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 ADT Champion Racing Marco Werner JJ Lehto Audi R8 107 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 2 LMP1 20 Dyson Racing Chris Dyson Andy Wallace MG-Lola EX257 107 MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4 3 LMP1 16 Dyson Racing Butch Leitzinger James Weaver MG-Lola EX257 104 MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4 4 GTS 3 Corvette Racing Ron Fellows Johnny O'Connell Chevrolet Corvette C5-R 102 Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8 5 LMP2 30 Intersport Racing Jon Field Clint Field Robin Liddell Lola B2K/40 102 Judd KV675 3.4L V8 6 LMP2 10 Miracle Motorsports Ian James James Gue Lola B2K/40 100 Nissan (AER) VQL 3.0L V6 7 LMP2 56 Team Bucknum Racing Jeff Bucknum Bryan Willman Chris McMurry Pilbeam MP91 98 Nissan (AER) VQL 3.0L V6 8 GT 23 Alex Job Racing Jörg Bergmeister Timo Bernhard Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 98 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 9 GT 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Johannes van Overbeek Darren Law Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 98 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 10 GT 24 Alex Job Racing Marc Lieb Romain Dumas Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 98 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 11 GT 35 Risi Competizione Anthony Lazzaro Ralf Kelleners Ferrari 360 Modena GTC 97 Ferrari 3.6L V8 12 GT 66 New Century - The Racer's Group Patrick Long Cort Wagner Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 96 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 13 GT 79 J-3 Racing Justin Jackson Tim Sugden Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 95 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 14 GT 60 P.K. Sport Hugh Plumb Peter Boss Porsche 911 GT3-RS 92 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 15 GT 44 Flying Lizard Motorsports Seth Neiman Lonnie Pechnik Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 92 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 16 GTS 6 Krohn-Barbour Racing Tracy Krohn David McEntee Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT 90 Lamborghini 6.0L V12 17 GT 50 Panoz Motor Sports Gunnar Jeannette David Saelens Panoz Esperante GT-LM 88 Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8 18 GTS 4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Chevrolet Corvette C5-R 86 Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8 19 GT 31 White Lightning Racing Craig Stanton David Murry Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 85 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 20 GTS 71 Carsport America Tom Weickardt Jean-Philippe Belloc Dodge Viper GTS-R 75 Dodge 8.0L V10 21DNF GT 67 New Century - The Racer's Group Jim Matthews Pierre Ehret Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 52 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 22DNF GTS 5 Krohn-Barbour Racing Peter Kox David Brabham Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT 15 Lamborghini 6.0L V12 23DNF GT 43 BAM! Leo Hindery Lucas Luhr Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 15 Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 24DSQ GTS 63 ACEMCO Motorsports Terry Borcheller Johnny Mowlem Saleen S7-R 58 Ford 7.0L V8 DNS GTS 8 Corvette Racing Dale Earnhardt Jr. Boris Said Chevrolet Corvette C5-R - Chevrolet LS7-R 7.0L V8
Statistics Pole Position - #38 ADT Champion Racing - 1:22.320 Fastest Lap - #38 ADT Champion Racing - 1:23.656 Distance - Average Speed -
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