2004 UAW-GM Quality 500
The 2004 UAW-GM Quality 500 was the 31st stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, the fifth race of the 2004 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and the 45th iteration of the event. The race was on Saturday, October 16, 2004, before a crowd of 140,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would take advantage of Kasey Kahne's bad luck  at the end of the race, holding off the field on the final restart to win his 11th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his third of the season. To fill out the podium, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would finish second and third, respectively. Background. Lowe's Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day  weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president. Entry list. <nowiki>*</nowiki>Withdrew. <nowiki>**</nowiki>Barrett was originally tapped to drive the #94, and Cope to drive the #92. However, the #92 team would withdraw, and Cope would move to the #94. < nowiki>***</nowiki>Edwards drove in pre-race activities, but would not start the car on Saturday due to a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race he attended on the same day going late. As a result, backup driver Dave Blaney would start for Edwards, and Edwards would get in the car on lap 24. As Blaney had started the race, Blaney was credited with the finish. Practice. First practice. The first practice session was held on Thursday, October 14, at 2:20 PM EST, and would last for 2 hours. Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would set the fastest time in  the session, with a lap of 28.870 and an average speed of . Second practice. The second practice session was held on Friday, October 15, at 4:30 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes. Mark Martin of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.710 and an average speed of . Third and final practice. The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, October 15, at 6:10 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes. Elliott Sadler of Robert Yates Racing would set the fastest time  in the session, with a lap of 29.710 and an average speed of . Qualifying. Qualifying was held on Thursday, October 14, at 7:10 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. Positions 1-38 would be decided on time, while positions 39-43 would be based on provisionals. Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs  the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional. Ryan Newman of Penske-Jasper Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 28.590 and an average speed of , setting a new track record. Nine drivers would fail to qualify: Kenny Wallace, Derrike Cope, Mike Wallace, Carl Long, Kirk Shelmerdine, Larry Foyt, Hermie Sadler, Morgan Shepherd, and Geoff Bodine.