2004 Silly Season

The 2004 Silly Season was the period of time between the end of the 2004 Nextel Cup Series and the beginning of the 2005 Nextel Cup Series. During this period, the following changes occurred:

### Sponsorship

Jeff Burton, driving the #99 Ford for Roush Racing full-time, signed sponsor Waterloo Tools.

Bill Davis Racing signed on Pull-A-Part to sponsor their #93 Dodge.

Travis Kvapil, driving the #26 Ford for Haas-Carter Motorsports full-time, signed sponsor Eagle Convenience.

MBV Motorsports' #10 Pontiac, driven by Shane Hmiel, have faced main sponsor Valvoline's departure from the team. Hmiel is currently unsponsored.

### Team schedule

Two teams moved to a part-time schedule: the #5 for Hendrick Motorsports and the #23 for Bill Davis Racing.

### Team closures

Two teams closed down at the end of the season: the #60 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports (part-time) and the #51 Ford for Phoenix Racing (part-time).

### Retiring drivers

The following drivers retired at the end of the 2004 season: Derrike Cope, Robert Pressley, Dale Jarrett, Dave Blaney and Bobby Hamilton. All drivers except Hamilton were active in Cup at the time of their retirement.

### New teams

Two new teams joined for the 2005 season: the #7 Chevrolet for Robby Gordon Motorsports and the #52 Dodge for Rick Ware Racing. They will be driven by Larry Foyt and Johnny Benson Jr. respectively, both of whom signed 1-year deals.

Austin Petty, grandson of NASCAR legend Richard Petty, has signed a 4-year contract to drive the #88 Ford full-time for Robert Yates Racing. Petty, who is replacing the retired Dale Jarrett, will make his Cup debut in 2005 and compete for Rookie of the Year.

Kyle Busch has signed a 4-year deal to drive the #22 Pontiac full-time for Bill Davis Racing, forcing current driver Ward Burton from the ride. Busch is set to make his Cup debut and will run for ROTY honours.

Aric Almirola has signed a 2-year deal to drive the #93 Pontiac full-time for Bill Davis Racing. Almirola, who is replacing the retired Dave Blaney, will go on debut in the '05 season and compete for ROTY.

Barry Bodine has signed to drive the #09 for Phoenix Racing for 3 years.

Jan Magnussen has signed to drive the #11 for Brett Bodine Racing for 3 years.

Danica Patrick has signed to drive the #13 for SCORE Motorsports for 1 year.

Derek White has signed to drive the #37 for Qwest Motor Racing for 3 years.

Eddie McDonald has signed to drive the #41 for A.J. Foyt Racing for 1 year.

Jason Keller has signed to drive the #43 for Petty Enterprises for 1 year.

Kenny Wallace has signed to drive the #47 for Dark Horse Motorsports for 3 years.

Mattias Ekstrom has signed to drive the #50 for Midwest Transit Racing for 2 years.

Stewart Friesen has signed to drive the #77 for Jasper Motorsports for 1 year.

Steadman Marlin has signed to drive the #91 for Donlavey Racing for 2 years.

Jon Wood has signed to drive the #95 for Sadler Brothers Racing for 2 years.

Elliott Sadler has signed to drive the #96 for PPI Motorsports for 1 year.

B.J. McLeod has signed to drive the #49 for BAM Racing for 1 year.

Patrick Long has signed to drive the #0 for Haas CNC Racing for 2 years.

Scott Riggs has signed to drive the #81 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. for 2 years.

Ernie Cope has signed to drive the #27 for Brewco Motorsports for 2 years.

Kevin Cywwinski has signed to drive the #83 for Akins Motorsports for 2 years.

Chad McCumbee has signed to drive the #5 for Hendrick Motorsports for 2 years.