NASCAR 2004 - MotorSM.com

5 men were in contention for the 2004 title going into the season finale in Homstead: Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin. Busch finished 5th but that was enough to claim the title by 8 points from Jimmy Johnson who finished 2nd. The race was won by Greg Biffle. Jeff Gordon was 3rd.
BUSCH, 2004 CHAMPION: "... Just unbelievable ... To be able to persevere how we did and overcome everything that we did, I cannot believe this team and everything we have been able to overcome this year. There are positions and times to be lucky and positions and times to stay focused and put together your best effort. It's a true testament to what a driver has to do, a team has to do, and team owner has to do."

2004 NEXTEL CUP - NASCAR

SEASON FINALE: NOV 21, 2004, Homestead-Miami Speedway

RACE RESULT

1 Greg Biffle, Ford, 271 laps

2 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet

3 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

4 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet

5 Kurt Busch, Ford *** 2004 CHAMPION ***

6 Gaughan

7 McMurray

8 Wallace

9 Rudd

10 Harvick

11 Martin 12 Labonte 13 Wimmer 14 Edwards 15 Riggs

GRID, NOV 19, 2004

1 Kurt Busch, Ford, 179.319 mph, 30.114s
"... I like qualifying here at Homestead ... You don't feel like you're doing a great lap, but the horsepower comes forth and you put up a great number"

2 Greg Biffle, Ford +0.002s

3 Ryan Newman, Dodge +0.038

4 Kasey Kahne, Dodge

5 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
"... We have nothing to lose, we'll give it everything we've got, and hope to come out on top"

6 Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet

7 Ricky Rudd, Ford

8 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet

9 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet

10 Rusty Wallace, Dodge

11 Mark Martin 12 Bliss 13 Hmiel 14 Vickers

16 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

39 Jimmie Johnson

BUSCH ON POLE: ".... it is a tremendous plus for us to be in this position to start up on the pole and to have the other competitors behind us. Gordon is top five, I believe. Jimmie Johnson is much further back. Those are the two guys that we're first and foremost worried about. Then there's the 8 car and the 6, but normally on Friday after we qualify, we look at what we have as a car. How did it react to our changes during the day? Today is just a short two-hour session. Tomorrow, we'll now look into our process of what we're gonna change during happy hour and put our program together and that'll just allow us to move smoother through the weekend and to have that mindset. That's what it takes as a team to stick together. It's not to get wrapped up in, 'we're on the pole, they're too far behind us,' and then lose track of what adjustments you have to make on the race car for Saturday's practice to make it a well handling car on Sunday."

Before the final race of the year:

1ST, KURT BUSCH:
Ford, 3 wins, 6346 points, 9 Top 5 finish
Age: 26
Team: Roush Racing

we feel as if we've accomplished so much already

"... the format will be very simple for our Sharpie Ford. But to be able to compete against these guys and to have the season that we've had, we feel as if we've accomplished so much already. We're prepared to win on Sunday, but we're prepared to lose as well. But it would be a much sweeter situation to bring that hardware home on Monday morning."

2ND, JIMMY JOHNSON:
Chevrolet, 8 wins +18 points, 19 Top 5 finish
Age: 29
Team: Hendrick Motorsport

3RD, JEFF GORDON:
Chevrolet, 5 wins +21 points, 15 Top 5 finish
Age: 33
Team: Hendrick Motorsport

".... We are going to need some help this weekend, but I don't want to win a championship with somebody having bad luck ... "I want to out-race them ... I don't think this championship could come down to a better place or better track than Homestead ... The fans are going to see side-by-side racing to decide this championship. I don't think you could ask for a better end to the season or a better end to the championship."

NASCAR STANDING: BEFORE FINAL RACE

1 Kurt Busch, Ford, 3 wins, 6346

2 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 8 wins +18 points

3 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 5 wins +21 points

4 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 6 wins* +72 points

5 Mark Martin, Ford, 1 win +82 points

6 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 2 wins

7 Ryan Newman 1 win

8 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 2 wins

9 Elliott Sadler, Ford, 2 wins

10 Jeremy Mayfield 1 win

PRE RACE QUOTES

3RD, JEFF GORDON: ".... We are going to need some help this weekend, but I don't want to win a championship with somebody having bad luck ... "I want to out-race them ... I don't think this championship could come down to a better place or better track than Homestead ... The fans are going to see side-by-side racing to decide this championship. I don't think you could ask for a better end to the season or a better end to the championship."

4TH, EARNHARDT JR: ".... We're going to have to be the best team at Homestead as well as the luckiest. We're going to try our best. If we don't win it, it won't be due to lack of effort. I think the Boston Red Sox kind of showed everybody this year what a team can achieve by not giving up, so we'll go into Homestead as a team still with a chance to win the championship."

6TH, STEWART: "... I'd much rather have the pressure of being the point leader, or even remotely close to the point leader. But being where we are does take a little bit of that edge off. Still, I'd much rather be right there in the middle of the championship knowing that we've got a shot of winning it. Pressure is a part of this business, and we're all used to it by now."

2004 NASCAR SEASON FINALE

2004 NEXTEL CUP - NASCAR