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2004 Season
2004 Food City 500
| Race Information |
| Event: Food City 500 |
| Date: March 28, 2004 |
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway |
| Started: 18th |
Finished: 11th |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
500 of 500 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
2nd/3rd |
Points
Earned: 135 (w/ 5 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $-- |
Summary and Related News |
Budweiser team finishes 11th at Bristol_3/28/04
Dale Jr. Leads 91 Laps, Falls Victim to Loose Lug Nuts
BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 28, 2004) – Kurt Busch led a two-lap sprint to the finish to
beat Rusty Wallace Sunday in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was
Busch’s third consecutive win at Bristol. Busch took the lead at lap 382 of 500 and
stayed in front the rest of the afternoon despite a late-race caution and red-flag period
that set up the finale. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team led 91 laps and
ran among the top five for more than 300 laps, but a loose left-rear wheel on lap 430 and
a consequential spin dashed any hopes of victory. Dale Jr. remained on lead lap to finish
11th. Busch jumped to second place in the Nextel Cup championship point standings,
knocking Dale Jr. to third, 41 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.
 The Key Moments:
Starting 18th, it took only 40 laps for Dale Jr. to climb into the top 10 and a quick pit
stop on lap 61 during the first caution to move into eighth place. The No. 8 Bud car
passed the top seven cars to take the lead on lap 282, as Dale Jr. held the lead for 91
laps and gave it up only for a green-flag pit stop on lap 373. Dale Jr. was in eighth
place after the stop, climbed back to third, but on lap 419 a loose left-rear wheel caused
the Bud car to fall off pace. Dale Jr. dropped to 17th position in the next six laps, but
his spin on lap 431 brought out the eighth caution and saved him from going a lap down. It
left 60 laps for Dale Jr. to work through traffic to salvage an 11th-place finish.
Dale Jr. Quotes: "We had a pretty good car today, and it’s
unfortunate we didn’t walk out of here with a win or at least a top-five finish. We
had a good car on short runs, and then it would start to tighten up. We got it freed up a
little bit, and it seemed to be pretty good. When the wheel came loose, it was all I could
do to keep it off the wall. I had to do something. We were able to stay on the lead lap,
and after that it was get all you can get in the short time you got. At the end there I
was really, really wanting a top 10, but ended up short. Pretty frustrating, but
we’ll move on. This is one the Budweiser team won’t forget … we let it slip
away.”
 Best Radio
Conversation:
Under yellow flag, starting lap 168:
Dale Jr: (referring to very tight pit lane) "I'm going to short pit
just a hair here. You guys will have to come to me. I'll probably stop with the nose
pointed out, so it watch it Two-Beer (jackman Kevin Pennell). It won't be a normal
stop."
After losing several positions during the pit stop:
Dale Jr.: "Let's pump each other up in the pits now. Let’s get
back to those good stops we’ve been having."
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief): "10-4. We’re gonna win this
race."
Dale Jr. (pondering): "It seems like you could run wide-open around
the top here... it's real tempting...."
During the yellow flag period on lap 201:
Dale Jr: "The car's really good at the start, which I like. It might
come in handy. I'll try to be a little easier here. I might have run it too hard at the
start of that last run, but I was pissed. I wanted to make up those spots."
Stevie Reeves (spotter): "The 97 (Kurt Busch) spotter came to me and
said give 'em a break on the restart. He's having engine problems and can only get up to
8,000 (rpms) on the straights. He said give him a few laps and then things will spread
out."
Dale Jr: "Ohhhhhhh... I'll try, but I'm not sure I can wait that
long..."
After pondering the situation for a few yellow-flag laps:
Dale Jr: "OK, I'll take it easy on him, but you'd better alert that
dog pound behind me here..."
Under the yellow flag period starting on lap 381:
Dale Jr: "I didn't have a chance to talk before that (green flag)
stop. I didn't like how the car was handling. (Tony) Junior, just go back a half of what
you did last time. Go back to where we were. Just work your magic - just a tweak. It just
gets into the middle of the corner and BEEP! - it slides out. I'm good in, good
off..."
Tony Jr: "You had 180 laps on those tires. They look good..."
Dale Jr: "Yeah, I can't believe we led all those laps."
Worrying about the lap 395 restart with lapped cars on the inside lane:
Dale Jr: (talking to Reeves) "Go find the (insert car number here.
We'll leave the driver's name out of it to protect the wild). He has been craaaaaazy wild
out here. Just tell him I'll be on his outside for the restart so tell him just don't
wreck me or take me out..."
Lap 423: after falling six spots in three laps:
Dale Jr: " Flat tire! Right front I think!"
Under yellow flag caused when Dale Jr. spun:
Tony Jr: "Great job - get ahold on it - you'll still be on the lead
lap."
Dale Jr: "I swear I have a flat tire!"
After the pit stop:
Tony Eury Sr. (crew chief): "The left rear wheel was loose - all
five lugs were loose."
On the following yellow flag/ lap 467:
Dale Jr: "Get me some spots here on pit lane. I want you guys to
remember this afternoon for a long time."
Tony Jr: "10-4. We're gonna get ya what you can - not where we
should be, but we'll get all we can."
Dale Jr. (as the jet blowers slowly crawled all around the track): "We
need to be racing! This is a huge mistake to blow the track now. This is (messed) up. The
time for blowin' off the track was about an hour and a half ago. We need to be racing. Why
don't they just open the gate and let the traffic out..."
Today’s Stats
Started: 18th
Finished: 11th
Points: 3rd place (fell one spot, 41 points behind leader)
Best Pit Stop: Stop 5 of 7 / lap 373 / four tires & fuel / 13.71 seconds
-Budweiser
Budweiser Race Preview: Bristol_3/15/04
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – driver, No. 8 Budweiser team:
“We tested at Bristol a few weeks ago, and we came away pretty happy with what we
learned. I’ve always liked the track. It’s intense racing, one of those places
where you can never take a break or you’ll be in the wall. The (new Goodyear) tire
felt real comfortable (during the Bristol test), but I still don’t know what to
expect. We just want a car that will last a long time. That’s it. If we get that,
we’ll be in pretty good shape.
We’ve been fast there – and we had a top-three car at this race last year until
we had the world’s longest green-flag run ever and we ran out of gas and lost a
lap… It was crazy. We must be the only team in history to run out of gas at Bristol.
I mean you don’t expect green-flag pit stops there with all the crashin’ and
bumping going on.”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Bristol
Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 8
Best Start: 2nd (August 2002)
Best Finish: 3rd (August 2002)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 8th / FIN: 16th / LED: 0 laps
Dale Jr. is in second place in NEXTEL Cup points, 21 points behind leader Matt
Kenseth… Despite their reputation of being “restrictor-plate specialists,”
Dale Jr. and the Bud boys have scored more points on short tracks (less than 1-mile in
length) than any other team in each of the last two seasons. Dale Jr. has eight top-five
finishes in the last 12 short track races… Dale Jr. has competed in eight races at
Bristol Motor Speedway, scoring three top-10 finishes in the last four races. His best
Bristol finish (third) occurred in August 2002. Dale Jr. finished 16th in this race one
year ago and ninth at Bristol in the fall.
Dale Jr.: A Fan Favorite: In a recent poll conducted by Harris
Interactive, Dale Jr. was selected the fifth most favorite sports star in the United
States. Only Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre and Shaquille O’Neal had more
votes. The question of “Who is your favorite sports star?” was asked to 3,778
adults surveyed online between Jan. 19 and Jan. 28, which was during NASCAR’s
off-season and before Dale Jr. won his first-ever Daytona 500. The poll results are:
FAVORITE SPORTS STAR
(Base: All adults)
1. Michael Jordan
2. Tiger Woods
3. Brett Favre
4. Shaquille O’Neal
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6. Kobe Bryant
7. Peyton Manning
8. Allen Iverson
9. Donovan McNabb
10. Derek Jeter
Race Details:
Food City 500 / Race No. 6 of 36 in the Nextel Cup Series
Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, Tenn.
.533-mile oval, 500 laps, 266.5 miles
Sunday, March 28, 2004
TV: Fox-TV, 1 p.m. ET (pre-race) / 1:20 p.m. ET race start.
Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN), XM Radio.
Bud Pole Qualifying: Speed Channel / Friday, 3 p.m. ET.
-Budweiser |
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