The 2004 Subway 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on February 22, 2004, at North Carolina Speedway in Richmond County, North Carolina. The race was the second of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Ryan Newman of Penske Racing won the pole position, while Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing won the race. The race was the final Cup race at the track due to poor attendance, as the race date was later given to Phoenix International Raceway; only 50,000 were in attendance at the 60,113 facility. The other Cup race at the track, the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400, had been replaced by California Speedway after 2003. Entry list Qualifying Ryan Newman, 2003's pole leader with 11, won the pole at Rockingham with a lap speed of and a lap time of 23.398 seconds. Dodges were the top four fastest, with Newman, Jamie McMurray (), Kasey Kahne () and Rusty Wallace (). Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon qualified fifth with a lap speed of ; Jeremy Mayfield (), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (), Jeff Green (), the previous year's race winner Dale Jarrett () and Greg Biffle () rounded out the top ten. Morgan Shepherd and Andy Belmont failed to qualify after the two crashed in practice. Ryan McGlynn and Larry Gunselman also withdrew. The entry list for the race was short, which led to a group of field-fillers entering the race, including Joe Ruttman, starting in his first Cup race since 1995, Kirk Shelmerdine, who made only two Cup Series starts since 1994, Carl Long, who started twice in 2001, and Andy Hillenburg, who failed to qualify for the 2004 Daytona 500. The four drivers were considerably slower than the 37 full-time teams; in comparison to Newman's qualifying speed, Hillenburg, who started 43rd, had a speed of , a differential. Hillenburg, who ran just six laps in the two practice sessions prior to the race, expressed interest in running the full race, stating, "I don't want to look like we're trying to capitalize on anything, but this is our window of opportunity. We're not here to go two laps and try to get a check. We're here to do the best we can." After the race, rumors arose whether NASCAR had requested the field-fillers to appear and complete the 43-car field with the reward of money, possibly to satisfy television contracts, NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter denied