2003 Food City 500

2003 Food City 500

Race details[1][2][3]
Race 6 of 36 of in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Date	March 23, 2003 (2003-03-23)
Location	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Distance	500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Weather	Temperatures up to 62.6 °F (17.0 °C); wind speeds up to 1.96 miles per hour (3.15 km/h)[4]
Average speed	76.185 miles per hour (122.608 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Newman	Penske Racing
Time	14.908
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	174
Winner
No. 97	Kurt Busch	Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings	5.1/11 (Final) 5.2/10 (Overnight)[5]

The 2003 Food City 500 was a stock car racing competition that took place on March 23, 2003. Held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, the 500-lap race was the sixth in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, as well as the series' 2,000th race. Kurt Busch of the Roush Racing team won the race; Matt Kenseth finished second and Bobby Labonte came in third.

Ryan Newman won the pole position, although he was immediately passed by Jeff Gordon at the start of the race. Twenty-eight laps later Rusty Wallace became the leader of the race. Gordon reclaimed the lead on lap 34 and led the most laps with 174. Jimmy Spencer passed Gordon for the lead on lap 161, and kept the position for a total of 139 laps. After the final pit stops, Busch became the leader of the race and maintained the position to lead a total of 116 laps, and to win his first race of the season. There were seventeen cautions and eleven lead changes among seven different drivers during the course of the race.

The race was Busch's first win in the 2003 season, as well as fifth of his career. The result advanced Busch to second in the Drivers' Championship, one hundred and thirty-eight points behind Kenseth, and nine ahead of Tony Stewart. Ford maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, eight ahead of Chevrolet, and eighteen ahead of Pontiac, who bumped Dodge to fourth place, with thirty races of the season remaining. 160,000 people attended the race.

Report

Background

Bristol Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

The track, Bristol Motor Speedway, is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races, the others being Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.^[6] The standard track at Bristol Motor Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.533 miles (0.858 km) long.^[7] The track's turns are banked from twenty-four to thirty degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked from six to ten degrees. The back stretch also has banking from six to ten degrees.^[7]

Before the race, Matt Kenseth led the Drivers' Championship with 760 points, with Tony Stewart in second place with 703 points. Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were third and fourth with 698 and 634 points respectively, with Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven were tied for fifth place with 617 points. Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, Joe Nemechek and Johnny Benson Jr. rounded out the top ten.^[8] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Ford was leading with 36 points, five points ahead of their rivals Chevrolet. Pontiac, with 24 points, were five points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third place.^[9] Busch was the race's defending champion.^[10]

Practice and qualifying

Ryan Newman won pole position with the fastest time, 14.908.

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 120 minutes, while the second and final sessions ran for 45 minutes.^[1] In the first practice session, Jeff Gordon was fastest, placing ahead of Sterling Marlin in second and Ryan Newman in third. Ken Schrader was fourth fastest, and Mike Skinner placed fifth. Busch, Kenny Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmy Spencer and Nemechek rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.^[11] During the session, Jeff Green and Jamie McMurray both made contact with the wall, and were forced to use their back-up cars for qualifying. Robby Gordon also hit the wall, after spinning sideways.^[1]

Forty-five drivers attempted to qualify;^[12] due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, only forty-three could race. Ryan Newman clinched his second pole position of the season, with a time of 14.908.^[13] The time made a new track record, and became the first lap set under 15 seconds in the Winston Cup Series.^[14] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Jeff Gordon.^[13] Schrader qualified third, Rusty Wallace took fourth, and Bill Elliott started fifth. Skinner, Spencer, Earnhardt, Jr., Busch and Stewart completed the top ten positions. The two drivers who failed to qualify for the race were Larry Foyt and Hermie Sadler.^[13] Once qualifying concluded Newman said, "That's the most amazed I've ever been after a qualifying run to go that fast and not anctipate it. We picked up over a quarter of a second from practice, and that's just unheard of at Bristol."^[2]

On Saturday morning, Kenseth was fastest in the second practice session, ahead of Newman in second and Ward Burton in third. Busch was fourth quickest, and Rusty Wallace took fifth. Jeff Burton managed sixth. Kyle Petty, Mark Martin, Jack Sprague and Nemechek followed in the top ten.^[15] During the final practice session, Busch was fastest with a time of 15.701. Stewart and Jeff Gordon followed in second and third with times of 15.722 and 15.723. Dave Blaney was fourth fastest, ahead of Earnhardt, Jr. and Craven. Kenseth was seventh fastest, Martin eighth, Jerry Nadeau ninth, and Ward Burton tenth.^[16]

Race

The race, the sixth of a total of thirty-six in the 2003 season,^[17] and the 2,000th in the Winston Cup Series^[18] began at 1:00pm EST and was televised live in the United States on Fox.^[17] At the start of the race, weather conditions were sunny. Reverend Mike Rife, of the Vansant Church of Christ in Vansant, Virginia, began pre-race ceremonies with the invocation. Country music singer Rebecca Lynn Howard performed the national anthem, and representatives of the United States Armed Forces gave the command for drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, McMurray had to move to the rear of the grid because of him changing his engine.^[19]

Jeff Gordon accelerated faster than Newman off the line, getting ahead of him by the first turn. One lap later, Rusty Wallace passed Newman for the second position. On lap 3, the first caution was given when Robby Gordon made contact with Petty, forcing him to spin sideways. Kenny Wallace also made contact with Ricky Rudd, but escaped with minor damage. None of the drivers made pit stops during the caution. Jeff Gordon led the field back up to speed at the restart. On lap 9, Jeremy Mayfield made contact with the wall, and suffered an flat front right tire. Five laps later, a collision involving Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip and Dale Jarrett prompted the second caution.^[19]

Almost immediately after the lap 20 restart, a collision between Casey Mears and John Andretti which collected Todd Bodine caused the third caution. The race restarted on lap 29, with Rusty Wallace claiming the lead. One lap later, Busch and Stewart passed Schrader for seventh and eighth respectively. On lap 33, Earnhardt, Jr. moved into third after passing Skinner. One lap later, Jeff Gordon reclaimed the first position. On the 42nd lap, Earnhardt, Jr. passed Rusty Wallace for second. Twelve laps later, Tony Raines stopped on track due to an engine failure, and the fourth caution was given as a result. All of the leaders elected to make pit stops during the caution.^[19]

Jeff Gordon maintained his lead at the restart, followed by Terry Labonte and Green. On lap 68, Stewart made contact with Newman, and collected Craven which prompted the fifth caution. Most drivers stayed on track during the caution, allowing Jeff Gordon to remain the leader on the restart. On the 75th lap, Skinner fell to eighth after being passed by Busch and Earnhardt, Jr. Five laps later, Earnhardt, Jr. passed Busch to claim sixth. On lap 85, Skinner fell from eighth to twelfth position. Kenseth, who started the race in thirty-seventh, had moved up thirty-four positions to third by lap 91. By the 111th lap, Jeff Gordon had maintained a half second lead over Terry Labonte. Thirteen laps later, Spencer and Stewart passed Kenseth for fourth and fifth respectively.^[19]

On lap 136, the pace car came out for the sixth caution, after Skinner collided with the wall and his car caught fire. During the caution, all of the leaders elected to make pit stops. Jeff Gordon led on the restart, followed by Nemechek and Spencer. On the 150th lap, the seventh caution came out, after Sprague spun after making contact with Benson, Jr. Jeff Gordon led on the restart, although he was passed by Skinner on lap 161. After starting the race in twenty-eighth, Kevin Harvick moved to sixth position by lap 169. Eleven laps later, Sprague spun sideways, prompting the eighth caution. During the caution, some of the leaders chose to make pit stops. Jeff Gordon led on the restart.^[19]

On the 198th lap, Jeff Burton made contact with Earnhardt, Jr., collecting Johnson, with all three cars escaping with minor damage. On the next lap, the ninth caution was prompted, after Martin was sent spinning sideways. During the caution, some of the leaders elected to make pit stops. Harvick was the leader at the restart, followed by Spencer and Terry Labonte. On lap 210, Robby Gordon collided with the wall, damaging his car and fell to twelfth position. Four laps later, Sadler passed Marlin for eighth. On lap 217, Spencer passed Harvick to reclaim the lead. One lap later, Nadeau spun sideways, prompting the tenth caution. Spencer maintained his lead at the lap 224 restart. On lap 226, Rudd and Bobby Labonte spun sideways, causing the eleventh caution.^[19]

Kurt Busch won the race, after passing Bobby Labonte with ninety-five laps remaining.

The race restarted on lap 241. Two laps later, a multi-car collision occurred at turn 1 when Brett Bodine made contact with Terry Labonte, collecting Kenny Wallace, Robby Gordon, Petty and Schrader, prompting the twelfth caution. Spencer remained the leader at the restart. On lap 256, McMurray spun sideways after contact with Robby Gordon and Ward Burton, causing the thirteenth caution. Stewart also made contact with Rudd, while Bobby Labonte spun sideways. The race restarted on lap 263. On lap 265, Earnhardt, Jr. lost two positions after being passed by Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kenseth. Eighteen laps later, Kenseth passed Jeff Gordon for the fifth position. By the 300th lap, Kenseth passed Johnson for third. On lap 315, Busch moved into the fifth position after passing Jeff Gordon.^[19]

Green flag pit stops began on lap 327 when Harvick pitted. On the 341st lap, Kenseth passed Spencer to claim the first position. Spencer lost another position to Busch four laps later. On lap 348, Bobby Labonte moved into fifth position after passing Johnson. Eleven laps later, Busch passed Kenseth to claim the lead. On the 367th lap, Earnhardt, Jr. began to run out of fuel and pitted one lap later. Eleven laps later, Bobby Labonte claimed the first position off Busch. On lap 390, the fourteenth caution was prompted, after Jarrett collided with the wall. The race restarted on lap 404, with Busch reclaiming the first position. On lap 407, the fifteenth caution was given, after Petty spun sideways. Busch remained the leader at the restart, ahead of Bobby Labonte and Rudd. On lap 420, Kenseth passed Biffle for fifth.^[19]

Five laps later, the sixteenth caution was prompted, when Ward Burton made contact with Robby Gordon and collected Petty. Busch led the field back up to speed on the lap 439 restart. On the 456th lap, Kenseth passed Rudd to claim third position. Nine laps later, Biffle passed Rudd for fourth position. On lap 470, Martin was spun in front of the race leaders, but managed to continue. Three laps later, the pace car came out for the seventeenth and final caution, which was caused by Nemechek making contact with Stewart. Busch remained the leader at the lap 482 restart. Two laps later, Bobby Labonte was passed by Kenseth for second. On the 488th lap, Rudd reclaimed fourth position off Biffle. Busch crossed the finish line on lap 500 to win his first race of the 2003 season. Kenseth finished second, ahead of Bobby Labonte in third, Rudd in fourth, and Biffle in fifth.^[19][20]

Post-race

Busch appeared in victory lane to celebrate his first win of the season in front of 160,000 people who attended the race.^[22] Busch also earned $162,790 in race winnings.^[20] Afterward, his crew chief Jimmy Fenning said, "Kurt Busch is awesome, so awesome. He gets up on the wheel and drives the hell out of that race car, and he made a call today that won him the race."^[21] Kenseth was happy with his second place finish, commenting, "I feel lucky. Started provisional here at Bristol and coming home second. So, it was a great race. Me and Bobby had to go there a little at the end, and I got my fender knocked in there a little. I was hoping I could make a run at Kurt before that happened. But, it was a good race. It's always physical out there, and we didn't have a scratch on the car there until right at the end, so it was pretty good."^[23]

Labonte was happy with finishing third, commenting, "I got spun out twice and finished third. "It's a great day. How much greater could you want it to get?"^[24] Spencer, who led 139 laps of the race, was candid about his performance, "It should have been a first, but the Sirius Dodge boys are doing a good job. I wouldn't trade 'em. We made some mistakes, but we'll get better."^[25] Mears, who was involved in the lap 20 collision with Andretti and Todd Bodine, commented, "I don't know what happened. I was just going through the gears taking my time and it looked like somebody up front may have missed a shift or somebody may have got into somebody else."^[26]

During the race, Jerry Nadeau and Ryan Newman were involved in a battle for position that resulted in the two colliding on the 219th lap. Once Nadeau returned to pit road, he was talking out of anger to Newman's team personnel about the incident.^[27] Once the argument ended, Nadeau commented, "It's a shame. It was a great car for us, the U.S. Army Pontiac. Damn lapped-car can't use his head. I don't know what Ryan (Newman) was thinking. He just kept coming down, kept coming down."^[27] Newman argued, "It looked to me like the 11 (Bodine) got into the back of the 01 (Nadeau) on that one deal."^[27] Kyle Petty, who was involved in the crash on lap 425, was taken to the circuit's infield medical center, and later taken for a precautionary visit at the Bristol Regional Medical Center to undergo medical evaluations.^[28] Petty's crash was measured at 80G, and he suffered injuries to his ribs and abdomen. Petty was replaced by Christian Fittipaldi for the next round.^[29]

The race result left Kenseth leading the Drivers' Championship with 935 points. Busch, who finished first, moved to second on 797, nine points ahead of Stewart and eleven ahead of Waltrip. Earnhardt, Jr. fell to fifth with 749 points.^[30] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Ford maintained the lead with 45 points. Chevrolet remained second on 37 points. Pontiac followed with 27 points, four points ahead of Dodge in fourth.^[9]

Results

Qualifying

Race

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Matt Kenseth 935 2 Kurt Busch 797 3 Tony Stewart 788 4 Michael Waltrip 786 5 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 749 6 Jimmie Johnson 743 7 Ricky Craven 735 8 Bobby Labonte 732 9 Ricky Rudd 695 10 Jeff Gordon 694 Source:[30]

Matt Kenseth remained the points leader with 935 points, after finishing second in the race. Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 45 2 Chevrolet 37 3 Pontiac 27 4 Dodge 23 Source:[9]

References