2004 Grand Prix of Sonoma

The 2004 Grand Prix of Sonoma was the fourth race for the 2004 American Le Mans Series season held at Infineon Raceway. It took place on July 18, 2004.

This race saw Corvette Racing enter a third Corvette C5-R for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and co-driven by Boris Said. 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 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 unable to complete full races as he underwent treatment, being relieved the next two races by Martin Truex, Jr. and John Andretti.


Official results

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

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps
Engine
1 LMP1 38 United States ADT Champion Racing Germany Marco Werner
Finland JJ Lehto
Audi R8 M 107
Audi 3.6L Turbo V8
2 LMP1 20 United States Dyson Racing United States Chris Dyson
United Kingdom Andy Wallace
MG-Lola EX257 G 107
MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4
3 LMP1 16 United States Dyson Racing United States Butch Leitzinger
United Kingdom James Weaver
MG-Lola EX257 G 104
MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4
4 GTS 3 United States Corvette Racing Canada Ron Fellows
United States Johnny O'Connell
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R M 102
Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
5 LMP2 30 United States Intersport Racing United States Jon Field
United States Clint Field
United Kingdom Robin Liddell
Lola B2K/40 P 102
Judd KV675 3.4L V8
6 LMP2 10 United States Miracle Motorsports United States Ian James
United States James Gue
Lola B2K/40 Y 100
Nissan (AER) VQL 3.0L V6
7 LMP2 56 United States Team Bucknum Racing United States Jeff Bucknum
United States Bryan Willman
United States Chris McMurry
Pilbeam MP91 D 98
Nissan (AER) VQL 3.0L V6
8 GT 23 United States Alex Job Racing Germany Jörg Bergmeister
Germany Timo Bernhard
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 98
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
9 GT 45 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports United States Johannes van Overbeek
United States Darren Law
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 98
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
10 GT 24 United States Alex Job Racing Germany Marc Lieb
France Romain Dumas
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 98
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
11 GT 35 United States Risi Competizione United States Anthony Lazzaro
Germany Ralf Kelleners
Ferrari 360 Modena GTC P 97
Ferrari 3.6L V8
12 GT 66 United States New Century - The Racer's Group United States Patrick Long
United States Cort Wagner
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 96
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
13 GT 79 United States J-3 Racing United States Justin Jackson
United Kingdom Tim Sugden
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 95
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
14 GT 60 United Kingdom P.K. Sport United States Hugh Plumb
United States Peter Boss
Porsche 911 GT3-RS P 92
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
15 GT 44 United States Flying Lizard Motorsports United States Seth Neiman
United States Lonnie Pechnik
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 92
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
16 GTS 6 United States Krohn-Barbour Racing United States Tracy Krohn
United States David McEntee
Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT P 90
Lamborghini 6.0L V12
17 GT 50 United States Panoz Motor Sports United States Gunnar Jeannette
Belgium David Saelens
Panoz Esperante GT-LM P 88
Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8
18 GTS 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
Monaco Olivier Beretta
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R M 86
Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
19 GT 31 United States White Lightning Racing United States Craig Stanton
United States David Murry
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 85
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
20 GTS 71 United States Carsport America United States Tom Weickardt
France Jean-Philippe Belloc
Dodge Viper GTS-R P 75
Dodge 8.0L V10
21
DNF
GT 67 United States New Century - The Racer's Group United States Jim Matthews
Germany Pierre Ehret
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 52
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
22
DNF
GTS 5 United States Krohn-Barbour Racing Netherlands Peter Kox
Australia David Brabham
Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT P 15
Lamborghini 6.0L V12
23
DNF
GT 43 United States BAM! United States Leo Hindery
Germany Lucas Luhr
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR M 15
Porsche 3.6L Flat-6
24
DSQ
GTS 63 United States ACEMCO Motorsports United States Terry Borcheller
United Kingdom Johnny Mowlem
Saleen S7-R P 58
Ford 7.0L V8
DNS GTS 8 United States Corvette Racing United States Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
United States Boris Said
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R M -
Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8

Statistics

External links

American Le Mans Series
Previous race:
2004 New England Grand Prix
2004 season Next race:
2004 Portland Grand Prix
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