Six Races That Changed NASCAR, Part 6

The 2004 season brought new ways that the fans looked at NASCAR.  A new title sponsorship in the sport's elite series was one major change.  The other, but more significant perhaps, was the way that the championship point system would be structured.  It's a format that is still debated today among many fans.  That first season under the new format saw the closest points race in NASCAR history come to its conclusion in Homestead, Florida.  The sixth and final part of this series looks at the 2004 Ford 400.

 

The 2003 season marked the end of an era in NASCAR history.  After a more than three decade partnership in NASCAR, RJR Reynolds Tobacco was ending its sponsorship of the sport's elite division, the Winston Cup Series.  During the season, it was announced that telecommunications company Nextel would sponsor the series, starting in 2004.  Matt Kenseth dominated the season to win that final Winston Cup Championship.  He won the title by 90 points, though at times, he had a larger lead.  Kenseth won only one race that season.  That was the season's third race of the at Las Vegas.  There were some that said Kenseth's title run lacked the drama that the sport needed. 

 

So NASCAR President Brian France had an idea. 

 

He came up with a playoff type of format called "The Chase for the Championship".  The season was divided up into a 26 race "regular season", then the "playoffs" for the final ten races..  At the end of the first 26 races, the top ten drivers in the point standings became eligible for the Nextel Cup Championship.    Then the standings among the ten eligible drivers were reset, basically making them bunched together in the championship chase.  In the beginning, there were more critics of the idea, at least more vocal than the supporters.  A reason was because some of those who like the tradition of NASCAR thought the sport was going farther away from its roots.  Another point among critics was the thought of someone far back within the top ten winning the title over someone who had a better season overall.   But, the plan was in place for the 2004 season.

 

The drivers making the cut in the first ever "Chase for the Championship" were Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Jeremy Mayfield, and Ryan Newman.  Kurt Busch started The Chase in seventh in the standings.  He took full advantage of the new format.  He took the lead in the standings after the third Chase race.  With four races to go, Busch led by 96 points.  Then trouble at Atlanta.  Engine problems took him out after 51 laps.  He finished 42nd and his lead in the standings fell to 59.  After Phoenix, his lead then dropped to 41 points, then to 18 after Darlington, despite top ten finishes in those last two races.

 

The stage was set at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 21st for the season finale Ford 400.  Busch's lead was shaky going into that final race:  18 points over Jimmie Johnson and 21 over third place Jeff Gordon.  To take it a step further, fourth place Dale Earnhardt Jr. trailed by 72 points and fifth place driver Mark Martin was behind only 82 points.  So five drivers had a real shot at the Nextel Cup Championship.  The Chase for the Championship was going just the way the sport thought it might.

 

Kurt Busch's weekend got off to a good start.  He won the pole for the race.  But his run for the championship was far from easy.  During the first half of the race, a rear tire came off Busch's car.  Kurt had to take quick action to keep the car from hitting the end of the wall that separated the pits from the track.  He narrowly missed it, and was able to get to his pit stall and get the problem fixed.  He fell down a lap, making it look like his championship dreams were over.  But, Busch rallied to get back on the lead lap, then fought his way back to the front, putting him in contention for the title.  A late caution forced a green-white-checker finish, with the top three title contenders all in the mix.  Busch's Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle won the race.  Jimmie Johnson finished second and Gordon third.  However, Busch's fifth place finish was good enough to win him the first Nextel Cup Championship.  Busch's margin of victory in the standing was eight points, making it the closest in Winston/Nextel Cup history.

 

After that, many of The Chase's critics were fairly quiet.  In 2005, Tony Stewart led starting The Chase, and then went on to win the title.  In 2006, Jimmie Johnson was second behind Matt Kenseth by less than ten points to start The Chase, and then proceeded to win the championship.  So there were basically no problems in those two years.  But in 2007, the loudest critics were out in full force.  After 25 races, Jeff Gordon led Tony Stewart by 317 points.  When The Chase started, the rules of the format put in second, 20 points behind Jimmie Johnson.  Gordon would up finishing in second, 77 points behind Johnson.  It was quickly pointed out that if the old format was in place, Gordon would have won by a rather comfortable margin.  The main criticism was that Jeff was far more consistent and more deserving, but was robbed by The Chase.  But, as many critics as there are of The Chase, there are still a great number of supporters.  To those critics dismay, it looks like The Chase is here to stay.

 

Whether or not you agree with the system, it produced an exciting finish to the 2004 season.  The championship run of that season will always be regarded as one of the best ever in NASCAR.  While Kurt Busch has had his fair share of critics in his career, whether deserved or not, his day at Homestead in 2004 will be regarded as his finest moment.  The way he rallied in that race was a championship worthy performance.  It was his way of getting this new era of NASCAR underway.

By:  CrimsonCowboy

2004 Ford 400 Part 1    2004 Ford 400 Part 2

Contributing credits in the series:  The official websites of NASCAR and Fox Sports and Wikipedia.  Online footage in this series provided by YouTube.