2004 Tropicana Twister 300

Pole sitter Bobby Hamilton Jr. led the first lap of the race. The first caution did not take long as it came out on lap 2 when rookie Billy Parker crashed in turn 1. The race would restart on lap 6. On the restart, Kyle Busch took the lead from Hamilton Jr. Unfortunetly for Bobby Hamilton Jr., his engine would give out on lap 9 of the race which would end his chances of winning. On lap 40, Kyle Busch handed the lead to Matt Kenseth as he came in to pit. On lap 44, the second caution would fly for debris in turn 1. Robby Gordon won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 49. On lap 55, Matt Kenseth challenged Robby Gordon for the lead and led that lap but could not pass him. The third caution flew on lap 56 for debris. On lap 61, Matt Kenseth took the lead. On lap 63, the fourth caution flew when Todd Szegedy crashed in turn 2. The race would restart on lap 68. On lap 91, Matt Kenseth decided to pit early and handed the lead to Mike Bliss. On lap 115 during green flag pitstops, the 5th caution flew when Robert Pressley spun in turn 3. Michael Waltrip won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 124. On lap 125, Mike Bliss would retake the lead. On lap 129, the 6th caution flew for debris. Justin Labonte was the new leader and he led the field to the restart on lap 134. On lap 139, the 6th caution would fly when Regan Smith spun down the frontstretch.

Kyle Busch would be the new leader and he led the field to the restart on lap 144. With 46 laps to go, J. J. Yeley took the lead from Busch. With 23 to go, Greg Biffle challenged Yeley for the lead and led that lap but couldn't pass Yeley. But with 21 to go, Biffle's waterline broke and his car got into his own water in turns 1 and 2 and slid up the track into the outside wall bringing out the 8th and final caution of the day. Many drivers pitted while some others stayed out including Mike Wallace, Justin Labonte, Robby Gordon, Jason Keller, Ashton Lewis, and Jeff Burton. Wallace led the field to the restart with 15 to go. Wallace got a sizeable lead over Labonte. Wallace was saving fuel as much as he could in order for him to win the race. Wallace was looking for his 2nd win in a row after he won last week at Daytona. If Wallace saves enough fuel he will win the race. Labonte was racing side by side with the lapped car in Tim Fedewa and was trying to get past him for a few laps. Eventually, Labonte would pass him and Labonte would start to close in on Wallace with around 10 to go. Wallace started slowing down a lot to save fuel until he saw Labonte in his review mirror and decided to push it with around 5 to go. Labonte stayed behind Wallace hoping Wallace would either slip up or run out of gas. One of which would eventually happen. Mike Wallace saved as much fuel as he could, but did not save enough. As soon as they took the white flag when they crossed the start-finish line, Wallace's car started to slow down. Mike Wallace's car ran out of fuel after 70 laps since he last got it full giving the lead to Justin Labonte. Behind Labonte about a second back was Jason Keller. Labonte had plenty of fuel left and Justin Labonte would score his first ever victory in the Busch Series and Keller would finish in 2nd. Justin Labonte had no top 10 finishes in his first 30 starts in his Busch Series career from 1999-July 2004 and goes out and wins in his 31st start. Labonte's father Terry was there to celebrate with his son. Terry was proud with his son's first win calling it awesome. Justin Labonte would race full time in 2005 but only scored 2 top 10's and making 1 more start for Hendrick Motorsports in 2006 before deciding not to race in NASCAR again as he failed to make it to the Cup Series. Labonte's upset is still considered by some as one of the best upset victories in NASCAR history. Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, and Ashton Lewis rounded out the top 5 while Robby Gordon, Jason Leffler, David Green, J. J. Yeley, and Ron Hornaday would round out the top 10.^[4]