2004 Daytona 500

2004 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 1 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
2004 Daytona 500 logo
2004 Daytona 500 logo
Date February 15, 2004 (2004-02-15)
Location Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 73 °F (23 °C); wind speeds approaching 20 miles per hour (32 km/h)[1]
Average speed 156.341 miles per hour (251.606 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Roush Racing
Time 47.774
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Duel 2 Winner Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing
Most laps led
Driver Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 98
Winner
No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, and Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Nielsen Ratings 10.6/24
(17.8 million viewers)

The 2004 Daytona 500, the 46th running of the event, was the first race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was a race held on February 15, 2004, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was televised by NBC, with Allen Bestwick, 1975 race winner Benny Parsons, and Wally Dallenbach Jr. calling the action for the second time after the 2002 race. It was the first NASCAR Nextel Cup race to air in high definition.

This was the first Daytona 500 without 2-time Daytona 500 Champion and 4-time pole-sitter Bill Elliott since 1976.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race, making this his first Daytona 500 victory exactly six years to the day after his father Dale Earnhardt, Sr. won his first and only Daytona 500 in the 1998 race. Tony Stewart finished second and rookie Scott Wimmer finished third.

  1. ^ "Weather of the 2004 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-06-19.