The season finale is in the books, with Tony Kanaan crowned as the 2004 IRL Champion and with the four-way tie between triple race winners Kanaan, Buddy Rice, Adrian Fernandez, and Dan Wheldon going unbroken. Helio Castroneves won the Chevy 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway, giving fans a treat watching his exuberant fence climbing routine that he goes into after winning an event.
Tony Kanaan not only grabbed the IRL brass ring this season, he also set IRL history by running every lap in all 16 events of the season, a feat that had never been accomplished. When you stop to think about drivers having trouble with their racecars, sitting in the pits while going laps down to the field, it's hard to conceive that one driver managed to complete the whole season without any DNF's ( Did Not Finish) or problems costing him to go at least one lap down. It is truly an oddity; and a feat that was the culmination of lots of hard work from Kanaan and the entire Andretti Green #11 team, plus a whole lot of good luck!
Following Castroneves across the finish line in the top ten were Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Vitor Meira, Adrian Fernandez, Scott Dixon, Mark Taylor, Scott Sharp, Townsend Bell, and A. J. Foyt IV. The top ten starters and how they finished:
- Helio Castroneves -- #3 Toyota -- finished 1st
- Tomas Scheckter -- #4 Chevy -- finished 18th
- Sam Hornish Jr. -- #6 Toyota -- finished 17th
- Vitor Meira -- #17 Honda -- finished 4th
- Buddy Rice -- #15 Honda -- finished 20th
- Scott Dixon -- #1 Toyota -- finished 6th
- Bryan Herta -- #7 Honda -- finished 16th
- Dan Wheldon -- #26 Honda -- finished 26th
- Dario Franchitti -- #27 Honda -- finished 15th
- Tony Kanaan -- #11 Honda -- finished 2nd
Tony Kanaan garnered 618 championship points, followed by second place driver Dan Wheldon who finished the season with a total of 533 points. Buddy Rice came in third with a total of 485 points followed by Helio Castroneves who accumulated 461 points. Adrian Fernandez rounds out the top five with 445 points.
Points positions six thru ten were filled by: Dario Franchitti, 409; Sam Hornish Jr., 387; Vitor Meira, 376; Bryan Herta, 362; and defending 2003 IRL Champion Scott Dixon, 355.
It's no real surprise that Honda won the manufacturers title for 2004. The Honda's were really strong all season, ending up with 147 points to Toyota's 104. Chevy brought up the rear with 79 points, but we are all aware that the Chevys have a small contingency in the IRL compared to the other two makes.
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