The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series was dominated by two teams, Andretti Green Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing. While there was great parity in 2003 between Honda and Toyota powered teams, in 2004 Honda began to outshine Toyota bringing their teams Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing down with it, leaving Scott Dixon winless and in 10th place in his attempt to defend his 2003 championship. Season champion Tony Kanaan set a record by completing all 3,305 possible laps, the first IndyCar driver in modern history to do so. This season was the last to feature an all oval tracks schedule, which was part of the concept that led to the creation of the Indy Racing League. By 2005, road and street courses started to appear in the schedule by a mainstream scheduling method, and by 2015, there were more races run on road/street courses than on oval tracks.

Changes for 2004

Confirmed entries

Season Summary

Schedule

Race results

BOLD indicates Superspeedways. Note: All races ran on Ovals/Speedways.

Race summaries

Toyota Indy 300

This race was held at Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 29. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results

Copper World Indy 200

This race was held at Phoenix International Raceway on March 21. Dan Wheldon won the pole. Top ten results

Indy Japan 300

This race was held at Twin Ring Motegi on April 17. This was Honda's first win in the annual oval race held at their own track. Dan Wheldon won the pole. Top ten results

88th Indianapolis 500

The 88th Indianapolis 500 mi race was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30. Buddy Rice sat on pole. The race was shortened to 180 laps (450 miles) due to rain. Top ten results

Bombardier 500

This race was held at Texas Motor Speedway on June 12. Dario Franchitti won the pole. Top ten results

SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held at Richmond International Raceway on June 26. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. Top ten results

Argent Mortgage 300

This race was held at Kansas Speedway on July 4. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results

Firestone Indy 200

This race was held at Nashville Superspeedway on July 17. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results

Menards A. J. Foyt 225

This race was held at the Milwaukee Mile on July 25. Vítor Meira won the pole. Top ten results

Michigan Indy 400

This race was held at Michigan International Speedway on August 1. Tony Kanaan won the pole. Top ten results

Belterra Casino Indy 300

This race was held at Kentucky Speedway on August 15. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results

Honda Indy 225

This race was held at Pikes Peak International Raceway on August 22. Tony Kanaan won the pole. Top ten results

Firestone Indy 225

This race was held at Nazareth Speedway on August 29. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. The race was heralded as the series' 100th event. This was also the final IndyCar race at the track which closed down following this race. Top ten results

Delphi Indy 300

This race was held at Chicagoland Speedway on September 12. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. This race was memorable due to a scary crash involving Buddy Rice with 15 laps remaining as he slid down the backstretch upside down. Adrián Fernández won the race, despite having a broken on-board pneumatic air jack. His pit crew had to use a manual jack to service his car during pit stops, losing several seconds each time. Top ten results

Toyota Indy 400

This race was held at California Speedway on October 3. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. Top ten results This was Adrián Fernández's final IndyCar victory. By finishing in 2nd, Tony Kannan clinched the championship with 1 race remaining.

Chevy 500

This race was held at Texas Motor Speedway on October 17. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. Top ten results

Final driver standings

Notes:

Footnotes