Checkered Countdown: Top-Five Texas Finishes

No.3 Elliott Sadler holds off Kasey Kahne to win by half a car length (2004).

In the final laps of the 2004 Samsung 500 the rookie Kasey Kahne was able to close the gap between him and the leader Elliott Sadler. With five laps to go the two started battling each other and it became clear that Sadler had an advantage in turns one and two while Kahne was faster in turns three and four. After many attempts on the last lap Kahne managed to get alongside Sadler in turn four but the Robert Yates Racing driver still beat him at the finish line by 3 one-hundreds of a second. That would be the third of five second-place finishes for Kahne in his winless rookie season.