2004 Checker Auto Parts 500 (original) (raw)

The 2004 Checker Auto Parts 500 was the 34th stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, the eighth race of the 2004 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and the 17th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 7, 2004, before a crowd of 105,000 in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race was extended from its scheduled 312 laps to 315 due to a green–white–checker finish. On the final restart, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. would hold off the field on the final restart to win his 15th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his sixth and final win of the season. To fill out the podium, Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing and Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would finish