2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 was held on March 16, 2003 at Darlington Speedway in South Carolina
and was the fifth race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The race was remembered for the finish as Ricky Craven
won the race in a stunning, side panel rubbing battle to the checkers with Kurt Busch
at Darlington Raceway
, at the start/finish line Craven edged out Busch by .002 thousands of a second. It was the closest finish
in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, although that mark his since been tied by the finish in the 2011 Aaron's 499
. In general, it is not the closest in history among the three major series, in the 1995 Total Petroleum 200
, Butch Miller beat Mike Skinner by .001 in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Colorado. Earlier in the race, Busch missed entering pit road while green flag pit stops was occurring. Elliott Sadler
won the pole for the race, his first of the season. It was also the final NASCAR
win for Pontiac
as they left the series at the end of the season and it was Dave Blaney
's first top 5 finish with a third place effort. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps of the race with 91 out of the 293 lap distance.
was running in second until he spun around all by himself in turn one which brought out the first caution. The championship leader, Matt Kenseth
and Jamie McMurray
made contact to avoid Nedeau and Kenseth spun, entering turn two. Just a few laps later, Jack Sprague
got loose in turn four and spun around without any serious damage. Ryan Newman
, who started second in this race and Ward Burton
were running side by side until both of them were around in turn two. Soon after that, Sterling Marlin
and Jimmie Johnson
were running side-by-side, which both ran out of room and sent Marlin in to the wall. A corner later, he would hit the wall again and collected Bobby Labonte
, Tony Raines
, Kevin Harvick
and Sprague once again.
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and was the fifth race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The race was remembered for the finish as Ricky Craven
Ricky Craven
Richard Allen Craven is an ESPN broadcaster who works ESPN2's NASCAR Now and a race analyst for the network. Prior to his ESPN duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the K&N Pro Series, and the three national series. He occasionally served as a pit reporter when NASCAR...
won the race in a stunning, side panel rubbing battle to the checkers with Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 22 Shell Oil Company/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and will race on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA...
at Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed the "Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition"...
, at the start/finish line Craven edged out Busch by .002 thousands of a second. It was the closest finish
Closest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finishes
NASCAR's premiere racing division, the Sprint Cup Series, has seen many close finishes since the electronic scoring system was instituted in May during the 1993 season. To date the closest finish in the Sprint Cup Series is 0.002 seconds, happening twice. The first occurred during the 2003 Carolina...
in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, although that mark his since been tied by the finish in the 2011 Aaron's 499
2011 Aaron's 499
The 2011 Aaron's 499 was the eighth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season out of thirty six total races. The race was held on April 17 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Jeff Gordon won his 70th pole position, leading a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four starting...
. In general, it is not the closest in history among the three major series, in the 1995 Total Petroleum 200
1995 Total Petroleum 200
The 1995 Total Petroleum 200 took place on July 15, 1995 at Colorado National Speedway. This event was 200 laps long and it was the eleventh race of the series where it held the closest margin of victory in the history of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series...
, Butch Miller beat Mike Skinner by .001 in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Colorado. Earlier in the race, Busch missed entering pit road while green flag pit stops was occurring. Elliott Sadler
Elliott Sadler
Elliott William Barnes Sadler is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. He is one of only 23 drivers to have won in each of NASCAR's top three series...
won the pole for the race, his first of the season. It was also the final NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
win for Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
as they left the series at the end of the season and it was Dave Blaney
Dave Blaney
David Blaney is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He currently drives the #36 Golden Corral/Big Red Chevrolet Impala for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Blaney was a successful sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR...
's first top 5 finish with a third place effort. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps of the race with 91 out of the 293 lap distance.
Early action
Early in the race, Jerry NadeauJerry Nadeau
Jerry Nadeau is a retired race car driver from Danbury, Connecticut. Nadeau competed in the 1994 Barber Dodge Pro Series and the 1996 Formula Opel Euroseries.-NASCAR career:Nadeau's NASCAR career began in 1995 in the Busch Series...
was running in second until he spun around all by himself in turn one which brought out the first caution. The championship leader, Matt Kenseth
Matt Kenseth
Matthew Roy "Matt" Kenseth is an American stock car driver. Kenseth currently drives the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing...
and Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray
James Christopher "Jamie" McMurray is a professional American race car driver. McMurray is best known for winning the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 as a substitute driver in his second Winston Cup start, and is one of three drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year...
made contact to avoid Nedeau and Kenseth spun, entering turn two. Just a few laps later, Jack Sprague
Jack Sprague
Jack Sprague is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver. He is currently a free agent. Sprague has finished in the top-ten in the points standings almost every year he has raced in the trucks, and won three championships in 1997, 1999, and 2001 while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.-...
got loose in turn four and spun around without any serious damage. Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman
Ryan Joseph Newman is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drives the #39 United States Army/Tornados/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for Stewart Haas Racing under crew chief Tony Gibson. Newman graduated from Purdue University in 2001 with a B.S. in vehicle structure engineering...
, who started second in this race and Ward Burton
Ward Burton
John Edward Burton III is an American NASCAR auto racer, who has a total of five career Sprint Cup wins. He last drove the #4 State Water Heaters Chevrolet Impala SS for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2007. He is the older brother of fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, against whom he first...
were running side by side until both of them were around in turn two. Soon after that, Sterling Marlin
Sterling Marlin
Sterling Marlin is a retired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He is the son of late NASCAR driver Coo Coo Marlin. He is married to Paula and has a daughter, Sutherlin, and a son, Steadman, who sometimes races in the Nationwide Series....
and Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He currently drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports....
were running side-by-side, which both ran out of room and sent Marlin in to the wall. A corner later, he would hit the wall again and collected Bobby Labonte
Bobby Labonte
Robert Alan "Bobby" Labonte is an American race car driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the #47 Kroger/Clorox/Kimberly-Clark/Kingsford/Reese Towpower Hitches Toyota Camry for JTG Daugherty Racing. He currently resides in Trinity, North Carolina. He is married to his wife...
, Tony Raines
Tony Raines
Floyd Anthony Raines is an American race car driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the now defunct American Speed Association and 1999 Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series...
, Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick is an American stock car auto racing race car driver and car owner currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the No. 29 Budweiser/Jimmy John's/Rheem/Okuma/Realtree Outdoors/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet Impala...
and Sprague once again.
Race results
| Top Ten Finishers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Make | Team | ||||
| 1 | 32 |  Ricky CravenRicky Craven Richard Allen Craven is an ESPN broadcaster who works ESPN2's NASCAR Now and a race analyst for the network. Prior to his ESPN duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the K&N Pro Series, and the three national series. He occasionally served as a pit reporter when NASCAR... |
Pontiac Pontiac Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the... |
PPI Motorsports PPI Motorsports PPI Motorsports was a race team which competed in CART, NASCAR, and various off-road racing circuits. The team had one of the few remaining single car operations in NASCAR.-Early years:... |
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| 2 | 97 |  Kurt BuschKurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 22 Shell Oil Company/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and will race on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA... |
Ford | Roush Racing Roush Racing Roush Fenway Racing is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint and Nationwide Series, and formerly in the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series.Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but had... |
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| 3 | 77 |  Dave BlaneyDave Blaney David Blaney is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He currently drives the #36 Golden Corral/Big Red Chevrolet Impala for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Blaney was a successful sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR... |
Ford | Jasper Motorsports Jasper Motorsports Jasper Motorsports is a former NASCAR Winston Cup/NEXTEL Cup team. It was owned by a variety of owners including D.K. Ulrich and Doug Bawel.- 1970s-1980s :... |
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| 4 | 6 |  Mark MartinMark Martin Mark Martin may refer to:* Mark Martin , American racecar driver* Mark Martin , American cartoonist* Mark Martin , American judge* Mark Martin , British murderer... |
Ford | Roush Racing | ||||
| 5 | 15 |  Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip is a semi-former professional race car driver, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, and a published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion and racing commentator Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500; having won the race in... |
Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918... |
Dale Earnhardt Inc. | ||||
| 6 | 8 |  Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | ||||
| 7 | 38 |  Elliott SadlerElliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. He is one of only 23 drivers to have won in each of NASCAR's top three series... |
Ford | Robert Yates Racing | ||||
| 8 | 17 |  Matt KensethMatt Kenseth Matthew Roy "Matt" Kenseth is an American stock car driver. Kenseth currently drives the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing... |
Ford | Roush Racing | ||||
| 9 | 9 |  Bill ElliottBill Elliott William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup... |
Dodge Dodge Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide.... |
Evernham Motorsports Evernham Motorsports Richard Petty Motorsports is a two-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race team owned by seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, Douglas G. Bergeron and financial company Medallion Financial. The team was founded as Evernham Motorsports in 2000, was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2007 after... |
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| 10 | 20 |  Tony StewartTony Stewart Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart... |
Chevrolet | Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son... |
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