2004 IndyCar Series season

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2004 IndyCar season
Season
Races 16
Start date February 29
End date October 17
Awards
Drivers' champion Brazil Tony Kanaan
Rookie of the Year Japan Kosuke Matsuura
Indianapolis 500 winner United States Buddy Rice
Chronology
Previous season Next season
2003 2005

The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season was dominated by two teams, Andretti Green Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing. While there was great parity in 2003 between Honda and Toyota powered teams, in 2004 Honda began to outshine Toyota bringing their teams Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing down with it, leaving Scott Dixon winless and in 10th place in his attempt to defend his 2003 championship.

Season champion Tony Kanaan set a record by completing all 3,305 possible laps, the first IndyCar driver in modern history to do so.

This season was the last to feature an all-oval tracks schedule, which was part of the concept that led to the creation of the Indy Racing League. By 2005, road and street courses started to appear in the schedule, and by 2015, there are more races run in road/street courses than in oval tracks.

2004 IndyCar Series schedule

All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Rnd Date Race Name Track Location Pole position Fastest lap Most Laps Led Winner
1 February 29 United States Toyota Indy 300 Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida United States Buddy Rice United States Sam Hornish, Jr. Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Sam Hornish, Jr.
2 March 21 United States Copper World Indy 200 Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Darren Manning Brazil Tony Kanaan Brazil Tony Kanaan
3 April 17 Japan Indy Japan 300 Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon
4 May 30 United States 88th Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana United States Buddy Rice Brazil Vitor Meira United States Buddy Rice United States Buddy Rice
5 June 12 United States Bombardier 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Brazil Vitor Meira Brazil Tony Kanaan Brazil Tony Kanaan
6 June 28 United States SunTrust Indy Challenge Richmond International Raceway Richmond, Virginia Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Sam Hornish, Jr. United Kingdom Dario Franchitti United Kingdom Dan Wheldon
7 July 4 United States Argent Mortgage 300 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas United States Buddy Rice South Africa Tomas Scheckter United States Buddy Rice United States Buddy Rice
8 July 17 United States Firestone Indy 200 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee United States Buddy Rice Brazil Vitor Meira Brazil Vitor Meira Brazil Tony Kanaan
9 July 25 United States Menards A.J. Foyt 225 The Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin Brazil Vitor Meira United Kingdom Dario Franchitti United Kingdom Dario Franchitti United Kingdom Dario Franchitti
10 August 1 United States Michigan Indy 400 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan Brazil Tony Kanaan United Kingdom Darren Manning Brazil Tony Kanaan United States Buddy Rice
11 August 15 United States Belterra Casino Indy 300 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky United States Buddy Rice Brazil Vitor Meira Brazil Tony Kanaan Mexico Adrián Fernández
12 August 22 United States Honda Indy 225 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado Brazil Tony Kanaan United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dario Franchitti United Kingdom Dario Franchitti
13 August 29 United States Firestone Indy 225 Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Sam Hornish, Jr. Brazil Hélio Castroneves United Kingdom Dan Wheldon
14 September 12 United States Delphi Indy 300 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Vitor Meira Mexico Adrián Fernández Mexico Adrián Fernández
15 October 3 United States Toyota Indy 400 California Speedway Fontana, California Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Vitor Meira Brazil Hélio Castroneves Mexico Adrián Fernández
16 October 17 United States Chevy 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Bryan Herta Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Hélio Castroneves

BOLD indicates a Superspeedways.

Team and driver chart

Team Chassis Engine No Drivers Sponsor(s) Notes
United States Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Toyota 1 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target
10 United Kingdom Darren Manning Target Did not Start at California and
missed Texas due to injury
United States Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 2 United Kingdom Mark Taylor Menards
Johns-Manville
United States Townsend Bell Replaced Taylor from
Kansas onwards
4 South Africa Tomas Scheckter Pennzoil
United States Marlboro Team Penske Dallara Toyota 3 Brazil Helio Castroneves Marlboro
6 United States Sam Hornish, Jr. Marlboro
Mexico
Japan Aguri-Fernández Racing
G-Force Honda 5 Mexico Adrián Fernández Quaker State
Telmex
Tecate
Missed opener at Homestead
55 Japan Kosuke Matsuura ARTA
Panasonic
United States Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 7 United States Bryan Herta XM Satellite Radio
11 Brazil Tony Kanaan 7-Eleven
26 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Klein Tools
Jim Beam
27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti ArcaEx
Alpine
United States Kelley Racing Dallara Toyota 8 United States Scott Sharp Delphi Corporation
39 United States Sarah Fisher Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems Indy 500 Only
United Kingdom Mo Nunn Racing Dallara Toyota 12 Japan Toranosuke Takagi Pioneer Corporation
21 United States Jeff Simmons Pioneer Corporation Indy 500 Only
United States Access Motorsports G-Force Honda 13 United States Greg Ray Renovac
United Kingdom Mark Taylor Replaced Ray from
Nashville onwards
United States A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Toyota 14 United States A. J. Foyt IV Conseco
G-Force 41 United States Larry Foyt Indy 500 Only
United States Rahal Letterman Racing G-Force Honda 15 United States Buddy Rice Argent Mortgage
Pioneer Corporation
16 United States Roger Yasukawa Sammy Motegi & Indy 500 Only
17 Brazil Vitor Meira Bea Systems
Centrix
Missed first two rounds
United States PDM Racing Dallara Chevrolet 18 United States Robby McGehee Burger King Indy 500 Only
United States Patrick Racing Dallara Chevrolet 20 United States Al Unser, Jr. Indy 500, Texas
& Richmond Only
United States Jeff Simmons Kansas Only
United States Jaques Lazier Raced from Nashville
to Chicagoland
Czech Republic Tomáš Enge California & Texas2 Only
United States Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Chevrolet 24 United States Robby Buhl Purex
Brazil Felipe Giaffone Purex Replaced Buhl from Indy 500 onwards
Canada Roth Racing Dallara Toyota 25 Canada Marty Roth Indy 500 Only
United States Sam Schmidt Motorsports G-Force Toyota 33 United States Richie Hearn Lucas Oil Indy 500 Only
United States Newman/Haas Racing G-Force Honda 26 Brazil Bruno Junqueira PacifiCare
Secure Horizons
Indy 500 Only
United States Cheever Racing Dallara Chevrolet 51 United States Alex Barron Red Bull
52 United States Ed Carpenter Red Bull
United States Robby Gordon Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 70 United States Robby Gordon Meijer
Coca-Cola
Indy 500 Only; Lazier replaced
Gordon after the Rain Delay
United States Jaques Lazier
United States Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Chevrolet 91 United States Buddy Lazier LifeFitness Indy 500 Only
United States CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 98 United States P. J. Jones Curb Records Indy 500 Only

Race Summaries

Toyota Indy 300

This race was held and Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 29. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
  2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  3. 26- Dan Wheldon
  4. 12- Toranosuke Takagi
  5. 4- Tomas Scheckter
  6. 10- Darren Manning
  7. 15- Buddy Rice
  8. 11- Tony Kanaan
  9. 8- Scott Sharp
  10. 24- Robbie Buhl

Copper World Indy 200

This race was held and Phoenix International Raceway on March 21. Dan Wheldon won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 11- Tony Kanaan
  2. 1- Scott Dixon
  3. 26- Dan Wheldon
  4. 51- Alex Barron
  5. 10- Darren Manning
  6. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  7. 7- Bryan Herta
  8. 12- Toranosuke Takagi
  9. 15- Buddy Rice
  10. 13- Greg Ray

Indy Japan 300

This race was held and Twin Ring Motegi on April 17. This was Honda's first win in the annual oval race held at their own track. Dan Wheldon won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 26- Dan Wheldon
  2. 11- Tony Kanaan
  3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  4. 10- Darren Manning
  5. 1- Scott Dixon
  6. 15- Buddy Rice
  7. 27- Dario Franchitti
  8. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
  9. 8- Scott Sharp
  10. 12- Toranosuke Takagi

88th Indianapolis 500

The 88th Indianapolis 500-mile (800 km) race was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30. Buddy Rice sat on pole. The race was shortened to 180 laps (450 miles) due to rain.

Top ten results

  1. 15- Buddy Rice
  2. 11- Tony Kanaan
  3. 26- Dan Wheldon
  4. 7- Bryan Herta
  5. 36- Bruno Junqueira
  6. 17- Vitor Meira
  7. 5- Adrián Fernández
  8. 1- Scott Dixon
  9. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  10. 16- Roger Yasukawa

Bombardier 500

This race was held and Texas Motor Speedway on June 12. Dario Franchitti won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 11- Tony Kanaan
  2. 27- Dario Franchitti
  3. 51- Alex Barron
  4. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
  5. 5- Adrián Fernández
  6. 17- Vitor Meira
  7. 13- Greg Ray
  8. 10- Darren Manning
  9. 24- Felipe Giaffone
  10. 12- Toranosuke Takagi

SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held and Richmond International Raceway on June 26. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 26- Dan Wheldon
  2. 17- Vitor Meira
  3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  4. 7- Bryan Herta
  5. 11- Tony Kanaan
  6. 15- Buddy Rice
  7. 5- Adrián Fernández
  8. 1- Scott Dixon
  9. 8- Scott Sharp
  10. 24- Felipe Giaffone

Argent Mortgage 300

This race was held and Kansas Speedway on July 4. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 15- Buddy Rice
  2. 17- Vitor Meira
  3. 11- Tony Kanaan
  4. 27- Dario Franchitti
  5. 7- Bryan Herta
  6. 5- Adrián Fernández
  7. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  8. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
  9. 26- Dan Wheldon
  10. 51- Alex Barron

Firestone Indy 200

This race was held and Nashville Superspeedway on July 17. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 11- Tony Kanaan
  2. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
  3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  4. 10- Darren Manning
  5. 2- Townsend Bell
  6. 15- Buddy Rice
  7. 13- Mark Taylor
  8. 1- Scott Dixon
  9. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
  10. 5- Adrián Fernández

Menards A.J. Foyt 225

This race was held and the Milwaukee Mile on July 25. Vitor Meira won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 27- Dario Franchitti
  2. 15- Buddy Rice
  3. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
  4. 11- Tony Kanaan
  5. 17- Vitor Meira
  6. 2- Townsend Bell
  7. 51- Alex Barron
  8. 5- Adrián Fernández
  9. 7- Bryan Herta
  10. 55- Kosuke Matsuura

Michigan Indy 400

This race was held and Michigan International Speedway on August 1. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 15- Buddy Rice
  2. 11- Tony Kanaan
  3. 26- Dan Wheldon
  4. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
  5. 17- Vitor Meira
  6. 7- Bryan Herta
  7. 1- Scott Dixon
  8. 2- Townsend Bell
  9. 8- Scott Sharp
  10. 3- Hélio Castroneves

Belterra Casino Indy 300

This race was held and Kentucky Speedway on August 15. Buddy Rice won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 5- Adrián Fernández
  2. 15- Buddy Rice
  3. 26- Dan Wheldon
  4. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
  5. 11- Tony Kanaan
  6. 27- Dario Franchitti
  7. 17- Vitor Meira
  8. 52- Ed Carpenter
  9. 7- Bryan Herta
  10. 10- Darren Manning

Honda Indy 225

This race was held and Pikes Peak International Raceway on August 22. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 27- Dario Franchitti
  2. 5- Adrián Fernández
  3. 6- Dan Wheldon
  4. 10- Darren Manning
  5. 11- Tony Kanaan
  6. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  7. 17- Vitor Meira
  8. 20- Jaques Lazier
  9. 7- Bryan Herta
  10. 51- Alex Barron

Firestone Indy 225

This race was held and Nazareth Speedway on August 29. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. The race was heralded as the series' 100th event.

Top ten results

  1. 26- Dan Wheldon
  2. 11- Tony Kanaan
  3. 27- Dario Franchitti
  4. 15- Buddy Rice
  5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  6. 10- Darren Manning
  7. 5- Adrián Fernández
  8. 7- Bryan Herta
  9. 1- Scott Dixon
  10. 17- Vitor Meira

Delphi Indy 300

This race was held and Chicagoland Speedway on September 12. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 5- Adrián Fernández 200 laps in 2:09:31.3301
  2. 7- Bryan Herta +0.0716
  3. 11- Tony Kanaan +0.1239
  4. 26- Dan Wheldon +0.2464
  5. 17- Vitor Meira +0.4873
  6. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr. +0.5402
  7. 1- Scott Dixon +0.6109
  8. 24- Felipe Giaffone +1.1137
  9. 8- Scott Sharp +1.1878
  10. 3- Hélio Castroneves +1.2595

Toyota Indy 400

This race was held and California Speedway on October 3. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 5- Adrián Fernández
  2. 11- Tony Kanaan
  3. 26- Dan Wheldon
  4. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
  5. 15- Buddy Rice
  6. 27- Dario Franchitti
  7. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  8. 1- Scott Dixon
  9. 2- Townsend Bell
  10. 13- Mark Taylor

Chevy 500

This race was held and Texas Motor Speedway on October 17. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  2. 11- Tony Kanaan
  3. 26- Dan Wheldon
  4. 17- Vitor Meira
  5. 5- Adrián Fernández
  6. 1- Scott Dixon
  7. 13- Mark Taylor
  8. 8- Scott Sharp
  9. 2- Townsend Bell
  10. 14- A. J. Foyt IV

Final driver standings

Pos Driver HMS
United States
PHX
United States
MOT
Japan
INDY
United States
TXS
United States
RIR
United States
KAN
United States
NSH
United States
MIL
United States
MIS
United States
KTY
United States
PIK
United States
NAZ
United States
CHI
United States
FON
United States
TXS
United States
Pts
1 Brazil Tony Kanaan 8 1* 2 2 1* 5 3 1 4 2* 5* 5 2 3 2 2 618
2 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon 3 3 1* 3 13 1 9 13 18 3 3 3 1 4 3 3 533
3 United States Buddy Rice 7 9 6 1* 15 6 1* 6 2 1 2 22 4 14 5 20 485
4 Brazil Hélio Castroneves 2* 6 3 9 12 3 7 3 12 10 12 6 5* 10 7* 1*1 446
5 Mexico Adrián Fernández 20 18 7 5 7 6 10 8 12 1 2 7 1* 1 5 445
6 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti 17 17 7 14 2 12* 4 20 1* 22 6 1* 3 20 6 15 409
7 United States Sam Hornish, Jr. 1 15 19 26 4 11 8 2 3 4 14 18 11 6 4 17 387
8 Brazil Vitor Meira 17 6 6 2 2 12* 5 5 7 7 10 5 21 4 376
9 United States Bryan Herta 13 7 14 4 19 4 5 18 9 6 9 9 8 2 17 16 362
10 New Zealand Scott Dixon 18 2 5 8 14 8 12 8 DNS 7 13 20 9 7 8 6 355
11 United Kingdom Darren Manning 6 5 4 25 8 20 11 4 19 13 10 4 6 15 DNS 323
12 United States Alex Barron 16 4 12 12 3 22 10 17 7 11 11 10 12 12 18 14 310
13 United States Scott Sharp 9 13 9 13 18 9 20 14 15 9 17 15 19 9 11 8 282
14 Japan Kosuke Matsuura 11 11 8 11 16 14 18 9 10 17 4 13 21 21 13 19 280
15 Japan Toranosuke Takagi 4 8 10 19 10 19 21 11 20 20 20 19 17 13 14 12 263
16 United States Ed Carpenter 12 19 22 31 21 16 14 22 11 14 8 11 20 11 12 21 245
17 United Kingdom Mark Taylor 19 12 16 30 17 18 7 14 21 19 14 22 17 10 7 232
18 United States A. J. Foyt IV 15 14 15 33 22 11 13 16 16 15 18 21 15 16 19 10 232
19 South Africa Tomas Scheckter 5 16 13 18 20 17 15 19 21 19 22 17 13 19 15 18 230
20 Brazil Felipe Giaffone 15 9 10 16 15 13 16 16 16 16 8 20 11 214
21 United States Townsend Bell 17 5 6 8 21 12 18 22 9 9 193
22 United States Jaques Lazier DNQ 21 17 18 15 8 14 18 104
23 United States Greg Ray 14 10 20 27 7 15 Wth 99
24 United States Robby Buhl 10 18 21 44
25 United States Al Unser, Jr. 17 11 21 44
26 United States Roger Yasukawa 11 10 39
27 Czech Republic Tomáš Enge 16 13 31
28 Brazil Bruno Junqueira 5 30
29 United States Jeff Simmons 16 19 26
30 United States Richie Hearn 20 12
31 United States Sarah Fisher 21 12
32 United States Robby McGehee 22 12
33 United States Buddy Lazier 23 12
34 Canada Marty Roth 24 12
35 United States P. J. Jones 28 10
36 United States Robby Gordon 292 10
37 United States Larry Foyt 32 10
Pos Driver HMS
United States
PHX
United States
MOT
Japan
INDY
United States
TXS
United States
RIR
United States
KAN
United States
NSH
United States
MIL
United States
MIS
United States
KTY
United States
PIK
United States
NAZ
United States
CHI
United States
FON
United States
TXS
United States
Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th-10th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish
(Ret)
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
(3 points)
DNS Any driver who qualifies
but does not start (DNS),
earns all the points
had they taken part.
Rookie of the Year
Rookie

In every race, points are awarded to drivers on the following basis:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
  • Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Notes

1 Hélio Castroneves had 15 points deduction at Texas Motor Speedway due to a premature start after the final caution.
2 After a red flag for rain at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Jaques Lazier replaced Robby Gordon, but all points were awarded to Robby Gordon.

External links

See also