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Date July 3, 2004 (2004-07-03) Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02 km) Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.27 km) Weather Temperatures reaching as low as 70 °F (21 °C); wind speeds up to 16.9 miles per hour (27.2 km/h) Average speed 145.117 miles per hour (233.543 km/h) | ||
The 2004 Pepsi 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on July 3, 2004 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race, the twentieth of the season, was contested over 160 laps. Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, won the race from the pole position, and also led the most laps. Former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich was the grand marshal for the race; NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady was originally the grand marshal, but was replaced by Leftwich due to scheduling conflicts.
Contents
Race
The race was delayed for two hours due to rain. Ten laps into the race, Michael Waltrip passed pole-sitter Jeff Gordon for the lead. On Lap 19, the caution flag was thrown after a multi-car accident. Waltrip continued leading until Lap 55, in which Dale Earnhardt Incorporated teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. After Bobby Hamilton, Jr. had an accident on Lap 70, Earnhardt led the race into pit road, but was pushed out by Gordon and Brian Vickers, and fell to fifteenth, giving Mike Wallace the lead entering Lap 74. Shepherd pitted on the following lap, and Morgan Shepherd took the lead. However, Shepherd would later pit, as Gordon regained the lead. Waltrip then retook the lead from Gordon on Lap 86, though Gordon then took the lead again 13 laps later. Ten laps later, Gordon pitted, and Waltrip was given the lead. On the ensuing lap, Earnhardt took the lead, though he later pitted, and Jimmy Spencer gained the lead. On Lap 113, Spencer lost the lead to Gordon when he pitted, who led the pit stops on Lap 139. Dave Blaney stayed out, and took the lead, though Ryan Newman gained first-place when Blaney went to pit road. Newman pitted on Lap 143, giving Tony Stewart the lead. With ten laps left in the race, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson followed in third and fourth, respectively, behind Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Johnson then pushed Gordon past Stewart and Earnhardt, and Gordon subsequently won, his fourth of the season and second consecutive. The victory by Gordon made him the first driver since Cale Yarborough to win the Pepsi 400 from the pole. A version of the race's waning moments was included in the prologue of the video game NASCAR 06: Total Team Control, which involved Johnson pushing Gordon past Earnhardt.
Race results
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