2004 Chevy American Revolution 400

2004 Chevy American Revolution 400

Race details
Race 11 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
The 2004 Chevy American Revolution 400 program cover.
Date	May 15, 2004
Official name	50th Annual Chevy American Revolution 400
Location	Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.21 km)
Distance	400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Scheduled Distance	400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Average speed	98.253 miles per hour (158.123 km/h)
Attendance	115,000
Pole position
Driver	Brian Vickers	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	20.772
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Laps	115
Winner
No. 8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Television in the United States
Network	FX
Announcers	Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2004 Chevy American Revolution 400 was the 11th stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 50th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, May 15, 2004, before a crowd of 115,000 in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. would cruise on the final restart to win his 12th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his third win of the season.^[1] To fill out the podium, Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports and Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted an IndyCar Series race and two USAC sprint car races.

The first practice session was held on Friday, May 14, at 11:20 AM EST, and would last for two hours.^[2] Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 20.367 and an average speed of 132.567 miles per hour (213.346 km/h).^[3]

The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, May 14, at 6:00 PM EST, and would last for one hour and 15 minutes.^[2] Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 20.989 and an average speed of 128.639 miles per hour (207.024 km/h).^[4]

Qualifying was held on Friday, May 14, at 3:10 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.^[2] Positions 1-38 would be decided on time, while positions 39-43 would be based on provisionals. Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.^[5]

Brian Vickers of Hendrick Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 20.772 and an average speed of 129.983 miles per hour (209.187 km/h). At the time, Vickers was the youngest ever pole-sitter.^[6]

Two drivers would crash during qualifying. First, Ricky Craven would slam the wall on his second lap, damaging the rear end of his car. Then, Kasey Kahne would crash on his first lap. While both had qualified, they would be forced to start at the rear for the race for switching to a backup car. In addition, the #9 team was forced to use a provisional.^[7]

Two drivers would fail to qualify: Stanton Barrett and Kirk Shelmerdine.