2004 Food City 500

The 2004 Food City 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 44th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 28, 2004, before a crowd of 160,000 in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. Kurt Busch of Roush Racing would hold off the field on the final restart with two to go to win his fifth career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win of his career and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Rusty Wallace of Penske-Jasper Racing and Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

First practice
The first practice session occurred on Friday, March 26, at 11:20 AM EST and would last for two hours. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.009 and an average speed of 127.843 mph.

Second practice
The second practice session occurred on Saturday, March 27, at 9:30 AM EST and would last for 45 minutes. Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.447 and an average speed of 124.218 mph.

Third and final practice
The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, occurred on Saturday, March 27, at 11:10 AM EST and would last for 45 minutes. Brian Vickers of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.604 and an average speed of 122.968 mph.

Qualifying
Qualifying occurred on Friday, March 27, at 3:00 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. 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.

Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 14.954 and an average speed of 128.314 mph.

Kirk Shelmerdine would crash on his second lap in turn 3, slamming the outside wall. While he had set a lap, he was forced to use a provisional.

Morgan Shepherd would be the only driver to not qualify for the race.