Media choose emotional victory as NASCAR season highlight
A year filled with changes, history and exciting “firsts” left no shortage of memories during NASCAR’s 2004 season.
But one moment does stand out, as selected by media voting.
Jimmie Johnson’s (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) Oct. 31 win at Atlanta not only kept him in contention for the inaugural “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup,” it helped jump-start healing for Hendrick Motorsports, which had been shaken by a team plane crash the previous week. As a result, Johnson’s win was selected by the media as the top 2004 NASCAR moment.
A total of 153 votes were cast in week-long balloting, which began Dec. 15 and ended Dec. 22. Johnson’s win received 31 percent of the voting, tops over the next-closest moment – Kurt Busch (No. 97 Sharpie/IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford) overcoming a detached right front tire in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch the 2004 series title on the season’s last lap. Busch’s feat received 22 percent of the voting.
Finishing third was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet) Daytona 500 win, which received 17 percent of the voting. Finishing fourth was Jeremy Mayfield’s (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) Sept. 11 win at Richmond, the cutoff point for the Chase. Mayfield’s win, which earned him a berth in the Chase, received 10 percent of the voting.
Media voted Matt Kenseth’s (No. 17 DeWALT Tools Ford) photo finish with Raybestos Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) at North Carolina Speedway on Feb. 22 as the fifth top moment of 2004. Kenseth’s and Kahne’s finish – Kenseth won – received eight percent of the voting.
Jeff Gordon’s (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) Brickyard 400 win, which tied him with Al Unser, Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt for the most wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was voted the sixth top moment of 2004. Gordon’s accomplishment received five percent of the voting.
Two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series highlights tied for seventh and eighth place in media voting. Bobby Hamilton (No. 4 Square D Dodge) winning the 2004 title as the series’ oldest champion (age 47) and the first driver-owner to win a series title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992, and the 2003 series champion, Travis Kvapil (No. 42 Line-X Toyota), claiming Toyota’s historic first win on July 21 at Michigan International Speedway, both received two percent of the voting.
Two NASCAR Busch Series moments tied for ninth and 10th in media voting: Mike Bliss’ first series win in October at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and 2004 series champion Martin Truex Jr. (No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) beating team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega Superspeedway in April both received one percent of the voting.
A year filled with changes, history and exciting “firsts” left no shortage of memories during NASCAR’s 2004 season.
But one moment does stand out, as selected by media voting.
Jimmie Johnson’s (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) Oct. 31 win at Atlanta not only kept him in contention for the inaugural “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup,” it helped jump-start healing for Hendrick Motorsports, which had been shaken by a team plane crash the previous week. As a result, Johnson’s win was selected by the media as the top 2004 NASCAR moment.
A total of 153 votes were cast in week-long balloting, which began Dec. 15 and ended Dec. 22. Johnson’s win received 31 percent of the voting, tops over the next-closest moment – Kurt Busch (No. 97 Sharpie/IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford) overcoming a detached right front tire in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch the 2004 series title on the season’s last lap. Busch’s feat received 22 percent of the voting.
Finishing third was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet) Daytona 500 win, which received 17 percent of the voting. Finishing fourth was Jeremy Mayfield’s (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) Sept. 11 win at Richmond, the cutoff point for the Chase. Mayfield’s win, which earned him a berth in the Chase, received 10 percent of the voting.
Media voted Matt Kenseth’s (No. 17 DeWALT Tools Ford) photo finish with Raybestos Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) at North Carolina Speedway on Feb. 22 as the fifth top moment of 2004. Kenseth’s and Kahne’s finish – Kenseth won – received eight percent of the voting.
Jeff Gordon’s (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) Brickyard 400 win, which tied him with Al Unser, Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt for the most wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was voted the sixth top moment of 2004. Gordon’s accomplishment received five percent of the voting.
Two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series highlights tied for seventh and eighth place in media voting. Bobby Hamilton (No. 4 Square D Dodge) winning the 2004 title as the series’ oldest champion (age 47) and the first driver-owner to win a series title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992, and the 2003 series champion, Travis Kvapil (No. 42 Line-X Toyota), claiming Toyota’s historic first win on July 21 at Michigan International Speedway, both received two percent of the voting.
Two NASCAR Busch Series moments tied for ninth and 10th in media voting: Mike Bliss’ first series win in October at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and 2004 series champion Martin Truex Jr. (No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) beating team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega Superspeedway in April both received one percent of the voting.