2004 season highlights
source:
irl.racing-live.com
The 2004 Indy Racing League season featured the close
competition which has become synonymous with the league's competition and saw a
Brazilian come away with the title.
Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone) capped one of the
most dominating seasons in IRL IndyCar® Series history by claiming the 2004
IndyCar Series championship with one race to go at California.
Tony Kanaan became the first driver in any major American racing series
to complete every possible lap (3,305 or 3,305) in competition and won his first
IndyCar Series title. Following an eighth-place finish in the season opener,
Kanaan never finished outside the top five and recorded three victories.
Kanaan's title was the first for Andretti Green Racing and its ownership group
of Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree.
Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone) won
the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, becoming the first driver to
win his debut for car owner Roger Penske.
Buddy Rice, who began the season as a replacement for the injured Kenny
Brack, became the first American to win the Indianapolis 500 since 1998 when he
won the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" in May. Rice, who won two other races,
earned a trip to the White House to meet President George W. Bush.