2004 Grand Prix Of Sonoma
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The 2004 Grand Prix of Sonoma was the fourth race for the
2004 American Le Mans Series season The 2004 American Le Mans Series season was the 34th season for the IMSA GT Championship, and the sixth under the American Le Mans Series banner. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes ...
held at
Infineon Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern S ...
. It took place on July 18, 2004. This race saw
Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
Racing enter a third Corvette C5-R for
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving ...
and co-driven by
Boris Said Boris Said III (born September 18, 1962) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports and in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 2 ...
. The car was successfully qualified but in warm-up the morning of the race, Earnhardt, Jr. went off course and collided with a barrier, causing a rupture of a fuel line. The broken fuel line was sparked when the car came to a stop and caused the car to be engulfed in flames, with Earnhardt, Jr. inside dazed by the accident and unable to get himself out immediately. Once Earnhardt, Jr. was able to become aware of his situation and rescue crews were able to arrive, Earnhardt, Jr. was successfully pulled from the burning vehicle. He received second and third degree
burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...
to his neck, chest, and legs, partially due to not wearing a fire-retardant balaclava with his helmet. The Corvette C5-R was burned beyond repair and did not race. The Corvette Racing team quickly examined the car and found that there was no design flaw in their fuel system. At the end of the 2004 ALMS season, Corvette Racing restored the car (Chassis No. C5-009) to its 2003 Le Mans specification and sold it to a collector. Earnhardt, Jr. was forced to return to the
Nextel Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
unable to complete full races as he underwent treatment, being relieved the next two races by Martin Truex, Jr. and
John Andretti John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Ada ...
.


Official results

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


Statistics

* Pole Position - #38 ADT Champion Racing - 1:22.320 * Fastest Lap - #38 ADT Champion Racing - 1:23.656 * Distance - * Average Speed -


External links

*  {{DEFAULTSORT:2004 Grand Prix Of Sonoma S Grand Prix of Sonoma