Ring Motegi	Motegi, Japan
4	May 30	88th Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana
5	June 12	Bombardier 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
6	June 26	SunTrust Indy Challenge	Richmond International Raceway	Richmond, Virginia
7	July 4	Argent Mortgage 300	Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas
8	July 17	Firestone Indy 200	Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee
9	July 25	Menards A. J. Foyt 225	The Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
10	August 1	Michigan Indy 400	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
11	August 15	Belterra Casino Indy 300	Kentucky Speedway	Sparta, Kentucky
12	August 22	Honda Indy 225	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado
13	August 29	Firestone Indy 225	Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth, Pennsylvania
14	September 12	Delphi Indy 300	Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet, Illinois
15	October 3	Toyota Indy 400	California Speedway	Fontana, California
16	October 17	Chevy 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
Source: [2]

Results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race winner
					Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
1	Homestead	Buddy Rice	Sam Hornish Jr.	Hélio Castroneves	Sam Hornish Jr.	Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota
2	Phoenix	Dan Wheldon	Darren Manning	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
3	Motegi	Dan Wheldon	Dan Wheldon	Dan Wheldon	Dan Wheldon	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
4	Indianapolis	Buddy Rice	Vítor Meira	Buddy Rice	Buddy Rice	Rahal Letterman Racing	G-Force	Honda
5	Texas 1	Dario Franchitti	Vítor Meira	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
6	Richmond	Hélio Castroneves	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dario Franchitti	Dan Wheldon	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
7	Kansas	Buddy Rice	Tomas Scheckter	Buddy Rice	Buddy Rice	Rahal Letterman Racing	G-Force	Honda
8	Nashville	Buddy Rice	Vítor Meira	Vítor Meira	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
9	Milwaukee	Vítor Meira	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
10	Michigan	Tony Kanaan	Darren Manning	Tony Kanaan	Buddy Rice	Rahal Letterman Racing	G-Force	Honda
11	Kentucky	Buddy Rice	Vítor Meira	Tony Kanaan	Adrián Fernández	Fernández Racing	G-Force	Honda
12	Pikes Peak	Tony Kanaan	Dan Wheldon	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
13	Nazareth	Hélio Castroneves	Sam Hornish Jr.	Hélio Castroneves	Dan Wheldon	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
14	Chicagoland	Hélio Castroneves	Vítor Meira	Adrián Fernández	Adrián Fernández	Fernández Racing	G-Force	Honda
15	Fontana	Hélio Castroneves	Vítor Meira	Hélio Castroneves	Adrián Fernández	Fernández Racing	G-Force	Honda
16	Texas 2	Hélio Castroneves	Bryan Herta	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota

BOLD indicates Superspeedways. Note: All races ran on Ovals/Speedways.

Season report

Toyota Indy 300

This race was held at Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 29. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 6- Sam Hornish Jr.
2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 12- Tora Takagi
5. 4- Tomas Scheckter
6. 10- Darren Manning
7. 15- Buddy Rice
8. 11- Tony Kanaan
9. 8- Scott Sharp
10. 24- Robbie Buhl

Copper World Indy 200

This race was held at Phoenix International Raceway on March 21. Dan Wheldon won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 11- Tony Kanaan
2. 1- Scott Dixon
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 51- Alex Barron
5. 10- Darren Manning
6. 3- Hélio Castroneves
7. 7- Bryan Herta
8. 12- Tora Takagi
9. 15- Buddy Rice
10. 13- Greg Ray

Indy Japan 300

This race was held at Twin Ring Motegi on April 17. This was Honda's first win in the annual oval race held at their own track. Dan Wheldon won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
4. 10- Darren Manning
5. 1- Scott Dixon
6. 15- Buddy Rice
7. 27- Dario Franchitti
8. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
9. 8- Scott Sharp
10. 12- Tora Takagi

88th Indianapolis 500

The 88th Indianapolis 500-mile (800 km) race was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30. Buddy Rice sat on pole. The race was shortened to 180 laps (450 miles) due to rain.

Top ten results

1. 15- Buddy Rice
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 7- Bryan Herta
5. 36- Bruno Junqueira
6. 17- Vítor Meira
7. 5- Adrián Fernández
8. 1- Scott Dixon
9. 3- Hélio Castroneves
10. 16- Roger Yasukawa

Bombardier 500

This race was held at Texas Motor Speedway on June 12. Dario Franchitti won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 11- Tony Kanaan
2. 27- Dario Franchitti
3. 51- Alex Barron
4. 6- Sam Hornish Jr.
5. 5- Adrián Fernández
6. 17- Vítor Meira
7. 13- Greg Ray
8. 10- Darren Manning
9. 24- Felipe Giaffone
10. 12- Tora Takagi

SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held at Richmond International Raceway on June 26. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 17- Vítor Meira
3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
4. 7- Bryan Herta
5. 11- Tony Kanaan
6. 15- Buddy Rice
7. 5- Adrián Fernández
8. 1- Scott Dixon
9. 8- Scott Sharp
10. 24- Felipe Giaffone

Argent Mortgage 300

This race was held at Kansas Speedway on July 4. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 15- Buddy Rice
2. 17- Vítor Meira
3. 11- Tony Kanaan
4. 27- Dario Franchitti
5. 7- Bryan Herta
6. 5- Adrián Fernández
7. 3- Hélio Castroneves
8. 6- Sam Hornish Jr.
9. 26- Dan Wheldon
10. 51- Alex Barron

Firestone Indy 200

This race was held at Nashville Superspeedway on July 17. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 11- Tony Kanaan
2. 6- Sam Hornish Jr.
3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
4. 10- Darren Manning
5. 2- Townsend Bell
6. 15- Buddy Rice
7. 13- Mark Taylor
8. 1- Scott Dixon
9. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
10. 5- Adrián Fernández

Menards A. J. Foyt 225

This race was held at the Milwaukee Mile on July 25. Vítor Meira won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 27- Dario Franchitti
2. 15- Buddy Rice
3. 6- Sam Hornish Jr.
4. 11- Tony Kanaan
5. 17- Vítor Meira
6. 2- Townsend Bell
7. 51- Alex Barron
8. 5- Adrián Fernández
9. 7- Bryan Herta
10. 55- Kosuke Matsuura

Michigan Indy 400

This race was held at Michigan International Speedway on August 1. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 15- Buddy Rice
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 6- Sam Hornish Jr.
5. 17- Vítor Meira
6. 7- Bryan Herta
7. 1- Scott Dixon
8. 2- Townsend Bell
9. 8- Scott Sharp
10. 3- Hélio Castroneves

Belterra Casino Indy 300

This race was held at Kentucky Speedway on August 15. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 5- Adrián Fernández
2. 15- Buddy Rice
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
5. 11- Tony Kanaan
6. 27- Dario Franchitti
7. 17- Vítor Meira
8. 52- Ed Carpenter
9. 7- Bryan Herta
10. 10- Darren Manning

Honda Indy 225

This race was held at Pikes Peak International Raceway on August 22. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 27- Dario Franchitti
2. 5- Adrián Fernández
3. 6- Dan Wheldon
4. 10- Darren Manning
5. 11- Tony Kanaan
6. 3- Hélio Castroneves
7. 17- Vítor Meira
8. 20- Jaques Lazier
9. 7- Bryan Herta
10. 51- Alex Barron

Firestone Indy 225

This race was held at Nazareth Speedway on August 29. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. The race was heralded as the series' 100th event. This was also the final IndyCar race at the track which closed down following this race.

Top ten results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 27- Dario Franchitti
4. 15- Buddy Rice
5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
6. 10- Darren Manning
7. 5- Adrián Fernández
8. 7- Bryan Herta
9. 1- Scott Dixon
10. 17- Vítor Meira

Delphi Indy 300

This race was held at Chicagoland Speedway on September 12. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. This race was memorable due to a scary crash involving Buddy Rice with 15 laps remaining as he slid down the backstretch upside down. Adrián Fernández won the race, despite having a broken on-board pneumatic air jack. His pit crew had to use a manual jack to service his car during pit stops, losing several seconds each time.

Top ten results

1. 5- Adrián Fernández 200 laps in 2:09:31.3301
2. 7- Bryan Herta +0.0716
3. 11- Tony Kanaan +0.1239
4. 26- Dan Wheldon +0.2464
5. 17- Vítor Meira +0.4873
6. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +0.5402
7. 1- Scott Dixon +0.6109
8. 24- Felipe Giaffone +1.1137
9. 8- Scott Sharp +1.1878
10. 3- Hélio Castroneves +1.2595

Toyota Indy 400

This race was held at California Speedway on October 3. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 5- Adrián Fernández
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 6- Sam Hornish Jr.
5. 15- Buddy Rice
6. 27- Dario Franchitti
7. 3- Hélio Castroneves
8. 1- Scott Dixon
9. 2- Townsend Bell
10. 13- Mark Taylor

This was Adrián Fernández's final IndyCar victory.

By finishing in 2nd, Tony Kannan clinched the championship with 1 race remaining.

Chevy 500

This race was held at Texas Motor Speedway on October 17. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 3- Hélio Castroneves
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 17- Vítor Meira
5. 5- Adrián Fernández
6. 1- Scott Dixon
7. 13- Mark Taylor
8. 8- Scott Sharp
9. 2- Townsend Bell
10. 14- A. J. Foyt IV

Points standings

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems

Pos Driver HOM PHX MOT INDY TMS1 RIC KAN NSS MIL MIS KEN PPR NAZ CHI CAL TMS2 Pts 1 Tony Kanaan 8 1* 2 2 1* 5 3 1 4 2* 5* 5 2 3 2 2 618 2 Dan Wheldon 3 3 1* 3 13 1 9 13 18 3 3 3 1 4 3 3 533 3 Buddy Rice 7 9 6 1* 15 6 1* 6 2 1 2 22 4 14 5 20 485 4 Hélio Castroneves 2* 6 3 9 12 3 7 3 12 10 12 6 5* 10 7* 1*1 446 5 Adrián Fernández 20 18 7 5 7 6 10 8 12 1 2 7 1* 1 5 445 6 Dario Franchitti 17 17 7 14 2 12* 4 20 1* 22 6 1* 3 20 6 15 409 7 Sam Hornish Jr. 1 15 19 26 4 13 8 2 3 4 14 18 11 6 4 17 387 8 Vítor Meira 17 6 6 2 2 12* 5 5 7 7 10 5 21 4 376 9 Bryan Herta 13 7 14 4 19 4 5 18 9 6 9 9 8 2 17 16 362 10 Scott Dixon 18 2 5 8 14 8 12 8 DNS 7 13 20 9 7 8 6 355 11 Darren Manning 6 5 4 25 8 20 11 4 19 13 10 4 6 15 DNS 323 12 Alex Barron 16 4 12 12 3 22 10 17 7 11 11 10 12 12 18 14 310 13 Scott Sharp 9 13 9 13 18 9 20 14 15 9 17 15 19 9 11 8 282 14 Kosuke Matsuura  RY  11 11 8 11 16 14 18 9 10 17 4 13 21 21 13 19 280 15 Tora Takagi 4 8 10 19 10 19 21 11 20 20 20 19 17 13 14 12 263 16 Ed Carpenter  R  12 19 22 31 21 16 14 22 11 14 8 11 20 11 12 21 245 17 Mark Taylor  R  19 12 16 30 17 18 7 14 21 19 14 22 17 10 7 232 18 A. J. Foyt IV 15 14 15 33 22 11 13 16 16 15 18 21 15 16 19 10 232 19 Tomas Scheckter 5 16 13 18 20 17 15 19 21 19 22 17 13 19 15 18 230 20 Felipe Giaffone 15 9 10 16 15 13 16 16 16 16 8 20 11 214 21 Townsend Bell 17 5 6 8 21 12 18 22 9 9 193 22 Jaques Lazier RL2 21 17 18 15 8 14 18 104 23 Greg Ray 14 10 20 27 7 15 99 24 Robbie Buhl 10 18 21 44 25 Al Unser Jr. 17 11 21 44 26 Roger Yasukawa 11 10 39 27 Tomáš Enge  R  16 13 31 28 Bruno Junqueira 5 30 29 Jeff Simmons  R  16 19 26 30 Richie Hearn 20 12 31 Sarah Fisher 21 12 32 Robby McGehee 22 12 33 Buddy Lazier 23 12 34 Marty Roth  R  24 12 35 P. J. Jones 28 10 36 Robby Gordon 292 10 37 Larry Foyt  R  32 10 Pos Driver HOM PHX MOT INDY TMS1 RIC KAN NSS MIL MIS KEN PPR NAZ CHI CAL TMS2 Pts

Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps (3 points) DNS Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns all the points had they taken part.  RY  Rookie of the Year  R  Rookie

• Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Notes:

• ¹ Hélio Castroneves had 15 points deduction at Texas Motor Speedway due to a premature start after the final caution.
• ² After a red flag for rain at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jaques Lazier replaced Robby Gordon, but all points were awarded to Robby Gordon.

See also

• 2004 Indianapolis 500
• 2004 Infiniti Pro Series season
• 2004 Champ Car season
• 2004 Toyota Atlantic Championship season

References

1. "IRL: IndyCar engines reduced to 3.0 Liters for 2004". Motorsport.com. December 17, 2003. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2003.
2. "Tour dates" . IndyCar Series 2004 Season Preview: 7. January 2004. Retrieved July 30, 2021– via Internet Archive.

External links

• IndyCar.com – official site
• Indianapolis 500 – official site

Footnotes

1. Relief driver.