2004 Brickyard 400

Race details[1]
Race 21 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
2004 Brickyard 400 program cover
Date	August 8, 2004 (2004-August-08)
Official name	Brickyard 400
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance	161 laps, 402.5 mi (647.76 km)
Scheduled Distance	160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather	Mild with temperatures approaching 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
Average speed	115.037 miles per hour (185.134 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Casey Mears	Chip Ganassi Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	124
Winner
No. 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	NBC
Announcers	Allen Bestwick, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Benny Parsons

The 2004 Brickyard 400, the 11th running of the event, was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on August 8, 2004, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Contested at 161 laps – extended from 160 laps due to a green–white–checker finish – on the 2.5 mile (4.023 km) speedway, it was the twenty-first race of the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.

Background

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 2.5 miles (4.023 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 9 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, has no banking. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a zero degree banking. The racetrack has seats for more than 250,000 spectators.

Summary

For the first time in Nextel Cup Series history, the Green-white-checker finish rule caused a race to be extended, in this case for one additional lap. On the extra lap, Casey Mears blew a tire, Ricky Rudd hit the wall, then Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered tire failures. Jeff Gordon retained the lead to become the first four-time winner of the Brickyard.

Race results

Failed to qualify: Kevin Lepage (#51), Hermie Sadler (#02), Morgan Shepherd (#89), Greg Sacks (#13), Andy Hillenburg (#37), Geoffrey Bodine (#34), Kirk Shelmerdine (#72)

Race statistics

• Time of race: 3:29:56
• Average Speed: 115.037 miles per hour (185.134 km/h)
• Pole Speed: 186.293
• Cautions: 13 for 47 laps
• Margin of Victory: under caution
• Lead changes: 9
• Percent of race run under caution: 29.2%
• Average green flag run: 8.8 laps