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2004 Season
2004 Brickyard 400
| Race Information |
| Event: Brickyard 400 |
| Date: August 8, 2004 |
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
| Started: 5th |
Finished: 27th |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
160 of 161 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
3rd/3rd |
Points
Earned: 82 (w/ 0 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $-- |
Summary and Related News |
Gordon wins Brickyard 400,
heartbreak for Bud team_8/8/04
Blown tire on last lap sends Dale Jr. to 27th-place finish
Jeff Gordon won his fifth race of the season and fourth career Brickyard 400 Sunday at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, dominating the field by leading 122 of 160 laps and surviving
a green-white-checker finish at the end. Dale Jarrett finished second and Elliott Sadler
third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team were in sixth place and in prime
position for its 13th top-10 of the season before the left-front tire of the Bud Chevy
blew out on the final lap. Dale Jr., competing in his first full race since suffering
burns in a sports-car accident July 18, limped the car home in 27th, this after running in
the top-10 for much of the day. Despite the finish, Dale Jr. remains in third place in the
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, now 240 points behind point-leader Jimmie Johnson and
143 behind second-place Gordon.
Key Moments: Starting fifth (his eighth top-five qualifying effort of the
year) Dale Jr. climbed to as high as third and raced among the top-10 throughout the first
40 laps despite a lingering tight condition in the race car. Under the fourth caution at
lap 46, the Bud team decided to get aggressive with the adjustments, willingly giving up
track position in order to perform major wedge and spring alterations to Bud Chevy. Dale
Jr. restarted 20th and slowly clawed his way through the field, avoiding several wrecks
along the way. The team’s final pit stop, a four-tire service call on lap 124, put
Dale Jr. in eighth place. Turning lap-times as quick as he had all day, he raced his way
to sixth and was beckoning for a top-10 finish before his last-lap misfortunes.
Dale Jr. Quotes:
It’s a hell of a heartbreak to have a tire cut down on the last lap. We had a real
good run going, sitting there in sixth place and trying to make it to the end and leave
here with a top-10. My car was the best it had been all day 20 laps earlier, but those
last few laps it got real tight again, it was bottoming out in every corner, and I knew
something bad was happening. I could just feel the car leaning on that left-front (tire).
It’s tough, man, but it was a good run for us. I’m proud of the guys. This was a
new chassis for us, and we did a lot of adjusting on it to make it fast. The motor was
awesome. I’ve got to hand it to our motor department, because it was turning some
high RPMs all day and just hauling ass. Even though (the race) didn’t end the way we
wanted it to, I hope this puts us back on the right track. We’re going to leave here
to go test at Michigan, see if we can figure some stuff out there, and get ready for
Watkins Glen.”
On if his burns affected him today:
“No, I didn’t have any problems with my burns. I was driving the car as hard as
I could. I really wanted a top-10. I don’t think I could’ve driven it any
harder.”
Best Radio Chatter:
In 10th place when the seventh yellow flag flew on lap 87, Dale Jr. had to take
evasive action to keep from running into the No. 20 Chevy of Tony Stewart:
Tony Eury Jr. (as driver 8 pulled out of the pit box): “Go hard out,
hard out!”
Dale Jr.: “Good stop guys. Man, I about took that 20 out. I like
‘straight out’ instead of ‘hard out’ Junior. Of course, straight out
means straight into the wall to me.”
With 18 laps remaining:
Dale Jr.: “Whoa! The 17 (Matt Kenseth) is in the pits. (Pause) We
ain’t gotta pit, do we?”
Tony Jr.: “Negative, he thought he had a tire going down.”
The caution on lap 143 was the last thing the driver of the Budweiser Chevy wanted to
see, but it called for a quick discussion of strategy:
Dale Jr. (in disgust): “Ain’t that convenient … Alright,
what are ya thinking? Two (tires) or four?”
Tony Jr.: “I’m thinking more like we stay out.”
Dale Jr.: “Really? Holy $#@! You’re gonna get your ass kicked.
You know the guys in the back are gonna take tires. (Pause) OK, we’re staying
out.”
Tony Jr.: “You’ll be alright.”
Dale Jr.: “I don’t know. Seventeen laps is a long time around
here.”
Tony Jr.: “There’ll be 12 when you take the green.”
Dale Jr.: “Well I’m gonna go! I know what I got, and I know
what I am… We’ll be four-wide on the backstretch, so just be ready.”
Sitting sixth under the 11th caution at lap 155:
Dale Jr. (laughing): “Ask Stewart (behind him in seventh place) if
he’s got any mercy for a guy who really needs a top-10?”
Today’s Stats
Started: 5th
Finished: 27th
Points: 3rd (-240 behind leader Jimmie Johnson)
Best Pit Stop: Pit stop number 1 of 5 / four tires and fuel / 13.08 seconds
-Budweiser
Budweiser Race Preview: Indianapolis_8/2/04
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still recovering from burns sustained in a
sports-car accident two weeks ago. Dale Jr. intends to practice, qualify and complete the
Brickyard 400 in the No. 8 Budweiser car. As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dale Earnhardt Inc. had
not made any decisions regarding the availability of a back-up driver if needed during the
race.
Dale Jr. and the Bud team at Indianapolis:
Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 4
Best Start: 3rd (2002)
Best Finish: 10th (2001)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 6th / FIN: 14th
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team have finished 14th or better in three of four races
at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with their best finish a 10th-place effort in
2001. Dale Jr. has finished on the lead lap in all of his races at the Brickyard. In last
year’s Brickyard 400, the Bud team climbed to as high as third position before making
an extra pit stop to replace a loose wheel. Dale Jr. dropped to 23rd but clipped off nine
positions in the final 20 laps to finish 14th.
With six races to go before the “Chase for the Championship” begins, Dale Jr. is
in third place in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings (-267 behind leader Jimmie
Johnson and -35 behind Jeff Gordon) after a 25th-place finish at Pocono. For the second
straight week, Dale Jr. split driving duties with another driver, this time completing 53
of 200 laps before handing the Bud Chevy over to relief driver John Andretti. Dale Jr. is
still nursing painful burns suffered in an American LeMans Series crash on July 18, but it
was numbness in his legs – not the burns – that led to the decision to get out
of the car.
On the season the Brew Crew has three wins, nine top-fives and 12 top-10s. Dale Jr. has
finished seventh or better in nine of his last 11 races at tracks 2.5 miles in length or
longer.
Race Details:
Brickyard 400
Indianapolis Motor Speedway / Speedway, Ind.
2.5-mile oval / 160 laps / 400 miles
Sunday, Aug. 8, 2004
TV: NBC, 2:30 p.m. ET start. (Pre-race begins at 2 p.m.)
Radio: IMS Radio Network (XM Radio), 2 p.m.
Bud Pole Qualifying: Saturday, Aug. 7 / 11 a.m. ET (live on TNT)
-Budweiser |
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