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LOUDON, NH – JULY 20: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, poses with the Cape Cod Cafe Pizza Pole Award after posting the fastest lap during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
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LOUDON, NH – JULY 20: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, poses with the Cape Cod Cafe Pizza Pole Award after posting the fastest lap during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
The NASCAR Cup Series has been running for a very long time. Since its inception, the stock car series has gone from strength to strength. During that long tenure, there were plenty of iconic races that took place. In present times, such races would have brought in a stupendous number of ratings. Likewise, the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup finale was one such significant race, as it brought in a whopping 9.9 million viewers.
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The best part was that it blew the NFL out of the water, with that month’s most-watched game drawing in 7.4 million. On ESPN, the most watched NFL game only brought in 8.4 million viewers. So, one has to wonder what was so special about the 2004 NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
How did the NASCAR Cup race at Homestead-Miami play out?
With three laps to go, disaster struck Ryan Newman as he hit the wall and ground against it. To make matters worse for him, he was leading the race at the time of the crash. Eventually, the race got underway once again, with Tony Stewart leading the pack. However, it did not last very long, as Greg Biffle swooped around the outside to snatch the lead.
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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 16: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Monster Energy Toyota, sog during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were also in the mix, with Kurt Busch hanging back. Johnson slotted into second place, and Gordon tried to follow him past Stewart. The leading four soon broke away from the pack, with Kurt Busch leading the second group. Truthfully speaking, he did not need to take any risks, because the fifth place was enough to seal the title.
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However, he had to be wary of any challenges from behind. In the end, though, Greg Biffle won the race ahead of Jimmie Johnson. Jeff Gordon was third, ahead of Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch in fourth and fifth, respectively. With that fifth-place finish, Busch successfully sealed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series title. Concurrently, he had the honor of being the first champion in the era of the Playoffs.
