jmmiejohnson
Jimmie Johnson won eight races in 2004, but none was as emotional as his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 31. Just a week before, a plane crash at Martinsville Speedway claimed the lives of 10 people close to the Hendrick Motorsports organization, including owner Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky. After Johnson’s inspired win at AMS, all of the Hendrick drivers joined him in Victory Lane wearing ball caps backwards as a tribute to Ricky.
elliottsadler
Elliott Sadler’s tumultuous relationship with Talladega Superspeedway took another bad turn in October when he made his second annual tumble down the frontstretch. Sadler emerged pretty much unscathed from his automotive gymnastics on the final lap of the EA Sports 500.
dalewin
Dale Earnhardt Inc. had been dominant on restrictor-plate tracks in recent years, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not win the big one -- the Daytona 500 -- until 2004. On February 15 at Daytona International Speedway, Earnhardt celebrated his first 500 victory with his crew, his family, a multitude of fans and a watchful press.
newpoints
The new points format in the Chase for the Nextel Cup promised to make the title hunt more thrilling, and in 2004, it lived up to the hype. The championship was not decided until the final lap was run in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. High drama was the order of the day on the track and on pit road, as Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson ran neck-and-neck, trading the points lead throughout the race. In the end, Kurt Busch was crowned champion by a margin of just eight points over Jimmie Johnson.
ford400
After a thrilling title chase that came down to the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kurt Busch was crowned as the first champion of the new Nextel Cup Series. The championship capped an extraordinary year for Busch and for Roush Racing. Roush had three drivers contending in the Chase for the Nextel Cup and Matt Kenseth had won the title for Roush in 2003. Roush teammate Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 and gave his congratulations to Busch, the new champion.
darlington
In 2004, the Southern 500 was run in November as the penultimate race of the year. Long a NASCAR tradition, the endurance race began in afternoon and ended after nightfall under the lights at Darlington Raceway. In 2005, Darlington will hold just one race -- in May.
kaseykahne
Almost from the beginning of the season, rookie Kasey Kahne asserted himself as a contender, threatening to win races week in and week out. Two memorable runner-up finishes to Matt Kenseth at Rockingham and Las Vegas early in the year set the tone for what would be a breakout season for Kahne. Though he didn’t win a race, he easily won Rookie of the Year honors and narrowly missed making the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
bigapple
In December, NASCAR once again hit the Big Apple to celebrate Championship Week. Race fans braved the winter cold in New York, lining the streets to witness a unique spectacle: the top 10 finishers in the Nextel Cup Series taking a victory lap around Times Square.
youngguns
In a year that saw Bill Elliott running part time in the Nextel Cup Series and veterans Terry Labonte, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace announcing plans for retirement, NASCAR’s so-called young guns continued to make a splash on the track and with fans. After qualifying first and second at Pocono Raceway in June, rookies Kasey Kahne, 24, and Brian Vickers, 21, prepare to sign autographs for the fans.
nextel
By all accounts, Nextel’s first season as a series sponsor in NASCAR was a successful one. The exciting Chase for the Nextel Cup, a series of television spots and an all-star race helped make the company’s transition into NASCAR a smooth one; but everyone knew that change was afoot in January when the first Nextel banners and signs began to go up at Daytona.
