2004 Subway 400

Race details[1]
Race 2 of 36 in the2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
2004 Subway 400 program cover
Date	February 22, 2004 (2004-02-22)
Location	North Carolina Speedway,Richmond County, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	1.017 miles (1.637 km)
Distance	393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km)
Weather	Temperatures hovering around 71.1 °F (21.7 °C); wind speeds up to 9.2 miles per hour (14.8 km/h)[2]
Average speed	112.016 mph (180.272 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Newman	Penske Racing
Time	23.398
Most laps led
Driver	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing
Laps	259[3]
Winner
No. 17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy,Darrell Waltrip,Larry McReynolds

The2004 Subway 400 was aNASCARNextel Cup Series race held on February 22, 2004, atNorth Carolina Speedway inRichmond County, North Carolina. The race was the second of the2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.

Ryan Newman ofPenske Racing won thepole position, whileMatt Kenseth ofRoush Racing won the race. The race was the final Cup race at the track due to poor attendance, as the race date was later given toPhoenix International Raceway;^[4] only 50,000 were in attendance at the 60,113 facility.^[5]

The other Cup race at the track, thePop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400, had been replaced byCalifornia Speedway after 2003.

Ryan Newman,2003's pole leader with 11, won the pole at Rockingham with a lap speed of 156.475 miles per hour (251.822 km/h) and a lap time of 23.398 seconds.^[6]Dodges were the top four fastest, with Newman,Jamie McMurray (155.379 mph (250.058 km/h)),Kasey Kahne (154.814 mph (249.149 km/h)) andRusty Wallace (154.644 mph (248.875 km/h)).Chevrolet driverJeff Gordon qualified fifth with a lap speed of 154.318 mph (248.351 km/h);Jeremy Mayfield (154.195 mph (248.153 km/h)),Dale Earnhardt Jr. (154.149 mph (248.079 km/h)),Jeff Green (154.117 mph (248.027 km/h)), the previous year's race winner^[7]Dale Jarrett (154.078 mph (247.965 km/h)) andGreg Biffle (154.026 mph (247.881 km/h)) rounded out the top ten.Morgan Shepherd andAndy Belmont failed to qualify^[8] after the two crashed in practice.^[9]Ryan McGlynn andLarry Gunselman also withdrew.

The entry list for the race was short, which led to a group offield-fillers entering the race, includingJoe Ruttman, starting in his first Cup race since 1995,^[10]Kirk Shelmerdine, who made only two Cup Series starts since 1994,Carl Long, who started twice in 2001, andAndy Hillenburg, who failed to qualify for the2004 Daytona 500. The four drivers were considerably slower than the 37 full-time teams; in comparison to Newman's qualifying speed, Hillenburg, who started 43rd, had a speed of 146.859 mph (236.347 km/h), a 9.616 mph (15.475 km/h) differential. Hillenburg, who ran just six laps in the two practice sessions prior to the race, expressed interest in running the full race, stating, "I don't want to look like we're trying to capitalize on anything, but this is our window of opportunity. We're not here to go two laps and try to get a check. We're here to do the best we can."^[11] After the race, rumors arose whether NASCAR had requested the field-fillers to appear and complete the 43-car field with the reward of money, possibly to satisfy television contracts, NASCAR vice presidentJim Hunter denied the allegations.^[12]

1.Ryan Newman No.12 ALLTEL DodgePenske Racing 156.475 mph

2.Jamie McMurray No.42 Texaco Havoline DodgeChip Ganassi Racing 155.379 mph

3.Kasey Kahne* No.9 Dodge Dealers/UAW DodgeEvernham Motorsports 154.814 mph

4.Rusty Wallace No.2 Miller Lite DodgePenske Racing 154.644 mph

5.Jeff Gordon No.24 Dupont ChevroletHendrick Motorsports 154.318 mph

6.Jeremy Mayfield No.19 Dodge Dealers/UAW DodgeEvernham Motorsports 154.195 mph

7.Dale Earnhardt Jr. No.8 Budweiser ChevroletDale Earnhardt Incorporated 154.149 mph

8.Jeff Green No.43 STP/Cheerios DodgePetty Enterprises 154.117 mph

9.Dale Jarrett No.88 UPS FordRobert Yates Racing 154.078 mph

10.Greg Biffle No.16 Subway/National Guard FordRoush Racing 154.026 mph

11.Bobby Labonte No.18 Interstate Batteries ChevroletJoe Gibbs Racing 154.020 mph

12.Joe Nemechek No.01 US Army ChevroletMB2 Motorsports 153.987 mph

13.Casey Mears No.41 Target DodgeChip Ganassi Racing 153.942 mph

14.Sterling Marlin No.40 Coors Light DodgeChip Ganassi Racing 153.942 mph

15.Brendan Gaughan* No.77 Kodak/Jasper Engines DodgePenske/Jasper Racing 153.748 mph

16.Ward Burton No. 0 Netzero HiSpeed ChevroletHaas CNC Racing 153,690 mph

17.Ricky Craven No.32 Tide ChevroletPPI Motorsports 153.619 mph

18.Ken Schrader No.49 Schwan's Home Service DodgeBAM Racing 153.413 mph

19.Scott Riggs* No.10 Valvoline ChevroletMBV Motorsports 153.297 mph

20.Brian Vickers* No.25 GMAC Financial Services ChevroletHendrick Motorsports 153.169 mph

21.Mark Martin No. 6 Viagra FordRoush Racing 153.015 mph

22.Ricky Rudd No.21 Motorcraft FordWood Brothers Racing 152.984 mph

23.Matt Kenseth No.17 DeWalt FordRoush Racing 152.945 mph

24.Tony Stewart No.20 Home Depot ChevroletJoe Gibbs Racing 152.875 mph

25.Elliott Sadler No.38 M&M's FordRobert Yates Racing 152.798 mph

26.Kevin Lepage No.4 YokeTV.com ChevroletMorgan-McClure Racing 152.792 mph

27.Kurt Busch No.97 Sharpie FordRoush Racing 152.633 mph

28.Jeff Burton No.99 SKF FordRoush Racing 152.486 mph

29.Jimmie Johnson No.48 Lowe's ChevroletHendrick Motorsports 152.480 mph

30.Kyle Petty No.45 Georgia Pacific DodgePetty Enterprises 152.353 mph

31.Scott Wimmer* No.22 Caterpillar DodgeBill Davis Racing 152.290 mph

32.Kevin Harvick No.29 GM Goodwrench ChevroletRichard Childress Racing 152.220 mph

33.Michael Waltrip No.15 NAPA Auto Parts ChevroletDale Earnhardt Incorporated 152.119 mph

34.Robby Gordon No.31 Cingular Wireless ChevroletRichard Childress Racing 152.024 mph

35.Terry Labonte No.5 Kellogg's ChevroletHendrick Motorsports 151.722 mph

36.Johnny Sauter* No. 30 America Online ChevroletRichard Childress Racing 151.283 mph

37.Derrike Cope No.50 Arnold Development Companies DodgeDerrike Cope 151.283 mph

38.Larry Foyt No.14 AJ Foyt Racing DodgeAJ Foyt Racing 151.221 mph

39.John Andretti No.1 Snap-On/Nilla ChevroletDale Earnhardt Incorporated 150.481 mph (provisional)

40.Joe Ruttman No.09 Phoenix Racing DodgePhoenix Racing 145.142 mph (provisional)

41.Kirk Shelmerdine No.172 Tucson FordKirk Shelmerdine 145.661 mph

42.Carl Long No.146 Glenn Underwater Services DodgeGlenn Racing 148.739 mph

43.Andy Hillenburg No.280 Commercial Truck & Trailer FordStanton Hover 146.859 mph^[13]

* Rookie of the Year contender.

After one lap was completed, Joe Ruttman, who started 40th and did not make any attempts to practice, was ordered to park by NASCAR for not having a pit crew and collected $54,196.^[12] NASCAR eventually admonishedPhoenix Racing ownerJames Finch for the incident. Kirk Shelmerdine was lapped after eight minutes and finished 42nd after not reaching the minimum speeds mandated by NASCAR, and was paid $54,895. Carl Long finished 38th after barrel-rolling on the backstretch. Andy Hillenburg managed to finish the race in 34th and 17 laps down, earning $55,425.^[12]

Pole-sitter Ryan Newman led the first two laps before getting passed by Jamie McMurray, who led until the first caution flag was waved forKen Schrader's crash in turns one and two.Jeff Gordon took the lead, leading until lap 53 whenKyle Petty crashed. McMurray andRobby Gordon exchanged the lead during the caution period, while Newman, Jeff Gordon, andMatt Kenseth swapped the lead changes during the 71-lapgreen flag period, with Schrader andJimmie Johnson's accident on lap 131 bringing out another caution. On lap 134, Kenseth claimed the lead and led for 79 consecutive laps until lap 214, when a debris caution came out. DespiteKevin Harvick briefly taking first, Kenseth regained the lead and led for 87 more laps.^[3] During those laps, on lap 265, Long collided withJoe Nemechek,^[14] flipped down the backstretch, and landed in the turn 3 apron.^[15] With 42 laps left, Robby Gordon crashed, and McMurray eventually passed Kenseth and Kasey Kahne, but NASCAR ruled that Kenseth and Kahne were finishing theirpit stops and were leaving pit road, and as the field was frozen, McMurray's pass was voided.^[16] Kenseth battled Kahne for the win, and on the final lap, defeated Kahne by .01 seconds, while McMurray finished third. McMurray's team ownerChip Ganassi confronted the NASCAR haulers about Kenseth and Kahne's wave around; Ganassi stated, "We just got robbed in front of 100,000 people."^[17]

• 2004 in sports in North Carolina
• 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
• NASCAR races at Rockingham Speedway

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