2004 Tropicana Twister 300

The 2004 Tropicana Twister 300 was a NASCAR Busch Series race held on July 10, 2004 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race was the 4th iteration of the event. The race was the 19th race of the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series. Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the pole while rookie sensation Kyle Busch led the most laps at 49. But the race became most notable for two reasons. One being the most infamous one where a big inflatable Tropicana Orange made its way onto the race track during Todd Szegedy's qualifying run. And the second being one of the biggest upset winners in NASCAR history as Justin Labonte, the son of Terry Labonte and the nephew of Bobby Labonte, won his first and only Busch Series race after he had not scored a top 10 in 31 career Busch Series starts as he beat out the fuel strategy game at the end of the race.

Background

Chicagoland Speedway is a  tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.

Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver

Qualifying
Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the pole with a time of 29.410 and a speed of 183.611 mph. But during qualifying, it was a really windy day which led to one of the most infamous and weirdest moments in NASCAR history. Todd Szegedy was about to make his qualifying run attempting to qualify for his 2nd Busch Series race. A big gust of wind came through and it ended up breaking the straps that were holding the big inflatable Tropicana Oranges off and they oranges went loose. One orange got ripped apart and landed on the infield spectator area on someone's RV where four people were covered by the orange. Another orange also made its way onto the race track. Szegedy was on his first lap when he was making his way through turns 3 and 4 when he was shocked and startled to see a big inflatable tropicana orange rolling on the apron of the race track. Szegedy went by it very easily without incident. NASCAR immeadietly stopped qualifying to get the orange off the track. Track crews attempted to use the truck with a powerful blower to blow the orange off the track. Unfourtunetly, the orange would rip apart and get stuck on the turn 1 catchfence in which they had to take it down by hand. They would but a storm front made its way onto the track which caused a further delay. Qualifying was stopped for about an hour and a half before the track dried and qualifying got going again. Szegedy was granted a re-run by NASCAR and ended up qualifying 12th. Szegedy even joked about it afterwards saying "I used to like orange juice. Now it almost killed me."

Starting grid

* - Johnny Sauter, David Green, Stacy Compton, and Tony Raines all had to start at the rear of the field due to an engine change.

Race
Pole sitter Bobby Hamilton Jr. led the first lap of the race. The first caution did not take long as it came out on lap 2 when rookie Billy Parker crashed in turn 1. The race would restart on lap 6. On the restart, Kyle Busch took the lead from Hamilton Jr. Unfourtunetly for Bobby Hamilton Jr., his engine would give out on lap 9 of the race which would end his chances of winning. On lap 40, Kyle Busch handed the lead to Matt Kenseth as he came in to pit. On lap 44, the second caution would fly for debris in turn 1. Robby Gordon won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 49. On lap 55, Matt Kenseth challenged Robby Gordon for the lead and led that lap but could not pass him. The third caution flew on lap 56 for debris. On lap 61, Matt Kenseth took the lead. On lap 63, the fourth caution flew when Todd Szegedy crashed in turn 2. The race would restart on lap 68. On lap 91, Matt Kenseth decided to pit early and handed the lead to Mike Bliss. On lap 115 during green flag pitstops, the 5th caution flew when Robert Pressley spun in turn 3. Michael Waltrip won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 124. On lap 125, Mike Bliss would retake the lead. On lap 129, the 6th caution flew for debris. Justin Labonte was the new leader and he led the field to the restart on lap 134. On lap 139, the 6th caution would fly when Regan Smith spun down the frontstretch.

Final laps
Kyle Busch would be the new leader and he led the field to the restart on lap 144. With 46 laps to go, J. J. Yeley took the lead from Busch. With 23 to go, Greg Biffle challenged Yeley for the lead and led that lap but couldn't pass Yeley. But with 21 to go, Biffle's waterline broke and his car got into his own water in turns 1 and 2 and slid up the track into the outside wall bringing out the 8th and final caution of the day. Many drivers pitted while some others stayed out including Mike Wallace, Justin Labonte, Robby Gordon, Jason Keller, Ashton Lewis, and Jeff Burton. Wallace led the field to the restart with 15 to go. Wallace got a sizeable lead over Labonte. Wallace was saving fuel as much as he could in order for him to win the race. Wallace was looking for his 2nd win in a row after he won last week at Daytona. If Wallace saves enough fuel he will win the race. Labonte was racing side by side with the lapped car in Tim Fedewa and was trying to get past him for a few laps. Eventually, Labonte would pass him and Labonte would start to close in on Wallace with around 10 to go. Wallace started slowing down a lot to save fuel until he saw Labonte in his review mirror and decided to push it with around 5 to go. Labonte stayed behind Wallace hoping Wallace would either slip up or run out of gas. One of which would eventually happen. Mike Wallace saved but did not save enough. As soon as they took the white flag when they crossed the start-finish line, Wallace's car started to slow down. Mike Wallace's car ran out of fuel after 70 laps since he last got it full giving the lead to Justin Labonte. Behind Labonte about a second back was Jason Keller. Labonte had plenty of fuel left and Justin Labonte would score his first ever victory in the Busch Series and Keller would finish in 2nd. Justin Labonte had no top 10 finishes in his first 30 starts in his Busch Series from 1999-July 2004 and goes out and wins in his 31st start. Labonte's father Terry was there to celebrate with his son. Terry was proud with his son's first win calling it awesome. Justin Labonte would race full time in 2005 but only scored 2 top 10's and making 1 more start for Hendrick Motorsports in 2006 before deciding not to race in NASCAR again as he failed to make it to the Cup Series. Labonte's upset is still considered by some as one of the best upset victories in NASCAR history. Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, and Ashton Lewis rounded out the top 5 while Robby Gordon, Jason Leffler, David Green, J. J. Yeley, and Ron Hornaday would round out the top 10.

Race results

References

2004 in sports in Illinois
NASCAR races at Chicagoland Speedway
July 2004 sports events in the United States