|| *Comments on the 2003 Daytona 500:* View the most recent comment <#72> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Woodbridge posted: 11.20.2003 - 11:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) This wasn't a bad race, too bad it ended so early.... Daytona does have lights! I think, given the time, Harvick would've ended up winning. 2. Tom Steen posted: 12.04.2003 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) No way that the 'Super Bowl' of NASCAR should end short of the distance. No offense to Mikey, but make him earn the Daytona 500 title by running 500 miles, like he did the first time he won it. 3. Christian posted: 12.06.2003 - 12:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was weird to see Ryan Newman flip all those times. What an eerily similar crash to the crash that killed Neil Bonnett. 4. Beitaness posted: 12.08.2003 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Awesome crash ! Ryan Newman left the race with style ! 5. Jake posted: 06.07.2004 - 1:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) It was awesome to see Michael win the Daytona 500. But it was a heartbreak for Dale, Jr. To kick ass during Speedweeks and lose it to a faulty battery and rain shortening the race, it was a tough one to swallow. 6. Jack Lewis posted: 07.28.2004 - 5:41 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) This race is just like ending the Super Bowl in the third quarter. Bad move by NASCAR, but a great win nontheless by Michael Waltrip. 7. Anonymous posted: 01.11.2005 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (4) (7) I cheered so loud when Jr. fell a lap down. That was great to see him struggle 8. Mike D posted: 02.20.2005 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) Anonymous, that was so stupid. He struggled.... He had a great car. His battery died, thats not anyones fault, and then it rained... 9. Brett posted: 02.25.2005 - 11:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) The race had barely STARTED by the time they called it. Surely they could've continued on Monday. It's not like NASCAR hadn't ever delayed a Sunday event until Monday, oh, seventy million times before. The only possible reasoning is that FOX wouldn't have aired it on Monday-it would've gone to cable and FX. And I'm guessing none of the higher ups would be interested in having the biggest race of the year on the cable. Regardless, a cool $1.4 mil for 109 laps work can never hurt, especially for Mikey. 10. JJ Lehto posted: 03.14.2005 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Daytona 273.... How can the Crown Jewel of NASCAR end just barely past half way? Great win for Waltrip, too bad he couldnt earn it. 11. Starlancer posted: 04.09.2005 - 9:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) IIRC, it was still raining heavily until Thursday. They could've finished the 500, but they would've had to cancel the Rockingham race. 12. Anonymous posted: 04.13.2005 - 4:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) Just do what they did with Talladega in 97 and push the schedule back a week!! NASCAR HAS AN ASS AS WELL AS GORDON AND GORDONS ASS WAS THE GRASS 13. Anonymous posted: 05.05.2005 - 2:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) talladega in 97 was run on mother's day and the rest of the schedule ran as normal 14. Chicago posted: 05.12.2005 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The race had already hit halfway. The rules are the rules. I don't know, Harvick among others was very fast but Waltrip dominated most of the race and made his move on Johnson when he had to. I think he had the best car and would've won even if it went back to green. 15. MASH_guy posted: 08.15.2005 - 5:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) One of the most boring Daytona 500s in memory. There was only one on-track pass for the lead, when Waltrip made the final move on Jimmie Johnson - and he needed the tow of his lapped teammate (Dale Jr.) to do it. Maybe it would have been better over the full distance, but we'll never know. 16. Darrell posted: 10.06.2005 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) Folks, there was a simple reason why the race didn't continued. Money. The Simpson's 300th episode was premiering that night, and Fox couldn't afford to postpone a milestone for one of the stupidest shows to ever exist for 223 miles of a NASCAR race, now could they? Nice job Mike Wallace, I will say that.(James Finch cars often seem to run well in the 500). 17. Steve posted: 02.03.2006 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I have to agree with you, Chicago. Waltrip had the best car. He just didn't show all he had in the 125. Anonymous, if you're going to make asinine comments, just keep them to yourself, instead of making yourself look like a jackball. Who are you trying to impress by saying that you cheered when Dale Jr. had a battery problem? And could you please define the following: "NASCAR HAS AN ASS AS WELL AS GORDON AND GORDONS ASS WAS THE GRASS" 18. D.E.I. JR #1 posted: 03.25.2006 - 12:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (4) Yeah, Jr. sucks. NOT!!! HE IS THE 2ND MOST TALENTED DRIVER EVER, RIGHT BEHIND BIG E! 19. smoke20ri posted: 04.04.2006 - 3:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well said, Steve. 20. Evan posted: 04.06.2006 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ok, Mike you can celebrate! 21. Rusty posted: 07.28.2006 - 11:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) D.E.I. JR #1, if Jr was so talented he could win somewhere other than Daytona/Talladega 22. Steve posted: 11.27.2006 - 7:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When they called this race i was so disapointed, you want all winter then you go all through speedweeks just to have the rain end only 9 laps past halfway... crap. i would have rather the whole thing get washed and they ran it completly another day. or what could have been good is if it had rained about 20 minutes earlier then they wouldnt have gotten halfway and they would HAVE to go another day. alot of people say the 2000 daytona 500 sucked (which it did, except for jarrett winning :)) but at least that race had a finish. this was the worst 500 ever, excuse me, the worst Daytona 272.5 ever. 23. chad posted: 01.01.2007 - 12:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) should this race run night or monday to rain 24. Brock posted: 01.20.2007 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The 300th episode of "The Simpsons" forced NASCAR's hand to call the race altogether, in my opinion. The tail's wagging the dog more and more these days--- 25. Steve posted: 02.08.2007 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race featured 3 drivers who have famous uncles who won the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar (now Champ Car) title: Casey Mears (his unlce Rick won 4 Indy 500s and 3 Championships), John Andretti (uncle Mario won Indy in 1969 and the Championship in 1984), and Christian Fittipaldi (uncle Emerson won the 500 and the Championship in 1989). 26. myself posted: 02.21.2007 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ahhh the infamous & dreaded Daytona 272.5! My love for na$car died a lot that day! It has continued to die & is near coma status. It started w/ this atrocity, & has continued w/ things like: the chase, brian france, the lucky dog, green/white/checker, yellow's freezing the field (only when na$car wants to freeze the field, ie, Harvick over Martin for the 07' 500), etc. I used to LOVE Nascar & was a fanatic about it. I now just enjoy watching a race. 27. myself posted: 02.21.2007 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) One other note: this race launched the final legitimate nascar championship season. 28. Debo posted: 05.09.2007 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman had one of the slowest blowovers I've ever seen in NASCAR. Unfortuante for him it landed on its roof. 29. Sean posted: 06.22.2007 - 4:55 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) This race sucked. Seeing Mikey win it was even worse. Harvick had a good car and so did a few others. If it had gone green for a full 200 laps I dont know if anyone would have beat JR. But he had to wait til 04. 2003 sucked anyway. Only a few races had decent outcomes. 30. Antony posted: 07.11.2007 - 3:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was okay. Ryan newman had a big Exit! 31. SK posted: 08.21.2007 - 3:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Casey Mears makes his Winston Cup debut as the new driver for Chip Ganassi's #41 Target Dodge team. 32. Senninha posted: 12.03.2007 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was weird to see Ryan Newman flip all those times. What an eerily similar crash to the crash that killed Neil Bonnett. Christian | 12.05.03 - 7:13 pm | # Dude... not even CLOSE. 33. Rob posted: 12.28.2007 - 5:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I said back in 2003 after this and Lowes that NASCAR should consider making it 3/4 of the distance before calling it. Most tracks now have lights. Plus had it gone to at least lap 150 people would have felt less cheated. 34. Ryan W posted: 02.15.2008 - 12:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Had the race went the distance it would have been a heck of a race between Harvick, Earnhardt, and Waltrip... yeah, that's right Jr. would have got his lap back, he already made one up... 35. myself posted: 02.29.2008 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race disgusts me every time I think about it! 36. Clayton posted: 03.12.2008 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At this race in the stands! I was so pissed!!! And Dale Jr is not the second most talented driver ever! Maybe 102nd! 37. Mike posted: 04.11.2008 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In his fifth try, this was the first time that Tony Stewart led a lap or finished in the top ten in the Daytona 500. 38. Mr. Big posted: 05.04.2008 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Sterling Marlin had a top 10 (possibly top 5) car but NASCAR showed once again they favor certain drivers over others and black flagged him even though he was forced below the yellow line. Flash forward to eight races later. Junior does the same thing but he isn't forced below the yellow line. Is he penalized? No. Worst race of 2003 IMO because NASCAR decides to call the biggest race of the year nine laps after halfway. 39. RaceFanX posted: 07.27.2008 - 11:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jack Sprague scores his best career Cup finish. This was to be the start of his first full-season in the Cup series but it was not to be, the Truck Series champ was unable to score a top 10 finish before he was released 18 races into the year 40. Rad83 posted: 07.30.2008 - 2:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (6) 2003 was a horrible racing year in Cup. But, the cars looked so cool. Waltrip winning this race makes me puke. Waltrip will always be known as a 2-time winner of the Daytona 500. But he shouldn't be. He should be a 1-time Daytona 500 winner, and a 1-time washed-up 272.5 winner. Got it, Jabronis? 41. Roadkill posted: 08.06.2008 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rad83, I totally agree about `03 being a bad year for racing. This was the season of the rock hard tire that could go 200 miles without losing any speed. Made for a lot of fuel mileage and track position racing, even worse than with the COT. Jerry Nadeau was actually running in the top five before the last caution but got blocked in his pit stall and restarted about 35th. A few laps later, it rained. Typical bad luck for Jerry. 42. myself posted: 02.13.2009 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And Dale Jr is not the second most talented driver ever! Maybe 102nd! Clayton | 03.12.08 - 8:01 pm" LOL 43. myself posted: 02.13.2009 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "Sterling Marlin had a top 10 (possibly top 5) car but NASCAR showed once again they favor certain drivers over others and black flagged him even though he was forced below the yellow line. Flash forward to eight races later. Junior does the same thing but he isn't forced below the yellow line. Is he penalized? No. Mr. Big | 05.04.08 - 9:10 pm" That's your traditional earnhardt na$car bias, ladies & gentlemen. 44. luigistarted06 posted: 01.17.2010 - 1:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A really weird race looking back on it. In the last decade the 2009 and 2003 Daytona 500 both were rain shortened. The 2009 one went around 3/4ths of the way, and there was a mad scramble with just a few laps left to give Kenseth the win, where as this one if felt like the drivers were just trying to ride it out until the rain was there, however when Ward Burton crashed, it brought the cautuon out and ended any hope for that. I knew it was over the second I saw Burton crash too. Back then it seemed like it would only start raining if the race was under caution. Myabe there was something to the vortex theory with the old cars...still a shame they couldn't have had at least a 2 lap restart after the Burton crash before the rains came. It would have been one hell of a mad dash for sure. 45. ams391221 posted: 03.09.2010 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mikey never got to properly celebrate either of his Daytona 500 wins. First beacuse of Earnhardt's death and now a 500 shortened by over 250 miles. 46. Madison posted: 08.13.2010 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Every car in the race carried a decal remembering the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster. 47. joey2448 posted: 03.24.2011 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) the lap 43 caution was for the #18 car spinning, not the #16... 48. NazRacePhan posted: 03.23.2012 - 9:08 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Too bad Rusty didn't win./... was just reading in the book "and then Tony said to Junior..." that Miller Lite promised that if Rusty won the 500, every fan (of age) would get a FREE 6-pack of Miller Lite! Nice gutsy promotion!!!! 49. Daniel posted: 05.24.2012 - 9:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using top 20/21 from duels: #02 Hermie Sadler, #11 Brett Bodine, #60 David Green Out using top 20/21 from duels: #1 Steve Park, #2 Rusty Wallace, #97 Kurt Busch Starting 43rd based on qualifying: #29 Kevin Harvick 50. CBASS posted: 01.14.2013 - 7:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #97 Rubbermaid/ Sharpie #9/19 Dodge Power Days #6 Viagra #21 Motorcraft Quality Parts #30 AOL #7 Sirius #74 BACE Motorsports http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0301 51. Nascar24JeffGordon posted: 03.26.2013 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Trouble on the back stretch Ryan Newman Flips over and over oh no and there goes Ken Scharder. Ryan Newman last year's rookie of the year flipping on the fron stretch and his Car is upside down. Ryan is moving in his Car. 52. Evan posted: 06.13.2014 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors #9/19 Bill Elliott/Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Power Days Source:Watched both Bud Shootout and Daytona 500, both Evernham entries ran the scheme. Jayski.com #88 Dale Jarrett UPS "What Can Brown Do For You?" Dale Jarrett ran his 2003 UPS scheme with this slogan on the rear of the car. This was the first race to include that. 53. DH101 posted: 06.18.2014 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First race I had ever watched live. Made me a fan ever since. 2003 was a great season for NASCAR and I saw my first race that year in New Hampshire 54. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 08.02.2014 - 12:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew #84 Norm Benning Benning Racing Chevy Norm Benning Sponsor the #02 was SCORE Motorsports 55. FloridaFan88 posted: 01.30.2015 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Qualifying Speeds Driver Make Speed Time 1. #30 Jeff Green Chevrolet 186.606 48.230 2. #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 186.382 48.288 3. #31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet 185.927 48.406 4. #15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet 185.460 48.528 5. #21 Ricky Rudd Ford 185.372 48.551 6. #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 185.063 48.632 7. #88 Dale Jarrett Ford 184.957 48.660 8. #18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 184.942 48.664 9. #40 Sterling Marlin Dodge 184.710 48.725 10. #45 Kyle Petty Dodge 184.668 48.736 11. #42 Jamie McMurray Dodge 184.502 48.780 12. #9 Bill Elliott Dodge 184.438 48.797 13. #25 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 184.385 48.811 14. #6 Mark Martin Ford 184.373 48.814 15. #32 Ricky Craven Pontiac 184.362 48.817 16. #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 184.320 48.828 17. #1 Steve Park Chevrolet 184.320 48.828 18. #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 184.313 48.830 19. #22 Ward Burton Dodge 184.268 48.842 20. #38 Elliott Sadler Ford 184.230 48.852 21. #16 Greg Biffle Ford 184.117 48.882 22. #74 Tony Raines Chevrolet 184.027 48.906 23. #41 Casey Mears Dodge 183.978 48.919 24. #33 Christian Fittipaldi Chevrolet 183.914 48.936 25. #17 Matt Kenseth Ford 183.613 49.016 26. #09 Mike Wallace Dodge 183.516 49.042 27. #23 Kenny Wallace Dodge 183.490 49.049 28. #0 Jack Sprague Pontiac 183.400 49.073 29. #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 183.221 49.121 30. #97 Kurt Busch Ford 183.094 49.155 31. #10 Johnny Benson Pontiac 183.005 49.179 32. #12 Ryan Newman Dodge 183.001 49.180 33. #14 Larry Foyt Dodge 182.979 49.186 34. #01 Jerry Nadeau Pontiac 182.908 49.205 35. #7 Jimmy Spencer Dodge 182.841 49.223 36. #43 John Andretti Dodge 182.815 49.230 37. #5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet 182.682 49.266 38. #54 Todd Bodine Ford 182.656 49.273 39. #60 David Green Chevrolet 182.408 49.340 40. #49 Ken Schrader Dodge 182.363 49.352 41. #11 Brett Bodine Ford 182.267 49.378 42. #2 Rusty Wallace Dodge 182.171 49.404 43. #4 Mike Skinner Pontiac 182.035 49.441 44. #77 Dave Blaney Ford 181.668 49.541 45. #99 Jeff Burton Ford 181.360 49.625 46. #02 Hermie Sadler Pontiac 181.127 49.689 47. #37 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 180.669 49.815 48. #90 Kirk Shelmerdine Ford 179.083 50.256 49. #78 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 177.368 50.742 50. #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet No Time The #84 of Norm Benning withdrew before qualifying. 56. mister83 posted: 07.17.2015 - 1:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fun fact about this race: this was the first time the #42 was used in cup after Kenny Irwin's death. The car number was changed to #01 and then to #41 in the years after the crash, but Ganassi & Sabates brought the #42 back for the new team with Jamie Mac. 57. NASCARLover22 posted: 08.20.2015 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #74 BACE Motorsports #6 Viagra #09 Miccosukee Resort & Casino #15 NAPA Auto Parts #97 Rubbermaid/Sharpie #78 Carb-R-All/Pilot Travel Centers #14 Harrah's Casino #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker #42 Texaco/Havoline 58. Big Mac Fan posted: 10.11.2015 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2003 Daytona 272.5. The racing was decent, but to call the race because of a scheduling conflict on TV (it could have restarted under the lights) was embarrassing. 59. rm posted: 07.25.2016 - 11:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Crew chief for #30 for all races in 2003: Mike Beam 60. Anonymous posted: 09.01.2016 - 7:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "56. mister83 posted: 07.17.2015 - 1:35 am Rate this comment: Like this comment (0) Dislike this comment (0) Fun fact about this race: this was the first time the #42 was used in cup after Kenny Irwin's death. The car number was changed to #01 and then to #41 in the years after the crash, but Ganassi & Sabates brought the #42 back for the new team with Jamie Mac." Actually #42 was used at Watkin's Glen in 2002. Ganassi elected to put Scott Pruett in the 41, and entered the 42 for Jimmy Spencer. Unfortunately, Jimmy did not qualify. 61. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 06.03.2018 - 12:03 am Rate this comment: (1) (3) First Daytona 500 starts for Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, and Tony Raines. Only Daytona 500 starts for Jack Sprague and Christian Fittipaldi. Last Daytona 500 starts for Todd Bodine, Jerry Nadeau, Steve Park, and Bill Elliott. 62. Anonymous posted: 06.03.2018 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) 61. Elliot ran the 500 in 2009 and 2010 for the Wood Brothers, and 2011 for James Finch. 63. Ryan M posted: 06.03.2018 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott actually competed in the 2011 Daytona 500 and may have run some others when he was part-time, not sure though. 64. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 06.03.2018 - 1:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is *exactly* what I deserve when I don't have the stats compiled and memorized as well as I did for Indy. D'oh! 65. Greg1&9Fan posted: 07.15.2018 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wasn't there like some sort of new rule this year that made cars pit more or something? I don't remember. 66. Ryan posted: 07.16.2018 - 12:47 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @65 I believe they went to a 13.5 gallon fuel cell for plate races that year which was a lot smaller from the 22 gallon fuel cell they normally used then on the other tracks. They experimented with this to try and break up the big packs at Daytona and Talladega to try and minimize the chance of the "Big One". It didn't really solve this issue and caused more time and resources to be used on pit road. I'm not for sure how long they did it for. Possibly a year or two... I believe they used it for the next race at Talladega as well because they couldn't get a good read off of this race where it was rain shortened nine laps just past the halfway point. 67. Chase9Fan posted: 06.05.2019 - 8:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was a Rusty fan at the time, just yet another plate race that Rusty had a better car than where he finished. 68. Anthony2 posted: 09.10.2019 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first NASCAR race that was presented in widescreen mode. Fox had a widescreen feed channel back then & televised all of the NASCAR on Fox races in 16:9 SD in 2003 & 2004. The feed was discontinued when the coverage upgraded to high definition, starting in 2005. 69. Evan posted: 02.02.2020 - 2:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Update Pole Sitter Jeff Green #30 AOL Broadband The car clearly has the word "Broadband" on the side of the car when it was qualified and shown on the FOX broadcast of the race. Source: Watched this race. 70. Dylan21222Penske posted: 10.14.2020 - 7:39 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @39 - Not only was it Sprague's best career Cup Series finish, but in all of his 24 Cup Series starts, it was his only finish on the lead lap, and it came in a race that did not go the full distance. So he never completed a full Cup Series race on the lead lap. 71. Rich posted: 11.27.2020 - 9:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Jeanne Zelasko were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. 72. Rich posted: 11.28.2020 - 11:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first Daytona 500 in many years that did not go the full 200 lap distance and the first since '66 to finish earlier than usual. To this day, this 500 holds the mark of being the shortest run 500 in the history of the great American race at 272.5 miles, exactly 50 miles shorter than the second shortest run 500 in history which happened in '65 at 332.5 miles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: