2004 Subway 400

2004 Subway 400

Race details [1]
Race 2 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
2004 Subway 400 program cover
Date	February 22, 2004 (2004-02-22)
Location	North Carolina Speedway, Richmond County, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	1.017 miles (1.637 km)
Distance	393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km)
Weather	Temperatures hovering around 71.1 °F (21.7 °C); wind speeds up to 9.2 miles per hour (14.8 km/h) [2]
Average speed	112.016 mph (180.272 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Newman	Penske Racing
Time	23.398
Most laps led
Driver	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing
Laps	259 [3]
Winner
No. 17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds

The 2004 Subway 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on February 22, 2004, at North Carolina Speedway in Richmond County, North Carolina. The race was the second of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.

Ryan Newman of Penske Racing won the pole position, while Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing won the race. The race was the final Cup race at the track due to poor attendance, as the race date was later given to Phoenix International Raceway; ^[4] only 50,000 were in attendance at the 60,113 facility. ^[5]

The other Cup race at the track, the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400, had been replaced by California Speedway after 2003.

Entry list

Car #	Driver	Hometown	Make	Sponsor	Team	Crew Chief
0	Ward Burton	South Boston, Virginia	Chevrolet	NetZero Hi Speed	Gene Haas
01	Joe Nemechek	Lakeland, Florida	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Nelson Bowers
1	John Andretti	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	Chevrolet	Snap-On Tools / Nilla	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2	Rusty Wallace	St. Louis, Missouri	Dodge	Miller Lite	Roger Penske
4	Kevin Lepage	Shelburne, Vermont	Chevrolet	YokeTV.com	Larry McClure
5	Terry Labonte	Corpus Christi, Texas	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	Rick Hendrick
6	Mark Martin	Batesville, Arkansas	Ford	Viagra	Jack Roush
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Kannapolis, North Carolina	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
09	Joe Ruttman	Upland, California	Dodge	Phoenix Racing	James Finch
9	Kasey Kahne	Enumclaw, Washington	Dodge	Dodge Dealers / UAW	Ray Evernham
10	Scott Riggs	Bahama, North Carolina	Chevrolet	Valvoline	James Rocco
12	Ryan Newman	South Bend, Indiana	Dodge	Alltel	Roger Penske
14	Larry Foyt	Houston, Texas	Dodge	Foyt Racing	A.J. Foyt
15	Michael Waltrip	Owensboro, Kentucky	Chevrolet	NAPA	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
16	Greg Biffle	Vancouver, Washington	Ford	Subway / National Guard	Jack Roush
17	Matt Kenseth	Cambridge, Wisconsin	Ford	DeWalt Power Tools	Jack Roush
18	Bobby Labonte	Corpus Christi, Texas	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	Joe Gibbs
19	Jeremy Mayfield	Owensboro, Kentucky	Dodge	Dodge Dealers / UAW	Ray Evernham
20	Tony Stewart	Rushville, Indiana	Chevrolet	Home Depot	Joe Gibbs
21	Ricky Rudd	Chesapeake, Virginia	Ford	Motorcraft	Wood Brothers
22	Scott Wimmer	Wausau, Wisconsin	Dodge	Caterpillar	Bill Davis
24	Jeff Gordon	Vallejo, California	Chevrolet	DuPont	Rick Hendrick
25	Brian Vickers	Thomasville, North Carolina	Chevrolet	GMAC Financial Services	Rick Hendrick
29	Kevin Harvick	Bakersfield, California	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench	Richard Childress
30	Johnny Sauter	Necedah, Wisconsin	Chevrolet	America Online	Richard Childress
31	Robby Gordon	Bellflower, California	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless	Richard Childress
32	Ricky Craven	Newburgh, Maine	Chevrolet	Tide	Cal Wells
38	Elliott Sadler	Emporia, Virginia	Ford	M&M's	Yates Racing
40	Sterling Marlin	Columbia, Tennessee	Dodge	Coors Light	Chip Ganassi
41	Casey Mears	Bakersfield, California	Dodge	Target	Chip Ganassi
42	Jamie McMurray	Joplin, Missouri	Dodge	Texaco / Havoline	Chip Ganassi
43	Jeff Green	Owensboro, Kentucky	Dodge	STP / Cheerios	Petty Enterprises
45	Kyle Petty	Trinity, North Carolina	Dodge	Georgia-Pacific / Brawny	Petty Enterprises
46	Carl Long	Roxboro, North Carolina	Dodge	Al Smith	Rick Glenn
48	Jimmie Johnson	El Cajon, California	Chevrolet	Lowe's	Rick Hendrick
49	Ken Schrader	Fenton, Missouri	Dodge	Schwan's Home Service	Beth Ann Morgenthau
50	Derrike Cope	Spanaway, Washington	Dodge	Arnold Development Companies	Don Arnold
72	Kirk Shelmerdine	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Ford	Tucson	Kirk Shelmerdine
77	Brendan Gaughan	Las Vegas, Nevada	Dodge	Kodak Easy Share	Doug Bawel
80	Andy Hillenburg	Indianapolis, Indiana	Ford	Commercial Truck & Trailer	Stan Hover
88	Dale Jarrett	Hickory, North Carolina	Ford	UPS	Yates Racing
97	Kurt Busch	Las Vegas, Nevada	Ford	Irwin Tools	Jack Roush
99	Jeff Burton	South Boston, Virginia	Ford	SKF	Jack Roush

Qualifying

Ryan Newman, 2003's pole leader with 11, won the pole at Rockingham with a lap speed of 156.475 miles per hour (251.822 km/h) and a lap time of 23.398 seconds. ^[6] Dodges were the top four fastest, with Newman, Jamie McMurray (155.379 mph (250.058 km/h)), Kasey Kahne (154.814 mph (249.149 km/h)) and Rusty Wallace (154.644 mph (248.875 km/h)). Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon qualified fifth with a lap speed of 154.318 mph (248.351 km/h); Jeremy Mayfield (154.195 mph (248.153 km/h)), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (154.149 mph (248.079 km/h)), Jeff Green (154.117 mph (248.027 km/h)), the previous year's race winner ^[7] Dale Jarrett (154.078 mph (247.965 km/h)) and Greg Biffle (154.026 mph (247.881 km/h)) rounded out the top ten. Morgan Shepherd and Andy Belmont failed to qualify ^[8] after the two crashed in practice. ^[9] Ryan McGlynn and Larry Gunselman also withdrew.

The entry list for the race was short, which led to a group of field-fillers entering the race, including Joe Ruttman, starting in his first Cup race since 1995, ^[10] Kirk Shelmerdine, who made only two Cup Series starts since 1994, Carl Long, who started twice in 2001, and Andy Hillenburg, who failed to qualify for the 2004 Daytona 500. The four drivers were considerably slower than the 37 full-time teams; in comparison to Newman's qualifying speed, Hillenburg, who started 43rd, had a speed of 146.859 mph (236.347 km/h), a 9.616 mph (15.475 km/h) differential. Hillenburg, who ran just six laps in the two practice sessions prior to the race, expressed interest in running the full race, stating, "I don't want to look like we're trying to capitalize on anything, but this is our window of opportunity. We're not here to go two laps and try to get a check. We're here to do the best we can." ^[11] After the race, rumors arose whether NASCAR had requested the field-fillers to appear and complete the 43-car field with the reward of money, possibly to satisfy television contracts, NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter denied the allegations. ^[12]

Qualifying results

1.Ryan Newman No.12 ALLTEL Dodge Penske Racing 156.475 mph

2.Jamie McMurray No.42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 155.379 mph

3.Kasey Kahne* No.9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Evernham Motorsports 154.814 mph

4.Rusty Wallace No.2 Miller Lite Dodge Penske Racing 154.644 mph

5.Jeff Gordon No.24 Dupont Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 154.318 mph

6.Jeremy Mayfield No.19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Evernham Motorsports 154.195 mph

7.Dale Earnhardt Jr. No.8 Budweiser Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 154.149 mph

8.Jeff Green No.43 STP/Cheerios Dodge Petty Enterprises 154.117 mph

9.Dale Jarrett No.88 UPS Ford Robert Yates Racing 154.078 mph

10.Greg Biffle No.16 Subway/National Guard Ford Roush Racing 154.026 mph

11.Bobby Labonte No.18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 154.020 mph

12.Joe Nemechek No.01 US Army Chevrolet MB2 Motorsports 153.987 mph

13.Casey Mears No.41 Target Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 153.942 mph

14.Sterling Marlin No.40 Coors Light Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 153.942 mph

15.Brendan Gaughan* No.77 Kodak/Jasper Engines Dodge Penske/Jasper Racing 153.748 mph

16.Ward Burton No. 0 Netzero HiSpeed Chevrolet Haas CNC Racing 153,690 mph

17. Ricky Craven No.32 Tide Chevrolet PPI Motorsports 153.619 mph

18.Ken Schrader No.49 Schwan's Home Service Dodge BAM Racing 153.413 mph

19.Scott Riggs* No.10 Valvoline Chevrolet MBV Motorsports 153.297 mph

20.Brian Vickers* No.25 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 153.169 mph

21.Mark Martin No. 6 Viagra Ford Roush Racing 153.015 mph

22.Ricky Rudd No.21 Motorcraft Ford Wood Brothers Racing 152.984 mph

23.Matt Kenseth No.17 DeWalt Ford Roush Racing 152.945 mph

24.Tony Stewart No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 152.875 mph

25.Elliott Sadler No.38 M&M's Ford Robert Yates Racing 152.798 mph

26.Kevin Lepage No.4 YokeTV.com Chevrolet Morgan-McClure Racing 152.792 mph

27.Kurt Busch No.97 Sharpie Ford Roush Racing 152.633 mph

28.Jeff Burton No.99 SKF Ford Roush Racing 152.486 mph

29.Jimmie Johnson No.48 Lowe's Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 152.480 mph

30.Kyle Petty No.45 Georgia Pacific Dodge Petty Enterprises 152.353 mph

31.Scott Wimmer* No.22 Caterpillar Dodge Bill Davis Racing 152.290 mph

32.Kevin Harvick No.29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 152.220 mph

33.Michael Waltrip No.15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 152.119 mph

34.Robby Gordon No.31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 152.024 mph

35.Terry Labonte No.5 Kellogg's ChevroletHendrick Motorsports 151.722 mph

36.Johnny Sauter* No. 30 America Online Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 151.283 mph

37.Derrike Cope No.50 Arnold Development Companies Dodge Derrike Cope 151.283 mph

38.Larry Foyt No.14 AJ Foyt Racing Dodge AJ Foyt Racing 151.221 mph

39.John Andretti No.1 Snap-On/Nilla Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 150.481 mph (provisional)

40.Joe Ruttman No.09 Phoenix Racing Dodge Phoenix Racing 145.142 mph (provisional)

41.Kirk Shelmerdine No.172 Tucson Ford Kirk Shelmerdine 145.661 mph

42.Carl Long No.146 Glenn Underwater Services Dodge Glenn Racing 148.739 mph

43.Andy Hillenburg No.280 Commercial Truck & Trailer Ford Stanton Hover 146.859 mph ^[13]

* Rookie of the Year contender.

Race

After one lap was completed, Joe Ruttman, who started 40th and did not make any attempts to practice, was ordered to park by NASCAR for not having a pit crew and collected $54,196. ^[12] NASCAR eventually admonished Phoenix Racing owner James Finch for the incident. Kirk Shelmerdine was lapped after eight minutes and finished 42nd after not reaching the minimum speeds mandated by NASCAR, and was paid $54,895. Carl Long finished 38th after barrel-rolling on the backstretch. Andy Hillenburg managed to finish the race in 34th and 17 laps down, earning $55,425. ^[12]

Pole-sitter Ryan Newman led the first two laps before getting passed by Jamie McMurray, who led until the first caution flag was waved for Ken Schrader's crash in turns one and two. Jeff Gordon took the lead, leading until lap 53 when Kyle Petty crashed. McMurray and Robby Gordon exchanged the lead during the caution period, while Newman, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth swapped the lead changes during the 71-lap green flag period, with Schrader and Jimmie Johnson's accident on lap 131 bringing out another caution. On lap 134, Kenseth claimed the lead and led for 79 consecutive laps until lap 214, when a debris caution came out. Despite Kevin Harvick briefly taking first, Kenseth regained the lead and led for 87 more laps. ^[3] During those laps, on lap 265, Long collided with Joe Nemechek, ^[14] flipped down the backstretch, and landed in the turn 3 apron. ^[15] With 42 laps left, Robby Gordon crashed, and McMurray eventually passed Kenseth and Kasey Kahne, but NASCAR ruled that Kenseth and Kahne were finishing their pit stops and were leaving pit road, and as the field was frozen, McMurray's pass was voided. ^[16] Kenseth battled Kahne for the win, and on the final lap, defeated Kahne by .01 seconds, while McMurray finished third. McMurray's team owner Chip Ganassi confronted the NASCAR haulers about Kenseth and Kahne's wave around; Ganassi stated, "We just got robbed in front of 100,000 people." ^[17]

POS [1]	ST	#	DRIVER	SPONSOR / OWNER	CAR	LAPS	MONEY	STATUS	LED	PTS
1	23	17	Matt Kenseth	DeWalt Power Tools   (Jack Roush)	Ford	393	222303	running	259	190
2	3	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge Dealers / UAW   (Ray Evernham)	Dodge	393	130125	running	0	170
3	2	42	Jamie McMurray	Texaco / Havoline   (Chip Ganassi)	Dodge	393	96425	running	76	170
4	13	40	Sterling Marlin	Coors Light   (Chip Ganassi)	Dodge	393	114900	running	0	160
5	7	8	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Budweiser   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)	Chevrolet	393	118303	running	0	155
6	1	12	Ryan Newman	Alltel   (Roger Penske)	Dodge	393	116152	running	12	155
7	4	2	Rusty Wallace	Miller Lite   (Roger Penske)	Dodge	393	100643	running	0	146
8	27	97	Kurt Busch	Irwin Tools / Sharpie   (Jack Roush)	Ford	393	83785	running	0	142
9	16	0	Ward Burton	NetZero Hi Speed   (Gene Haas)	Chevrolet	393	66035	running	0	138
10	5	24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont   (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	391	111363	running	39	139
11	6	19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge Dealers / UAW   (Ray Evernham)	Dodge	391	90210	running	0	130
12	21	6	Mark Martin	Pfizer / Viagra   (Jack Roush)	Ford	391	72960	running	0	127
13	32	29	Kevin Harvick	GM Goodwrench   (Richard Childress)	Chevrolet	391	100763	running	2	129
14	36	30	Johnny Sauter	America Online   (Richard Childress)	Chevrolet	391	63560	running	0	121
15	31	22	Scott Wimmer	Caterpillar   (Bill Davis)	Dodge	391	87560	running	0	118
16	20	25	Brian Vickers	GMAC Financial Services   (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	391	70760	running	0	115
17	35	5	Terry Labonte	Got Milk? / Kellogg's   (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	391	89110	running	0	112
18	25	38	Elliott Sadler	M&M's Black & White   (Yates Racing)	Ford	391	90793	running	0	109
19	22	21	Ricky Rudd	Motorcraft   (Wood Brothers)	Ford	391	87566	running	0	106
20	15	77	Brendan Gaughan	Kodak Easy Share   (Doug Bawel)	Dodge	391	70110	running	0	103
21	14	41	Casey Mears	Target   (Chip Ganassi)	Dodge	390	74810	running	0	100
22	26	4	Kevin Lepage	YokeTV.com   (Larry McClure)	Chevrolet	390	71010	running	0	97
23	10	16	Greg Biffle	Subway / National Guard   (Jack Roush)	Ford	390	69185	running	0	94
24	12	01	Joe Nemechek	U.S. Army   (Nelson Bowers)	Chevrolet	390	75949	running	0	91
25	11	18	Bobby Labonte	Interstate Batteries   (Joe Gibbs)	Chevrolet	389	102318	running	0	88
26	24	20	Tony Stewart	Home Depot   (Joe Gibbs)	Chevrolet	389	103403	running	0	85
27	18	49	Ken Schrader	Schwan's Home Service   (Beth Ann Morgenthau)	Dodge	389	56410	running	0	82
28	8	43	Jeff Green	STP / Cheerios   (Petty Enterprises)	Dodge	389	82510	running	0	79
29	39	1	John Andretti	Snap-On Tools   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)	Chevrolet	388	64000	running	0	76
30	37	50	Derrike Cope	Matrix Systems / Arnold Development Co.   (Don Arnold)	Dodge	386	56375	running	0	73
31	19	10	Scott Riggs	Valvoline   (James Rocco)	Chevrolet	383	80937	running	0	70
32	38	14	Larry Foyt	Foyt Racing   (A.J. Foyt)	Dodge	380	55675	running	0	67
33	33	15	Michael Waltrip	NAPA   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)	Chevrolet	379	92481	running	0	64
34	43	80	Andy Hillenburg	Commercial Truck & Trailer   (Stan Hover)	Ford	376	55425	running	0	61
35	17	32	Ricky Craven	Tide   (Cal Wells)	Chevrolet	365	63275	running	0	58
36	34	31	Robby Gordon	Cingular Wireless   (Richard Childress)	Chevrolet	350	90412	crash	5	60
37	28	99	Jeff Burton	SKF   (Jack Roush)	Ford	344	88592	engine	0	52
38	42	46	Carl Long	Al Smith Dodge / IPG   (Rick Glenn)	Dodge	255	55135	crash	0	49
39	30	45	Kyle Petty	Georgia-Pacific / Brawny   (Petty Enterprises)	Dodge	221	55070	engine	0	46
40	9	88	Dale Jarrett	UPS   (Yates Racing)	Ford	210	85907	engine	0	43
41	29	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's   (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	128	74750	crash	0	40
42	41	72	Kirk Shelmerdine	Tucson   (Kirk Shelmerdine)	Ford	19	54895	rear end	0	37
43	40	09	Joe Ruttman	Phoenix Racing   (James Finch)	Dodge	1	54196	parked	0	34
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:
WD		00	Ryan McGlynn	Buyer's Choice Auto Warranties	Chevrolet
WD		39	Larry Gunselman	Jay Robinson Inc.	Chevrolet
WD		59	Andy Belmont	Continental Fire & Safety	Pontiac
WD		89	Morgan Shepherd	Victory In Jesus	Ford
WD		90	Andy Hillenburg	Donlavey Racing	Ford

Standings after the race

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the points standings after the race.

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	340
2	Matt Kenseth	333
3	Kevin Harvick	294
4	Scott Wimmer	288
5	Jeff Gordon	286
6	Tony Stewart	265
7	Kurt Busch	257
8	Elliott Sadler	255
9	Ward Burton	250
10	Joe Nemechek	241

References

1. "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
2. Weather information for the 2004 Subway 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
3. "2004 Subway 400". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
4. "2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Recap". HowStuffWorks . Retrieved January 29, 2014.
5. "Kenseth noses out Kahne to claim the Subway 400". St. Petersburg Times . February 23, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
6. O'Brien, Marty (February 21, 2004). "Newman Familiar With Pole". Daily Press . Retrieved January 26, 2014.
7. "THE RACE: Subway 400". Jayski's Silly Season Site . Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
8. Hembree, Mike (February 20, 2004). "Newman commands attention". USA Today . Retrieved January 26, 2014.
9. Associated Press (February 21, 2004). "Newman takes another pole position for Subway 400". Online Athens. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
10. Hanley, Jim (February 28, 2004). "Joe Ruttman fills up more than race field". The Hour . Retrieved January 27, 2014.
11. Fryer, Jenna (February 21, 2004). "Slowpokes bring up rear of Rockingham field". USA Today . Retrieved January 27, 2014.
12. Fryer, Jenna (February 24, 2004). "NASCAR calls Ruttman run 'a sham'". ESPN . Retrieved January 25, 2014.
13. "Qualifying times - Subway 400, North Carolina". Crash. February 21, 2004. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
14. Bromberg, Nick. "Wreck Week: Remember Carl Long flipping at Rockingham?". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
15. Joe D. (July 2, 2008). "Catching up with Carl Long". Bleacher Report . Retrieved February 18, 2014.
16. Diaz, George (February 23, 2004). "Kenseth holds off Kahne for Subway win". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved January 26, 2014.
17. Aumann, Mark (April 5, 2012). "AUMANN: RETURN TO ROCKINGHAM REMINDS KAHNE OF 2004". NASCAR . Retrieved January 26, 2014.

Previous race: 2004 Daytona 500

Nextel Cup Series 2004 season

Next race: 2004 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400