The 2004 Subway 500 was a Nextel Cup event held at Martinsville Speedway on October 24, 2004. Jimmie Johnson appeared to have won a morale-boosting victory but bad news soon followed. After holding off Jamie McMurray by 1.2 seconds at the repaved track, Johnson, as rest of the Hendrick Motorsports family were informed that one of their planes had crashed en route to the race. Ten died, including former Busch Series driver Ricky Hendrick. A black cloud would hang over the rest of the championship. Points leader Kurt Busch finished 5th and held a 97-point lead on Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon (9th). Stats