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2004 Season
2004 Pepsi 400
| Race Information |
| Event: Pepsi 400 |
| Date: July 3, 2004 |
Track: Daytona Int'l Speedway |
| Started: 5th |
Finished: 3rd |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
160 of 160 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
2nd/2nd |
Points
Earned: 170 (w/ 5 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $196,528 |
Summary and Related News |
Jeff Gordon wins at Daytona, Dale
Jr. third_7/3/04
Bud team records seventh top-three of the season
Jeff Gordon won from the Bud Pole for the second consecutive week, winning Saturday
night’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway and becoming the first driver to
reach four victories this season. NEXTEL Cup Series point leader Jimmie Johnson finished
second. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team’s bid to become the first
team to earn the “Daytona Sweep” since 1982 came up short with a third-place
effort. It was Dale Jr.’s sixth top-seven finish in the last eight races at Daytona
and seventh top-three in 2004. He led twice for 23 laps (11th race led this year), gaining
five bonus points and remaining 27 tallies behind Johnson in the standings. Gordon is now
in third, 232 points behind his teammate.
Key Moments: Starting in the top five at Daytona for the fifth time, Dale
Jr. took his first lead on lap 55 and paced the field for 19 laps. His lead was lost on
lap 72 when Brian Vickers took a wide exit from his pit stall and forced the red No. 8
into the rain-drenched grass (thunderstorms had delayed the race two hours). Dale Jr.
escaped his infield excursion unscathed, and staged one of three valiant charges to the
front pack. His final dash came with 20 to go when he used drafting help from Tony Stewart
and Kurt Busch to go from 18th to second in just eight circuits around the 2.5-mile
superspeedway. It still wasn’t enough, however, to get passed the Hendrick
Motorsports duo, as the lead pack crossed the line single file.
Dale Jr. Quotes: “It’s a good finish for us. I’m a bit
disappointed, because we lost a lot of track position in the pits, and the place to be was
out front in that clean air. I tried to make a run on them (Gordon and Johnson), but I
just didn’t have the car to there. It was a tough battle at the end, but we
didn’t have anything for ’em. If they would’ve gone side-by-side on the
last lap, it could’ve been interesting. I would’ve probably gone with Jimmie if
that would’ve happened, because Jeff has more wins (laughing)."
On his “off-road” adventure in the pits:
“Some guys just don’t watch where they’re going, or their spotters
aren’t very good. I just had to take evasive action. We didn’t want to tear up
our car that early in the race. The car was great, the motor was great, the body was
great, but it still wasn’t enough. I can take a loss if we’re right on the
button. The Hendrick cars just did their work. They did what they had to do. It
wasn’t like we didn’t have the help. We just didn’t have enough to beat
them.”
Best Radio Chatter:
On lap 72 when an exit out of the pit-box resulted in a trip through the rain-soaked
grass:
Dale Jr.: “(He) wouldn’t turn! I’m sorry.”
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief): “That’s OK. I’d rather keep the
car in one piece. Good job.”
Dale Jr. (while glancing at the jumbo screen under the caution):
“What’s going on on the big screen?”
Tony Jr.: “It’s the 09 (Bobby Hamilton Jr.). He blew a tire and
then it caught on fire.”
Dale Jr.: “Man!”
As the laps winded down, Dale Jr. needed drafting help from behind in order to
challenge the front two cars of Gordon and Johnson.
Stevie Reeves (spotter): “The 97 said he can’t drive the
top.”
Dale Jr.: “Man, we’re not going to be able to pass these (guys)
on the bottom. He better figure out how! (Long pause) We don’t have anything for
them.”
Tony Jr.: “Ahhh, you’ll figure something out.”
Dale Jr.: “Not if he can’t drive the top.”
The Other Mike Wallace: Dale Jr. spent much of the day Friday with Mike
Wallace. No - not the winner of the Friday evening Busch Series race - but rather the dean
of the CBS news organization and 60 Minutes correspondent. Dale Jr. will be the second
NASCAR driver ever featured in the 37 years of the 60 Minutes franchise in a segment that
will air sometime this fall. Dale Jr. gave Wallace a high-speed ride around the Daytona
superspeedway in a pre-production prototype of the new 2005 Corvette C6, explained the
details of the No. Budweiser race car and sat for an extensive interview with the
86-year-old Wallace.
Today’s Stats
Started: 5th
Finished: 3rd (9th top-five and 12th top-10 finish of the season)
Points: 2nd (-27 points to the leader)
Best Pit Stop: Pit stop number 2 of 5 / four tires and fuel / 14.02 seconds
-Budweiser
Budweiser Race Preview: Daytona_6/28/04
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – driver, No. 8 Budweiser team:
“It’s Daytona, so of course it’s special to me and my team to go back
there. We’d like to race with the car that’s been sitting in that museum for a
few months (the Daytona 500-winning car was inducted into Daytona USA the morning after
the race). Maybe I’ll stop by and say ‘hello’ to it while I’m there,
but we’re pretty excited about the car we’ll race. Daytona is different than
Talladega (the other track on the NEXTEL Cup schedule with restrictor-plate engine rules)
because it rewards a good handling car. Look at how the 500 developed – it was more
spread out than in the past because good handling cars were able to pull away from the
pack. I think you’ll see more of that this weekend. The whole team needs to be
prepared because you can’t run around Daytona flat-out and wide-open the whole tire
run. You need a car that will respond and handle in the corners. You can’t just ride
around in the draft like at Talladega…”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Daytona
Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 9
Best Start: 2nd (February, 2003)
Best Finish: 1st (Pepsi 400 in July 2001; Daytona 500 in Feb. 2004)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 5th / FIN: 7th / LED: 43 laps
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team return to Daytona for the first time since winning
the Daytona 500 in February. It was the first of three NEXTEL Cup wins so far in 2004, and
capped a Daytona Speedweeks that also saw Dale Jr. grab wins in the Twin-125 qualifying
race and the Busch Series 300. He will do double-duty this weekend – making his final
Busch Series appearance of the season Friday night – in an attempt to win at least
four races at Daytona for the second year in a row.
Dale Jr. has nine wins in 27 career races at Daytona (non-points and 24-hour races
included). He is tied for 10th (with Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon) in career wins at
Daytona. He and his late father, seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, have won a
combined 43 races at Daytona.
Dale Jr. won this event in 2001, leading 116 of 160 laps.
Dale Jr. is second in the Nextel Cup point standings, trailing Jimmie Johnson by 27
points. Through 16 races, the Bud team has recorded three wins (tied for series best),
eight top-fives (second-most of any team) and 11 top-10s. Dale Jr. tied his career-best
finish of 11th at Infineon Raceway on Sunday. It was his 13th finish of 11th or better in
the first 16 races of 2004.
Daytona superlatives for the Bud Team:
-- Dale Jr. has finished seventh or better in the last three Pepsi 400s and in three of
the last four Cup races at Daytona.
-- Dale Jr. has led in six of nine Cup races at Daytona for a total of 254 laps.
-- Dale Jr. has led laps in 19 of his 27 career races at Daytona (includes non-points
events, Busch Series, and 24-hour races.) His team led this year’s 24 Hours of
Daytona for more than 17 hours before a parts failure with less than 20 minutes remaining
cost him and teammates Tony Stewart and Andy Wallace a dominant victory.
-- Dale Jr.’s career NEXTEL Cup earnings at Daytona are $3,489,160.
-- The Bud team has started in the top-10 in each of the last five point races at Daytona
and in seven of nine overall.
Unrestricted Success:
-- Dale Jr. has competed in 18 career restrictor-plate races, posting six victories and 12
top-10 finishes.
-- The Bud team has top-seven finishes in eight of the last nine restrictor-plate races,
including a second-place finish at Talladega in April.
-- The red Budweiser Chevy has led laps in the last nine restrictor-plate races and in 14
of the last 15 (totaling 665 laps).
-- Dale Jr.’s 11.22 average finish in restrictor-plate races is second only to his
father who had a 9.38 average finish in 53 career restrictor-plate races.
-- DEI drivers (Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip) have won 10 of the last 14 restrictor-plate
races.
Race Details:
Pepsi 400
Daytona International Speedway / Daytona Beach, Fla.
2.5-mile tri-oval / 160 laps / 400 miles
Saturday, July 3, 2004
TV: Fox-TV, 7 p.m. ET start.
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN), XM Radio.
Bud Pole Qualifying: Speed Channel / Thursday, 8 p.m. ET.
-Budweiser |
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