20 years ago today, the NASCAR Cup Series took the checkered flag for the very last time at Rockingham Speedway. The D-shaped 1.017-mile oval hosted Cup races from 1965 to 2004.
Now, 2004 was a year of change for NASCAR, utilizing a playoff format for the first time in its history. As the sport evolved and moved into the future, 'The Rock' was soon to be one of the things it left in the past. As fate would have it, the track would give us something to remember it by as the race for the win that day came down to the reigning series champion and a rookie driver, appropriately giving us a battle between the sport's past and its future.
The 2004 Subway 400 was the 78th Cup race run at Rockingham. Ryan Newman, known then as 'Rocket Man' for his incredible prowess in qualifying, claimed pole position in the No. 12 Penske Dodge (156.475mph). The Penske driver would start the race alongside Chip Ganassi's Jamie McMurray in a front row lockout for Dodge.
Tire conservation was always key at the abrasive track and drivers would be pitting for fresh rubber long before they needed fuel. Just how important were tires? Rusty Wallace's team bought 16 sets for that race, and intended to use them all.
It didn't take McMurray long to snatch the lead away from the pole-sitter, beaming with confidence after winning the Xfinity (then Busch) race one day earlier.
Jeff Gordon made the most out of an early yellow, jumping from third to first in the pitlane. Although tire conservation was paramount, hitting rogue tires was just as important. Two wayward wheels escaped their boxes during the first round of stops. The first was struck by John Andretti, bouncing wildly through the air before coming to rest in the field. Jeff Green was the unfortunate driver to find the other one, and both cars suffered right-front damage as a result.
After just a handful of green-flag laps since their last stop, another caution meant another round of pitstops with how significant the tire fall-off was. Robby Gordon chose not to take tires and paid the price for it as Newman tried and failed to hold back (Jeff) Gordon in the battle for the lead.
Kenseth arrives at the front
Matt Kenseth started deep in the field (23rd), but showed promise early, running laps faster than the leaders while mired back in traffic. He eased by Gordon and claimed the lead for the first time on Lap 90 of 393. The defending Cup champ was blistering fast and quickly drove away from the field.
With cars out of control and tires screaming, drivers welcomed the first round of green-flag pitstops with Kenseth coming down on Lap 131. But right as the 'Killer Bees' went to work on the race-leading No. 17 Roush Ford, the caution flag flew.
A two-car incident broke out at pit entry between Jimmie Johnson and Kenny Schrader. Schrader was trying turn down to pitroad from the middle the banking while Johnson came upon the slowing Schrader at full speed, running into the back of him and destroying both cars.
"We pitted first and put some new tires on," Johnson said after being released from the infield care center. "Trying to make up some track position ... Just flying up through the field and everybody is trying to pit, and Schrader was in the third lane through the center of (Turn) 3 and tried to get down to the apron from there.
"From my vantage point coming into the corner, I thought he was staying on the track, and then he comes down, trying to get to pitroad and I hate it. No hand signals or anything down the straightaway. I know there's a lot of last-minute decisions going on to pit or when not to pit, but he started in the third lane. Next thing I know, he's in front of me and I tried to miss him, and then clipped him and pounded the outside wall. Just a shame."
Kahne's mid-race setback
Rookie Kasey Kahne appeared to be in a good spot with the timing of the yellow, but an error on pitroad set him back a ways. The team sent him back out with the wrench used to adjust the wedge/trackbar still stuck in the rear window. The penalty put Kahne to the rear of the field. He was driving the No. 9 Evernham Dodge, which was the car that won the most recent race at Rockingham with Bill Elliott behind the wheel in November of 2003.
It didn't take long for Kenseth to find his way back into the race lead while Bobby Labonte slowed with a flat tire and was forced to pit under green. Unfortunately for Labonte, it would not be the most dramatic moment of his race. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate would suffer a similar fate later in the run, also cutting a left-rear tire.
The race passed halfway behind the pace car, Kenseth still firmly in control. Dale Jarrett, suffered a sudden mechanical issue while running inside the top-five. He immediately went behind the wall, ending his day.
A caution for what appeared to be a Miller Lite beer can brought the field back together and once again, everyone took the opportunity to get four fresh tires.
Although this race was defined by its iconic finish, it is also remembered for a bizarre crash on Lap 265. In something that you would have expected to see at Daytona a week earlier, one car went tumbling down the backstretch in a multi-car incident.
Brendan Gaughan got into the back of Joe Nemechek, who then hooked Carl Long into the outside wall. The No. 46 climbed the concrete barrier, sliding on its side before flipping almost five times and coming to rest next to the spun car of Bobby Labonte. Labonte, seemingly unfazed, got his car back rolling and drove around Long's mangled machine before it even came to a rest. Part of the windshield had popped out of Long's car due to the violent nature of the rollover.
Being an underfunded entry without a sponsor, crashing spectacularly was the last thing Long wanted to do.
"Well, I'm glad to get on the highlight reel," quipped Long after his wild ride. "Won't do too much for me racing much anymore though. That was the only Cup car I had right now and I don't know exactly what happened out there. I thought I gave everybody room and was just trying to ride and finish the race. Basically racing Andy Hillenburg and trying to get any other positions I could get."
Perhaps the flip scared a few people, because what followed was one of the longest green-flag runs of the race.
A dominant Kenseth faced his first real challenge in a while when McMurray ran him down. Looking to sweep the weekend, he snatched the lead away with 90 laps to go. But Kenseth is a champion and after studying McMurray for a few laps, he was able to mount a successful counterattack.
With 70 laps to go, Kenseth regained control of the race. Around the same time, a young rookie was marching his way towards the front of the field. Remember Kasey Kahne? He fought back from that mid-race penalty and was now shadowing the leaders in just his second-ever Cup Series start.
When Kenseth pitted from the lead with 44 laps to go, Kahne followed him. But just like earlier in the race as Kenseth's team attended to his No. 17 Ford, a crash interrupted another round of green-flag stops. Luckily for them, they both remained on the lead lap and were able to cycle back to the front.
In something that can only be described as deja vu, Robby Gordon was hooked into the outside wall and ended up on his side, nearly identical to Long's earlier crash. However, his did not not proceed to barrel roll down the backstretch, but instead quickly returning to its wheel before slamming the inside wall as well. Gordon had come across the nose of Jeff Green, instigating what would be the final yellow flag of the race.
A frenzied fight to the checkered flag
The race turned into a 30-lap showdown between the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and the sport's newest star. Kenseth bolted ahead on the restart, and was certainly helped by Roush teammate Mark Martin being in the way of Kahne. He was he was a lap down and restarted amongst the frontrunners (back then, lapped cars were lined up on the inside for restarts), and briefly held up Kahne.
NASCAR officials were not amused, summoning Martin, his crew chief and team owner Jack Roush to the hauler after the race.
Martin's efforts had landed him in hot water with the sanctioning body, but also gave Kenseth a 1.2s advantage over Kahne with 25 laps to go. But the young racer quickly began to chip away at that margin.
With ten laps to go, Kahne had Kenseth in his sights. McMurray wasn't too far behind, hoping to make it a three-man race for the win. Without the yellow rookie stripe across his red rear bumper, no one would be able to tell that Kahne was a rookie.
He took the fight right to the 2003 Cup champion, nearly getting to his outside with six laps to go. All three cars were nose-to-tail, setting up an incredible run to the checkered flag. Kenseth no longer had the dominant car. He was fading, but there were still slower cars the leading trifecta had to navigate.
NASCAR Hall of Famer and then-Fox commentator Darrell Waltrip called it right, declaring that it would be a photo finish as the race entered its final four miles. All three drivers were searching, using every inch of the track on aging rubber to try find any advantage. McMurray was against the white line, Kenseth near the wall and Kahne in the middle as they raced towards the white flag.
McMurray overdrove the exit of Turn 2 on the final lap and eliminated himself from the fight. It was all Kahne and Kenseth now. Kenseth went high into the final set of corners, and Kahne appeared to follow him. However, he cut down mid-corner and it stuck. He was finally alongside Kenseth as they drag-raced to the line in front of 50,000 screaming fans.
A photo finish for the ages
By just 0.010s, Kenseth hung on and captured victory after leading 259 of 393 laps. Kahne never led a single lap that day, but came just a few inches short of leading the only one that mattered.
"It was a blast," said an elated Kenseth in Victory Lane. "The end was a little stressful. Everybody's been asking me about rookies this year and I said, 'man you gotta watch out for Kasey Kahne.'"
After reviewing footage of the finish, he added: "I think we needed every little bit of the power we had there at the end. I knew he was gonna be close and I didn't want to spin the tires off of (Turn) 4. He was getting air off my door there and I just tried staying away from him. I probably should have pulled down a little bit but it was a close race."
Kenseth had some extra motivation as well. Some had criticized his 2003 championship run, as he only won a single race early in the season and then relied on consistency to prevail over the competition. The new championship format was partly a reaction to his one-win title run.
"This is for everybody that says we couldn't lead laps and win races," declared Kenseth in Victory Lane. "This feels good."
Kahne, surely disappointed with how close he had come to winning, was still smiling post-race after such a thrilling battle: "It was fun. We came close there. I thought I was a little bit better than him in the open, but when I was right up behind him, it was tough to get a good run on him. It was close though. "I tried to set him up down here and I came as close as we could."
Kahne went on to easily become the Rookie of the Year in 2004, but Victory Lane somehow eluded him. Five runner-up finishes, but zero wins. He would have to wait until May, 2005 to finally become a NASCAR Cup Series winner, doing so at Richmond Raceway.
Rockingham saved for the best for last. and that thrilling photo finish proved to be its swansong. The track never hosted a race with Cup cars again. However, it wasn't quite done with Kasey Kahne. The Truck Series briefly returned to the North Carolina track from 2012-2013. The winner of the inaugural race?
Yeah, it was Kasey.
