|| *Comments on the 2003 Coca-Cola 600:* View the most recent comment <#25> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Jason posted: 04.19.2005 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rain shortened event. Coca-Cola 414 (instead of 600) 2. most posted: 12.13.2006 - 3:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) One of those really crappy races where you know it will just rain and be over, the 03 500, this race, the 06 spring michigan race. They are really not fun to watch. 3. myself posted: 02.21.2007 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Nice job, na$car! 2 of your crowning jewels in 03' you didn't run to completion! I smell that SOB brian france! 4. racer posted: 05.25.2007 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I wonder how come they called it so early they could have at least make an attempt to dry the track like they did earlier ( note it actually stop raining when they called the race)it would of only taken an hour and a half and plus why couldn't they postpone it till monday there were still 124 laps left alot of race time ?? 5. john posted: 09.06.2007 - 2:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmy Spencer's last Top 5 in Cup 6. BurtonRuddFan posted: 12.19.2007 - 2:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Jimmy Spencer's last great run. What a short race. UNFORTUANTELY, JIMMIE THE PERFECTIONIST WON. 7. Mr. Big posted: 05.04.2008 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) The two biggest races of 2003, and NASCAR completely ruins both of them. 8. jp posted: 06.05.2009 - 12:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember Ricky Rudd flying through the grass and getting SOAKED!!!! 9. 18fan posted: 01.26.2010 - 8:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just like 2009, both the Daytona 500 and the Coke 600 are rain shortened. 10. Nick posted: 07.20.2010 - 5:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting note: About a week before this race, Jeff Green was released from RCR after he got into a heated incident with Kevin Harvick at Richmond. Also, Steve Park was released from DEI days after that same race. The two drivers effectively flip-flopped cars, with Park ending up in the #30 with RCR and Green going to the #1 to drive for DEI. 11. Daniel posted: 05.24.2012 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #02 Hermie Sadler & #11 Brett Bodine Out using fastest 43: #01 Mike Wallace & #48 Jimmie Johnson 12. David posted: 09.26.2012 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) "The two biggest races of 2003, and NASCAR completely ruins both of them." Oh yeah, sure. Because we all know NASCAR called in the weather planes to seed the clouds over Daytona and Charlotte, and rain would come pouring down and wash out both events. Just like NASCAR wanted. 13. CBASS posted: 01.14.2013 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #21 Air Force #48 Lowe's Power of Pride #4 Kodak EasyShare System #15 NAPA Auto Parts #40 Brooks & Dunn/ Coors Light #0 NetZero Hi-Speed #30 AOL #49 Freightliner #43 Cheerios/ Betty Crocker #97 Rubbermaid Blue Ice/ Sharpie http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0313 14. 23andJoe posted: 05.05.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #71 crew chief: Kevin Lepage (Yep, that's correct: Lepage made his own calls from inside the car. That team was absolutely running on a shoestring.) 15. 23andJoe posted: 05.05.2014 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And forgot to include in the above: #71 sponsor: Fast Boy Wings 16. JasonB72 posted: 06.22.2014 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting nugget: If my math is correct, I think this was the 2000th NASCAR race. 17. Bob posted: 08.06.2014 - 3:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why did Jeff Green and Steve Park switch? 18. Jared DiCarlo posted: 09.13.2015 - 12:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The race that started Johnson's domination at Lowe's 19. Big Mac Fan posted: 10.12.2015 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Why did Jeff Green and Steve Park switch?" It was after an altercation between Harvick and Green at Richmond. RCR fired Green, so he and Park essentially swapped rides. 20. Maverick posted: 10.18.2016 - 10:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the only race in his championship season where Matt Kenseth led the most laps. 21. Jared DiCarlo posted: 02.24.2018 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If I'm not mistaken, this is the only time Johnson has won a rain-shortened race 22. Steven posted: 12.14.2019 - 7:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) For this race, a handful of Chevrolets had a Monte Carlo SS decal across the nose rather than the typical Monte Carlo one. From what I can find, the cars that carried the SS decal include both Gibbs cars and all three Childress cars. Jayski has no info about it, so I'm not sure why they did it. 23. possum posted: 12.14.2019 - 8:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @22 - it may have been related to the introduction of the supercharged engine for the 2004 production car. I don't recall any special promotional activity, but it would be about the right time in the year for Chevy to make that kind of announcement. 24. rm posted: 03.30.2020 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only points race in 2003 that Kevin Lepage attempted with his own team, in addition to running the Open the weekend before. I believe he took the car with him when he went over to the CLR team, not sure what became of it from there. Tony Stewart took "take it to the hauler, we're done" literally in this race. Upon experiencing engine troubles for the third time in a six race span, Stewart turned into the garage area and drove his car straight onto the liftgate of the team's hauler. The issue wound up not being terminal after all, allowing him to re-enter the race 30 laps down, but he was stuck with his third straight finish of 40th or worse due to the rain-shortened nature of the race. Kenny Wallace also had engine issues, with his engine overheating so spectacularly that it coated the right side of his car - and the windshields of all the other drivers - in oil. Greg Biffle pit from 2nd place under green just to get his tearoff off since he couldn't see. Somehow, NASCAR ruled the track was clean, only to have Dale Earnhardt Jr. spin out moments later. NASCAR may have been right after all, though, as Junior's spin was the result of a brake problem that knocked him out of the race after a few more laps. They say in sports that in any given game, you're bound to see something you've never seen before. That extends to racing as well, and I'll nominate Ricky Rudd's comedy of errors when trying to make a green flag pit stop as the event to fulfill that criteria for this race. There are bad pit stops, and then there's Rudd's sequence of events: -Commits to making a green flag pit stop far too late and misses the entrance to pit road completely -Going far too fast, a sideways Rudd gets into the very wet grass and begins a series of spins -Upon hitting a bit of a divot in the grass, Rudd's car digs in and sends watery turf flying in every direction, coating his car in muddy grass -Refires and follows along the legends oval to get back onto the track but comes to a stop at the start-finish line, eventually drawing a caution after a bad game of chicken between Rudd and race control, and finally -Has to get a push from the wrecker all the way back around because we learn why Rudd made a belated break for the pits in the first place: he was out of gas. Total cost: 5 laps, a dirty racecar and one very wet driver. 25. Rich posted: 04.21.2021 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy along with Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Dr. Dick Berggren along with Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: