Vanderbilt Cup Races

Race Summary

The 2004 MBNA 400 Salute to Heroes Cup race at Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware was a 400 lap race with 43 NASCAR racers, including famed drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Kevin Harvick.

Seen in this photo is Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This particular race was full of wrecks. Despite this, Mark Martin was consistently at the front of the field during the race, meaning his victory was the result of a quick Cup car and quick reflexes, not just a lucky break while the rest of the field got shuffled around by the various accidents.

Here we see the top three finishing drivers during the final laps of the race. Mark Martin, followed by Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

You can relive the entirety of the race from this YouTube video.

Mark Martin crossing the finish line, winning the MBNA 400 for the Viagra team.

Mark Martin in victory lane with the trophy. At the time of the race, this was his 34th NASCAR Cup victory.

Photo credit Gettyimages; George Tiedemann

The Viagra team celebrating the first-place finish with Mark Martin.

Photo credit Gettyimages; Darrell Ingham

The Trophy Today

This is the 2004 NASCAR Trophy won by Mark Martin in the Viagra-sponsored Ford Fusion from the MBNA 400 Salute to Heroes Cup race at Dover Motor Speedway.

Alongside it is a diecast replica of the race-winning car.

Close-up of the 1/24 scale diecast replica of Mark Martin’s race-winning Ford Fusion Cup Racer. This model, NASCAR, has a chrome paint job to symbolize its race winning origins.

After being on display for many years, the NASCAR trophy was acquired by Howard Kroplick. Given his many years of working with Pfizer on medical education and, specifically,  the launch of Viagra, the trophy  has a proper and appropriate home in Roslyn.

I hope you have enjoyed this article, and stay tuned for upcoming articles on the Tucker and the Chrysler.