|| *Comments on the 2003 Ford 400:* View the most recent comment <#144> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Jack Lewis posted: 08.17.2004 - 5:35 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Last NASCAR Cup race under the name Winston Cup. Bill Elliott dominated the race, only to cut a tire with half a lap to go, yielding to Bobby Labonte to win the last Winston Cup race ever. 2. HomeDepot20TS posted: 06.05.2005 - 1:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bobby may be my third favorite driver, but Bill is second and simply put, that sucked. 3. CBCMikeyfan posted: 06.15.2005 - 5:00 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) This is one of the biggest heartbreaks I've ever seen in racing. I wonder if Bill would've changed his decision on how much longer to race if he'd won this one. 4. Brian posted: 07.02.2005 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think Elliot would've changed his mind. How great would it have been to have him go out on top. OK, so he's not fully retired but you get the point. Heartbreak. 5. SPENCER posted: 11.09.2005 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (7) (1) I don't care what people say Nextel Cup sucks, long live Winston Cup 6. Darrell posted: 03.19.2006 - 12:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Derrike Cope drove the 37, not the 79 7. brandon posted: 03.19.2006 - 5:14 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) well then spencer i'm still going to say that you're a dumbass 8. J. Kircher posted: 04.04.2006 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the first race on the revamped Homestead track with the additional banking. Along with that of course was a new track record set by Jamie McMurray, who won his first career pole. The finish was already talked about, but the lasting image for me (unfortunately) is Bobby Labonte's crew chief Michael "Fatback" McSwain screaming with his hands in the air. Nice emotion! It's also odd to see the champion (Matt Kenseth) finish last. 9. Darrell posted: 04.18.2006 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What happened to Vickers? 10. Steve posted: 04.26.2006 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I agree, SPENCER, Winston Cup was the racing series that separated the men from the boys. Vickers hit the wall in the middle part of the race after leading the first lap; he didn't suck anything. Derrike Cope drove his own #37 Friendly's Ice Cream (what a nice sounding sponsor!) Chevrolet most of the year, but for this race, he drove a Dodge numbered 79. I think it was owned by Don Arnold. It was the same car that former Truck Series racer Billy Bigley Jr attempted to qualify for 3 or 4 races earlier in the year. Rich Bickle's number for this race is the one that is incorrect. He drove a #78 Dodge, likely a teammate to Derrike. 11. mcmurrayfan posted: 06.15.2006 - 4:42 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Bobby Labonte's 100th career top 5 in Cup. 12. dalejrfan15 posted: 06.19.2006 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) vickers blew a tire down the fronstretch midway and it was crazy!parts flying everywher 13. Evan posted: 07.10.2006 - 2:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was glad to see this season end, and I will miss Winston Cup. And Long Live the King. 14. Miller4Prez64 posted: 07.15.2006 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte's last win to date. and I have no problem with Nextel Cup, im pretty much used to it already. 15. HomeDepot20TS posted: 08.17.2006 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnny Benson gives Pontiac a top five in their final race as an official NASCAR manufacturer, even though I think some of the start and parks ran a Pontiac in 2004. 16. JJ Lehto posted: 10.15.2006 - 5:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember this race. It killed me...imagine if Bill Elliot would've won the final two Winston Cup races. This was a historic race, I miss the Winston Cup and "old" NASCAR. 17. Steve posted: 11.28.2006 - 3:32 am Rate this comment: (3) (1) I'm still a Winston Cup fan. I enjoy watching the ESPN Classic races. I think Brian France is concentrating too much on getting fans in new demographics and not caring at all about keeping the traditional Winston Cup fans (like myself) whose support helped make the sport as popular as it is today. I'm starting to become more of an open wheel fan, where there is no CHA$E, no "Buschwhacker" equivelants, and no races with lousy telecasts by Turner Sports. Thank God they get only 6 Cup races annually now. 18. most posted: 01.31.2007 - 12:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Steve, you are right on track. I hope NA$CAR does not do what CART did, Dominate and get greedy. 19. Frogger49 posted: 02.06.2007 - 6:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #78 (that did not make the race)was a Chevrolet sponsored by IDT (A long distance telephone service that was plugging 5 cent a minute long distance calls). For some reason, I thought Curtis Markham drove it, but I don't know. 20. biffle16 posted: 03.11.2007 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Perhaps Bobby Labonte's last win, although he has shown flashes of brilliance in the #43 car. 21. myself posted: 03.19.2007 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (7) (4) Real Nascar died this day & became na$car! 22. BurtonRuddFan posted: 04.28.2007 - 1:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a heartbreaker for me becasue Elliott was my favorite driver at the time. Of note,this was the last race of Winston Cup. Also, this race was the last time Bobby Labonte won a Nextel Cup race. 23. biffle16 posted: 05.08.2007 - 3:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Travis Carter's last start as an owner. :( 24. WillG46 posted: 06.14.2007 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Steve Park's final Cup race to date. Wish he'd come back :( 25. Anonymous posted: 07.06.2007 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Who would have thought that this could be Bobby Labonte's last win? I sure didn't. 26. SK posted: 08.21.2007 - 3:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, Rich Bickle and Derrike Cope both attempted this race with car number 79. Had they both made the field, the owner that had procured rights to the number earlier would have had it in the race, while the other would have needed to find a new one. This is directly associated with all that 3-digit number business in the owner's points. 27. Mr. Big posted: 09.08.2007 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best career finish for Larry Foyt, who simply put, sucked in racing. His next best finish was 28th. 28. Mark O. posted: 11.03.2007 - 11:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth already had the title locked up going into this race. I believe they ran an experimental engine package in the car. 29. BurtonRuddFan posted: 11.27.2007 - 2:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The point someone said about the 2 79 cars was very interesting and helpful. If you add Cope+Bickle, you get drivers that never too competitive. 30. Petty43 posted: 12.25.2007 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (10) Yeah for the robot 1 win 11 top 5's and a cup that nobody else wanted, so he won it by default. Had Dale not lost his life at Daytona this would have been his 8th cup championship and his last full time season. Kenseth still has not had a season for the ages, he is mediocrity at its best. Racing not to lose points instead of winning races is why we have a chace and all you chase haters can thank this machine 100% for the chase because 2003 was BORING just the way kenseth likes it. Man I would still like to have seen Edwards coldcock kenseth earlier this year! Maybe it would have woke him up and remind him to RACE!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 win 36 race season and he is 1 for 40 in chase races. I guarentee Kenseth will never win another cup because he cannot dominate for 10 races, he can't even dominate one race. 31. StewartSucks posted: 01.06.2008 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Oh, piss off. If he wins a championship that way, so be it! 32. petty43 posted: 01.22.2008 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (10) Oh piss off! Forgive me if I actually care about the quality of the championship. I must have mistaken you for a real stock car fan. Maybe you should look into a european go-kart series called F-1 you might enjoy it because no one really cares about it anymore. Kenseth won the 2nd race of the year and never won again that is a record for going farthest into the season without another victory for any cup champ ever. 33. Clayton posted: 03.06.2008 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) About Kenseth, consistancy my friend! About Winston- 1,000,000,000 times better then Nextel-Sprint! But this race was the biggest heartbreak of my life! I grew up watching Bill Elliott struggle in the 94 McDonald's Ford, and to see him shine again really was awesome! I was jumping up and down waving a checkered flag in my house, when I saw his car bobble off turn 2 and I stopped! This was worse then the 1997 Daytona 500, and it would have been really something to see Awesome Bill win this race, maybe he would have retired full time, and went out on top! But this race would have cemented how Awesome, Awesome Bill truely was and put a lasting memory in the minds of race fans anyway, i think Bill said it best when he said- "Ah, That's Racin!" 34. Haywood posted: 03.31.2008 - 2:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) If the 2007 chase format was in use... Johnson 6,589 Stewart 6,541 J. Gordon 6,524 Newman 6,516 Earnhardt, Jr. 6,379 Harvick 6,357 B. Labonte 6,179 Kenseth 6,168 J. Burton 6,100 T. Labonte 6,090 Busch 5,975 M. Waltrip 5,865 35. casey14 posted: 04.19.2008 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best career finish for Larry Foyt, primarily because his team was backed by Evernham for this race. This shows how much good equiptment can do. 36. Clayton posted: 06.28.2008 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Bill Elliott was 16th in points at Richmond. He then finished up 9th with a terrific last 10 races. The hell with the chase!! 37. Anonymous posted: 11.15.2008 - 3:24 am Rate this comment: (5) (1) petty43, the championship doesn't always come down to the final corner of the final lap of the final race of the season. We can all hope it will, but it doesn't. That's why it's so special when it does happen; if it was commonplace it wouldn't be special! BTW, the "european go-kart series called F-1" that "no one really cares about" had its champion decided in the final corner of the final lap of the final race of this season. No CHA$E. No bogus phantom yellows. Not even a yellow flag for the rain that came in the final 10 laps. Cars ducked into the pits to discard dry-weather tyres to get wet tyres (AKA "intermediate" tyres), and because Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock gambled for better position on dry tyres they lost too much time on the slightly wet surface and Lewis Hamilton passed Glock in the final corner to best Felipe Massa by a single point for the World Championship! And this Sunday we can look forward to Jimmie Johnson needing to finish...36th or better (yawn). 38. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2009 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnny Benson's last top 5 and last top 10 in his last race as a full time driver. His Cup career was pretty much over after this, he's only made 10 starts since. Luckily he went to the truck series and found a lot of success there, winning the championship last year. 39. reffy posted: 03.08.2009 - 9:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If NASCAR gave only points to those who finished first and second, (win = 2, second = 1) than this would be the Top 10 for 2003 Newman - 17 Busch - 12 Jeff Gordon - 9 Johnson - 9 Bobby Labonte - 8 Harvick - 8 Earnhardt - 7 Stewart - 6 Kenseth - 5 Robby Gordon - 4 Waltrip - 4 40. JJ Lehto posted: 06.21.2009 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliot was SO close to winning the last ever Winston Cup race, (actually the last 2!) He would've been a deserving driver, nothing against Labonte but he's no Bill Elliot 41. Steve posted: 10.22.2009 - 3:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) How dominant was Awesome Bill on this day? He led 189 laps...ok. Next best lap leader was Tony Stewart who led...only 14 laps. 13.5 times more laps than anyone else! 42. SoxFan24 posted: 10.25.2009 - 1:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Bill Elliott had this in the bag untill a cut tire ended his race. Ironically the driver that would replace him (Kasey Kahne) got his first Busch Series win that weekend Now with the milestones Last race Winston would be primary sponsor of the Cup Series Last time a race would be run in a season with no Chase Scenarios set As of 10/25/09 Bobby Labonte's last Cup win and last win with Joe Gibbs Last race for Johnny Benson driving for MB2 motorsports the team he got his only Cup win with The last Cup race for car owners Travis Carter and Sam Belnavis Last cup race for BACE Motorsports Last race for Citgo as a primary NASCAR sponsor Best Cup finish for Larry Foyt Last race Kodak sponsoring Larry McClure Motorsports. Kodak had been with this team since 1989 the longest tenured sponsor at that time Final race for Steve Park driving for RCR Last Cup start as of 10/25/09 for Ron Hornaday Last Cup Start for Sirius as a primary sponsor in NASCAR Last race for Dave Blaney driving the 77 car. That team would be sold to Penske. Also last race for Jasper as a sponsor as they had been a sponsor in NASCAR since 1991 Last race Grainger was a primary sponsor in NASCAR They had sponsored Biffle since he was in the Truck Series in 1998 First and only race Bacardi was a NASCAR sponsor Last race Pennzoil was a full time sponsor in the Cup Series. They had been since 1991 Final race for Pontiac in the cup series. There may have been a couple of field filler teams that ran pontiacs the next year however 43. Aaron posted: 11.03.2009 - 7:15 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bill Elliott got jipped of his 45th career win at Homestead when his right rear tire went down after dominating the race leading 189 of the 267 laps. 44. 18fan posted: 01.26.2010 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty Wallace finishes out of the top 10 in points for the first time since 1992. 45. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 07.04.2010 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Steve Park's last race until 2010 at the July race at Daytona 46. JJSucks posted: 09.06.2010 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Not to insult Kenseth, who is indeed a good driver, but I think 2003 should have been Newman's Championship. He lost like 3 or 400+ points in mechanical failures, and mistakes. 47. I Seize the Day posted: 11.18.2010 - 11:01 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Not to insult Kenseth, who is indeed a good driver, but I think 2003 should have been Newman's Championship. He lost like 3 or 400+ points in mechanical failures, and mistakes. " You are eating your own words here brah - mistakes. Kenseth didn't make the mistakes Newman had, so therefore Kenseth was a much more worthy champion. 48. JJSucks posted: 12.27.2010 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Post 47 I'll say what I want smartsstuff, its my opinion and here you are bsing me on whether its right or wrong. Life is brutal kid, so get used to it. I just thought Newman deserved the championship in 03 but he didn't get it. End of Story. 49. Brian posted: 05.31.2011 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll say what I want smartsstuff, its my opinion and here you are bsing me on whether its right or wrong. Life is brutal kid, so get used to it. I just thought Newman deserved the championship in 03 but he didn't get it. End of Story. Wow, pretty defensive eh? Chillax. You are right, Newman had one hell of a year and if we had a win based system he may have won...but it's about consistency. 0 wins but 30 top 10's should win over someone with 12 wins but 15 DNFs. Proves you're better over the long run. Problem is it's not exciting, and this WAS a weak championship for Matt. 50. mk17ce99 posted: 06.21.2011 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @Petty43, you're an idiot. If Richard petty had to race the way these guys race today, hed be lucky to win 50 races in a career. When you race 60 races in a season and there is a field of 50 cars where maybe 10 finish the race its pretty easy to rack up wins and championships. How do you like your chase format now? Is it so special that the same driver has won it 5 times in a row?!?! They still reward consistency as anyone who finishes in the top 10 still makes it on points. While you're crying about how boring Kenseth's championship year was, he'll be remembered as one of the last true championships that raced every race like it was important and took care of his cars so engines wouldn't blow and he wouldn't sacrifice precious points for possible wins (like Newman did). 51. Schroeder51 posted: 07.19.2011 - 12:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would never have guessed at the time this would be Labonte's last career win. 52. RaceFanX posted: 07.23.2011 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Raines "Speed Racer" sponsorship in this race was to promote that Speed Channel was about to start airing the cartoon daily. Speed went all out to promote the cartoon reruns, the animated Speed was even interviewed as 'the world's greatest racer' by Dave Despain on "Wind Tunnel" (he didn't so much care for giving a guy his lap back since most of his opponents had a tendency to shoot at him), but it turned out to be a programming mistake for the channel and got low ratings. "Speed Racer" eventually aired only on weekend mornings (fitting) then was cancelled off the channel within a year or two. But hey at least it was programming for the offseason. 53. Unser1 posted: 12.06.2011 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael "Fatback" McSwain's fifth and final Winston Cup victory as a crew chief 54. RaceFanX posted: 04.13.2012 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor: #20 Tony Stewart- Home Depot / Winston Cup Victory Lap The Winston Cup Victory Lap program, a farewall tribute to the fans by honoring all of the drivers who won the title over the years, took its final lap in this race. The final two drivers honored were the series' iconic champion Richard Petty and its most recent previous champion Tony Stewart. The King joined the field to lead it on its pace laps in a special retro #43 Dodge, one of the only times since his 1992 retirement the King has climbed into and driven a stock car at a track. Smoke joined him out front during the pace laps before falling back to his scheduled starting spot. Matt Kenseth, crowned as the final Winston Cup champion the race before at Rockingham, did not race a 'Victory Lap' paint scheme but was still honored by the program with a diecast in its style (normal paint scheme, silver hood, roof and trunk with the Winston Cup logo). Kevin Harvick ran a red-and-silver #29 in this race, bookending the season as he previous drove that scheme in that year's Bud Shootout. 55. Daniel posted: 05.24.2012 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #45 Kyle Petty & #49 Ken Schrader Out using fastest 43: #23 Kenny Wallace & #32 Ricky Craven 56. Robert Nelson posted: 10.23.2012 - 9:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Points standings using 2004 Formula One points system (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1). Ryan Newman wins by 2 wins and a 5th. Real life Champion Matt Kenseth finishes in 6th, 4 wins behind Newman. 1 Ryan Newman 128 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 104 3 Jeff Gordon 99.5 4 Jimmie Johnson 97 5 Bobby Labonte 91 6 Matt Kenseth 88 7 Kevin Harvick 87.5 8 Tony Stewart 84 9 Kurt Busch 80 10 Bill Elliott 52 11 Michael Waltrip 44.5 12 Robby Gordon 38.5 13 Jeremy Mayfield 37.5 14 Jamie McMurray 34 15 Jeff Burton 30 16 Terry Labonte 29 17 Ricky Rudd 25 18 Ricky Craven 24 19 Mark Martin 23 20 Rusty Wallace 21 21 Greg Biffle 21 22 Joe Nemechek 17 23 Dale Jarrett 16 24 Sterling Marlin 16 25 Elliott Sadler 16 26 Johnny Benson Jr. 9 27 Scott Pruett 8 28 Dave Blaney 7 29 Ward Burton 6 30 Jimmy Spencer 5.5 31 Jerry Nadeau 5 32 Steve Park 5 33 Boris Said 3 34 Tony Raines 3 35 Jeff Green 2 36 Ron Fellows 2 37 John Andretti 1 38 Todd Bodine 1 39 Ken Schrader 1 57. CBASS posted: 01.17.2013 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #30 AOL #43 Chex Party Mix #45 Brawny #74 Speed Racer on SPEED http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0337 58. startandparkfan posted: 01.19.2013 - 12:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How did he do a burnout? Backup car? 59. Zackary Shawn posted: 06.05.2013 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow...Petty43 looks like a big idiot now here in 2013. Kenseth is dominating everything this year and probably could have won at least half the races so far. 60. Kidracer posted: 07.19.2013 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (8) (2) You guys are idiots for coming up with these senerios like "If they ran F1 2007 points". Quit wastong your time. Kenseth is the champion over Johnson by 69 points. Okay. 61. joey2448 posted: 04.03.2014 - 4:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not only was the 2003 season the end of an era for Winston, but it was the end of an era for some drivers. Six races in 2003 were won by drivers who never again found victory lane in the Cup series. In fact, three of the final eight winners -- and four of the final 11 -- ended up winning their final career race in 2003, and the final two races of the Winston Cup era were capped by drivers who captured their final Cup win. They are: Ricky Craven at spring Darlington Robby Gordon at Watkins Glen Terry Labonte at fall Darlington (both Darlington races) Michael Waltrip at fall Talladega Bill Elliott at fall Rockingham Bobby Labonte at Homestead Both Labonte's and Bill Elliott are the most noteworthy of these five since their careers are all Hall Of Fame worthy, in my opinion... 62. Evan posted: 04.11.2014 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My younger brother can be smarter than I at some points, I always have had bitch-fits about the 2003 year. My brother asked me to hand a book of the 2003 standings and he reminded me that Kenseth was the best driver that season, if you looked at the top 5's, Kenseth had much more than any other driver, Kenseth stat-wise was the best driver that year and was deserving. He told me, "I don't exactly know why you are complaining". 63. numbah10hatah posted: 07.11.2014 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Probably will be Bobby Labonte's last Cup Series win. 64. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 08.02.2014 - 10:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew 60 Kyle Busch ditech.com Chevy Rick Hendrick nascar confiscated the racecar because it not did not met the sanctioning body template rules and the team did not have a backup 65. JG77 posted: 09.03.2014 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm still not over this race ... as a huge Bill Elliott fan, and this race broke my heart. 2003 was a good year for Bill, but also a heartbreaking one. He won at Rockingham the week before this race ... but this race at Homestead, and also the race at Kansas earlier in the year should have both been wins under Bill's belt ... but Ryan Newman and his damn fuel mileage gamble at Kansas, and the cut tire here at Homestead cost Bill from having a "great" year instead of just a good year. And I truly believe, that if that cut tire didn't happen at Homestead on the last lap, and Bill went on to win ... I think he would have raced maybe one or two more years full time. I miss Bill so much. 66. RaceFanX posted: 03.01.2015 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ron Hornaday's next Cup start after this was at Atlanta in 2015, over 11 years later. 67. Tyler posted: 05.28.2015 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Terry Labonte came into this race 56 points behind Kurt Busch for 10th in points. Busch wrecked, while Labonte finished 15th to snatch his 17th and final Top 10 points finish in his career, and his first since 1998. 68. 28DaveyAllison28 posted: 05.28.2015 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All Kurt Bush had to do was go out there and finish this race but with his ADD mind, he couldn't do it to secure a top 10 points finish. Kudos to Texas Terry earning his last top 10 points finish 69. SpeedWorld97 posted: 06.29.2015 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) NBCSN is re-airing this race right now, and it's amazing how much has changed since then. Winston was such a strong supporter of the series for so long, and Johnny Benson sure gave Pontiac a great ride in its last factory-supported effort. Also, I can't imagine the anger from the fanbase if the champion had to wait two hours to celebrate his title because he dropped out of the race early. 70. joey2448 posted: 06.29.2015 - 9:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Also watching this race right now, and seeing Kurt Busch getting back out on track with a repaired car after his early wreck, it reminds me of when finishing 10th in points actually meant something, unlike now. Also, I miss Winston. The series of special paint schemes they did at select races at the end of the 2003 season was so cool, and a perfect way to honor the sport and legends that raced in the past. 71. SpeedWorld97 posted: 06.29.2015 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's also hard to believe drivers like Jimmy Spencer and Todd Bodine ran so well in this race, especially considering that they did not have the best equipment at the time. 72. Eric posted: 06.29.2015 - 11:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The reasons Spencer and Todd Bodine did well despite the equipment was 3 things. Smaller Cup Teams are at a bigger disadvantage now compare to 2003 despite the 4 car limit due to cost. NASCAR has been costing teams money by doing the amount of generation of cars they did since the first COT was a flop and the fact NASCAR has been changing rules on the cars in some way unlike 2003. The 2nd thing is the crew chiefs in that era had a bigger grey area than they do know. The third thing is the cars actually depended more on the driver than they do and is something I know NASCAR trying to go back more to the driver. 73. 88&4Fan posted: 07.13.2015 - 2:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two drivers in this race ran their last cup race for a very long time. Steve Park wouldn't race again until the 2010 Coke Zero 400, where he actually ran a very good race and avoided a wreck that took out about 25 cars, getting a solid finish. Hornaday wouldn't race in cup again until the 2015 spring race at Atlanta, more than eleven years later. He finished 42nd in a start and park effort for The Motorsports Group. A sponsor also ran its last race for a long time in this race. Grainger, then sponsoring the #16 of Greg Biffle, would return in 2015 to sponsor Ryan Newman, now driving the #31 for RCR, in a few races. 74. mister83 posted: 07.17.2015 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hmph. I was positive that I posted this before here. Anyway, this was Bobby Labonte's last cup win, his last win ever would be in 2007 at Talladega in the Busch (now Xfinity) series. Also Bill Elliott's last race running full time. 75. 88&4Fan posted: 09.06.2015 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Top 50 Drivers from the 2000-2003 seasons: Pos. +/- Name Points Starts Poles Wins Top5 Top10 Top15 Top20 Led 1. -- Jeff Gordon 19039 142 16 15 57 86 98 106 5370 2. -- Tony Stewart 18855 142 5 14 54 84 96 105 3306 3. -- Bobby Labonte 17922 142 7 9 45 68 94 102 1312 4. -- Jeff Burton 17547 142 1 6 31 63 91 109 1771 5. -- Rusty Wallace 17450 142 10 5 29 63 92 107 3318 6. -- Dale Jarrett 17096 142 8 9 38 68 85 95 1333 7. -- Ricky Rudd 17029 142 4 3 38 58 86 103 1321 8. -- Matt Kenseth 16985 142 1 7 32 64 83 101 1309 9. -- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 16982 142 6 9 36 57 80 93 3307 10. -- Mark Martin 16938 142 2 2 33 67 81 101 1204 11. -- Sterling Marlin 15373 135 1 4 21 52 70 86 1305 12. -- Bill Elliott 15301 140 6 4 23 41 64 86 1157 13. -- Ward Burton 14743 142 1 4 13 39 63 79 1103 14. -- Johnny Benson 14246 136 1 14 32 57 78 292 15. -- Terry Labonte 13975 140 2 1 9 22 45 71 163 16. -- Michael Waltrip 13664 142 4 16 25 39 64 432 17. -- Jimmy Spencer 12935 139 2 8 23 44 58 597 18. -- Elliott Sadler 12849 141 2 1 6 19 32 61 333 19. -- Jeremy Mayfield 12807 132 5 2 17 35 48 62 1089 20. -- Kevin Harvick 12617 106 2 4 22 42 58 72 1121 21. -- Kurt Busch 12377 114 2 8 24 40 55 63 1773 22. +1 Joe Nemechek 12343 134 1 2 9 22 31 55 612 23. -1 Dave Blaney 12318 141 1 1 17 29 51 151 24. -- Steve Park 12177 125 4 2 12 30 41 57 850 25. -- Ken Schrader 11879 138 9 25 46 89 26. -- Ricky Craven 11469 124 3 2 10 24 39 53 632 27. -- John Andretti 11239 134 1 6 25 44 90 28. -- Mike Skinner 10423 119 2 1 13 27 44 405 29. -- Robby Gordon 10138 106 3 8 20 29 47 266 30. -- Ryan Newman 10030 80 18 9 33 46 52 54 1940 31. -- Jerry Nadeau 9890 108 1 8 17 31 41 646 32. -- Jimmie Johnson 9777 75 6 6 20 41 52 57 1482 33. -- Kenny Wallace 9531 115 1 2 5 17 30 125 34. -- Bobby Hamilton 8852 101 1 3 12 26 37 360 35. -- Kyle Petty 8688 112 2 14 27 34 36. -- Todd Bodine 8086 99 4 3 8 22 35 131 37. -- Brett Bodine 7303 103 2 9 18 11 38. -- Jeff Green 6841 75 2 4 8 14 31 211 39. -- Robert Pressley 6118 69 2 6 19 27 19 40. +1 Kevin LePage 6061 75 1 4 14 21 60 41. -1 Casey Atwood 5974 73 1 1 4 10 22 137 42. -- Stacy Compton 5901 83 2 1 5 12 22 43. -- Mike Wallace 5277 64 1 9 14 20 69 44. -- Dale Earnhardt 5077 35 2 12 23 26 30 368 45. -- Jamie McMurray 4599 42 1 1 6 15 21 24 204 46. -- Greg Biffle 4169 42 1 3 6 12 21 148 47. -- Rick Mast 3956 55 2 6 10 1 48. -- Hut Stricklin 3843 51 1 6 10 5 49. -- Jason Leffler 3169 42 1 1 3 7 39 50. -- Tony Raines 3053 42 1 3 8 1 76. Premium Doesn't Suck 62 66 94 98 posted: 10.09.2015 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2003 Winston Cup DNQ count: 1. Larry Foyt, 12 2. Hermie Sadler, Derrike Cope, 9 3. Brett Bodine, Morgan Shepherd, Billy Bigley, 5 4. Ken Schrader, 4 5. Brandon Ash, Kerry Earnhardt, Christian Fittipaldi, Tim Sauter, 3 6. David Green, Jeff Fultz, Hideo Fukuyama, David Reutimann, Carl Long, Kyle Petty, Mark Green, Mike Wallace, Rich Bickle, 2 7. Kirk Shelmerdine, Mike Harmon, Greg Biffle, Bobby Hamilton Jr., David Starr, Mike Skinner, P.J. Jones, Paul Menard, Jim Inglebright, Tony Raines, Shane Hmiel, Jason Keller, Jim Sauter, Ted Musgrave, Robert Pressley, Joe Varde, Scott Maxwell, Stacy Compton, Scott Wimmer, Kevin Lepage, Jason Leffler, Mike Bliss, Steve Park, Todd Bodine, Johnny Sauter, Jeff Green, Buckshot Jones, Shelby Howard, 1 48 drivers DNQ'd at least one time 20 drivers with at least two 11 drivers with at least three 7 drivers with at least four 77. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 11.19.2015 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) In a NASCAR.com interview at Homestead, Kyle Busch said his "Jeff Gordon" car failed inspection which is why he didn't compete in Cup until Las Vegas the next year. 78. 0 posted: 12.08.2015 - 7:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 77 don't lie 79. Gordon7timeWinstonCupchampion posted: 02.12.2016 - 7:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (5) NASCAR died after this race. Rest in peace. 80. Tylor Thaber posted: 02.12.2016 - 8:57 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @79 Someone doesn't remember 2005 or 2007, it seems. Then again, you probably don't put much thought into your comments, considering you posted 9 of the last 15... 81. Tyler posted: 02.26.2016 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (6) (1) He's right though. 2003 signaled the end of Winston as the Cup Series' title sponsor and ushered in a new era of NASCAR with Brian France at the helm. As I'm sure you're aware of by now, many changes would ensue throughout the coming years that effectively changed the sport forever. These included the Chase, the mass commercializing of the sport, and endless rule changes. I even remember watching the 2004 Daytona 500 thinking "something just isn't the same". I couldn't place my finger on it at the time, but I think it's pretty clear in retrospect. It was the clearest point of transition from the old NASCAR to the new NASCAR. So when someone says NASCAR "died" after the 2003 season, they aren't necessarily saying there weren't anymore good races beyond that season, they're simply referring to 2004 as the transition point from one era to the next. Whether or not you think it's a "decline" is up to you, but the assertion that a massive change occurred between the 2003 and 2004 seasons that would alter the course of NASCAR forever is an absolute fact. If you want my personal opinion, I think some humans are obsessed with change to the point where they'll break something that doesn't need fixed. Unfortunately one of them (Brian France) found themselves in power, and that's exactly what happened. Money had a lot to do with it too. 82. Maverick11 posted: 02.26.2016 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, I have to agree. Did NASCAR die after 2003? No, but it certainly started its decline. And like Tyler said, I was watching some 2004 races and they felt...different. 83. 24FanForever - Lets do this - Chase4TheW posted: 02.26.2016 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (4) (4) Fact: NASCAR is on a rapid decline Fact: NASCAR was better before the chase Fact: Brian France ruined NASCAR Fact: NASCAR was more competitive and enjoyable before the chase Fact: NASCAR makes new rules to have more chances to penalize drivers Fact: NASCAR tries to act modern and hip to gain viewers even though they have no idea what they are doing in there content Fact: NASCAR cares more about their money then fans Lie: NASCAR claiming the fans enjoy their changes All I wish is NASCAR to go back to there roots. I really hate seeing where NASCAR is at now. 84. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2016 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Those are opinions dude. NASCAR has had some downward trends of late but most of your "the sky is falling" woes are exaggerating the issue. 85. 1995z71 posted: 02.26.2016 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^I agree 86. Blue Palaski posted: 02.26.2016 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just ignore post #82, we all know who it is, just let him/her/it be an idiot; don't engage them. 87. Maverick11 posted: 02.26.2016 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So who am I then? 88. Braindead Zombie posted: 02.26.2016 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think either the post was deleted and yours became #82, or he meant to say post #83. 89. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2016 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) He probably meant #83 not #82, although #83 is hardly wrong about everything he wrote. Whether NASCAR is in "rapid" decline might be debatable. Anyone who thinks it isn't declining at all hasn't looked at TV ratings or empty seats at tracks lately... or is just an idiot. 90. Blue Palaski posted: 02.26.2016 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oops, I'm soyry Mav. I did mean #83 91. Blue Palaski posted: 02.26.2016 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) * sorry 92. Maverick11 posted: 02.26.2016 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's fine. That's what I figured. 93. Sector posted: 04.02.2016 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually didn't realize this but Kyle Busch DNQ'd a Winston Cup race haha 94. STATMAN posted: 04.02.2016 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was only a Withdrawal for Kyle, he did however DNQ 3 races the following season 95. Sector posted: 04.23.2016 - 1:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) True, now that updated the WD section to the site now. 96. Anonymous posted: 06.15.2016 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) This championship was such a joke, glad they have the chase now 97. John posted: 06.15.2016 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When NASCAR implemented the Chase in 2004, they did it for a few main reasons: 1. To make the racing more intense and exciting, especially towards the end of the season, 2. To give more guys a shot at the title, and 3. To put more emphasis on winning. Well, here's how that's gone so far. 1. The points races have been tighter since the Chase was implemented. Here's the breakdown of the final points margin with the 4 different versions of the Chase: Overall: with chase 40, without chase 99 2004-2006: with chase 33, without chase 89 2007-2010: with chase 82, without chase 180 2011-2013: with chase 19, without chase 46 2014-2015: with chase 1, without chase 29 Overall, the points races have been tighter with the Chase. The years in which there would've been a tighter points race had there not been a Chase would've been 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012. 2. The title breakdown is as follows: with chase (6 winners): Jimmie Johnson (6-2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013), Tony Stewart (2-2005, 2011), Kurt Busch (1-2004), Brad Keselowski (1-2012), Kevin Harvick (1-2014), Kyle Busch (1-2015) without chase (6 winners): Jeff Gordon (3-2004, 2007, 2014), Jimmie Johnson (3-2006, 2009, 2013), Carl Edwards (2-2008, 2011), Kevin Harvick (2-2010, 2015), Tony Stewart (1-2005), Brad Keselowski (1-2012). The same number of drivers would have won championships, but Gordon & Edwards would have championships instead of the Busch brothers. Gordon would have 7 total (3 more), Johnson would have 3 (3 less), Edwards would have 2 (2 more), Harvick would have 2 (1 more), Stewart would have 2 (1 less), Keselowski would have 1 (same number), while the Busch brothers would both have 0 (1 fewer than each has). 3. Have the champions had to win more to win a chase championship? Not much. The average number of wins for the chase champion is 6, while the average for the non-chase champion is 5. We've had 5 seasons (2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013) where the champion for the regular season and the chase has been the same. Trying to be unbiased, although I don't like the Chase. That's not to say it hasn't technically accomplished what is set out to do, but I still think it's bad for the sport. 98. bored posted: 06.15.2016 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I think the old chase was a decent idea, but modern chase is NFL playoff copy 99. Steve posted: 08.02.2016 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte is no longer the last Texan to win a Cup race, thanks to Chris Buescher almost 13 years later! Only 10 drivers competed in the 2016 Pennsylvania 400, and this race: Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, & Tony Stewart. And yes, fans, NASCAR has changed IMMENSELY since 2003. 100. Jahn1234567890 posted: 08.13.2016 - 8:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rich Bickle drove a No. 78 at this race. The 78 was a John Conely entry and the No. 79 driven by Cope was a Don Arnold entry. In the official results Bickle is listed in the 78 http://www.jayski.com/stats/2003grids/2003homestead-grid.html Also a picture of him in qualifying shows he is in the 78 http://i.imgur.com/OtzbRp7.jpg 101. Antmanb posted: 08.24.2016 - 4:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The end of Kevin harvicks first full season! He missed 1 race the previous 2 years. 102. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 09.02.2016 - 8:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #7 Pamela Anderson/Sirius Satellite Radio #6 Pfizer/Viagra #45 Brawny/Georgia Pacific #18 Interstate Batteries/MBNA #90 Childress Vineyards/RCRracing.com #43 Chex Party Mix #15 NAPA Auto Parts #0 NetZero Hi Speed 103. rwr posted: 10.31.2016 - 8:39 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR died after this race." * Papyrus Design died after this. 104. Clint posted: 10.31.2016 - 10:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Cant you feel the manufactured drama that the chase creates? IF you dont theyll throw a debris caution and set up a green white checker with double file restarts in a winner take all race as mandated by the sanctioning body. 100% true that when winston left nascar died a slow painful death 105. Anonymous posted: 10.31.2016 - 11:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (4) Better than going into the last race with the champion already decided or having them only need to finish 30th or better or something stupid like that 106. Mike posted: 10.31.2016 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If someone was that much better than everyone else, why is that a bad thing? If a driver earned a championship by that much of a margin, let them have it. 107. Clint posted: 10.31.2016 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Its better than turning championship into a random crap shoot. Sure a driver won the "championship" race but if it doesnt feel deserved it will be unsatisfying. The chase has turned into an episode of survivor in cars. It's better than 3 cars just needing to run 30th to advance in the chase and having them run tail end all day like JGR did at Talladega. 108. Maverick posted: 10.31.2016 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Imo, the point of a Championship is to crown the most DESERVING driver, not for excitement. If they clinch early, so be it, it's all of the other teams fault for not finding a way to beat them. Having a tight Championship battle at the end is just a bonus, the excitement is supposed to come from the races. 109. Anonymous posted: 10.31.2016 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you like boring championships so much why do boring races get so much hate? 110. sandy posted: 04.22.2017 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) rich bickle's last cup attempt he didn't make the race 111. Anonymous posted: 08.14.2017 - 1:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) People were irritated that Matt Kenseth held the points lead for 33 races. I am so sick of hearing that. Listen, every one of the other drivers had every chance in the world to take the points lead. 112. Not Sure posted: 08.14.2017 - 7:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR 2003: The races are exciting with great finishes but the points race is boring and resulted in an "unworthy" champion who only had the highest average finish and the most top 10s during a very competitive year. NASCAR 2016: The races are boring with the only bit of excitement being farcical demolition derby finishes (usually due to NASCAR's intervention), but the points race comes down to the final race (because the results of the first 35 races are thrown out the window). The result is an exceptionally "worthy" champion who had the 10th highest average finish and the 11th most top 10s during a very uncompetitive year. Watch him repeat this year with a worse average finish and fewer top 10s. 113. Maverick19 posted: 08.14.2017 - 9:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And unfortunately Kenseth's season pretty much gave them a scapegoat in order to make the chase. NASCAR had been thinking of implementing it even before 2003, but a driver like Kenseth who had just 1 win gave them the perfect excuse in order to implement it. Now look where we are today... 114. Sean posted: 08.14.2017 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "NASCAR 2003: The races are exciting with great finishes but the points race is boring and resulted in an "unworthy" champion who only had the highest average finish and the most top 10s during a very competitive year." The points system needed a change, but I don't think anybody who felt it needed a change wanted THAT change (the same way-too-luck-dependent points system with fewer and fewer races being ultimately important, further increasing the luck factor and decreasing the skill factor.) However, I will admit that year that there really wasn't *any* deserving champion. Kenseth was the most consistent, Gordon was the most dominant, and Newman was the winningest, but I don't think anyone really deserved it, but somebody had to win. I'm glad career-wise that Kenseth got one and Newman didn't, even though the points system I would have wanted would have given it to Newman that year. 115. What is a Champion? posted: 08.15.2017 - 7:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR 2003: The races are exciting with great finishes but the points race is boring and resulted in an "unworthy" champion who only had the highest average finish and the most top 10s during a very competitive year." NASCAR 2004: The chase points results in a champion who was not on the same level as the #24, #48, or #8 and had more luck than anyone in the final 10 stretch. Since then that champion hasn't come close to sniffing a title since. 116. kup posted: 11.02.2017 - 9:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 2003 UPS: # Driver UPts = Miles / AF 1 Matt Kenseth 1316 = 13422 / 10.2 2 Jimmie Johnson 1201 = 13694 / 11.4 3 Kevin Harvick 1128 = 13875 / 12.3 4 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1079 = 13708 / 12.7 5 Jeff Gordon 1053 = 13578 / 12.9 117. kup posted: 11.16.2017 - 1:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) TOTAL: UPS! 55 years 1949-2003: Dale Earnhardt 8 in: '80, '86, '87, '89, '91, '93, '94, '95. Richard Petty 7 in: '63, '64, '67, '71, '72, '75, '79. Lee Petty 5 in: '50, '52, '54, '58, '59. David Pearson 4 in: '66, '68, '69, '76. Cale Yarborough 3 in: '74, '77, '78. Bobby Allison 3 in: '81, '82, '83. Mark Martin 3 in: '90, '97, '02. Buck Baker 2 in: '56, '57. Rex White 2 in: '60, '61. Terry Labonte 2 in: '84, '96. Jeff Gordon 2 in: '98, '01. Bill Blair 1 in: '49. Fonty Flock 1 in: '51. Herb Thomas 1 in: '53. Tim Flock 1 in: '55. Joe Weatherly 1 in: '62. Ned Jarrett 1 in: '65. Bobby Isaac 1 in: '70. Benny Parsons 1 in: '73. Darrell Waltrip 1 in: '85. Bill Elliott 1 in: '88. Alan Kulwicki 1 in: '92. Dale Jarrett 1 in: '99. Bobby Labonte 1 in: '00. Matt Kenseth 1 in: '03. 118. ARosser14 posted: 12.14.2017 - 10:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @68, in Kurt's defense (there isn't much defense to be had from the last part of this season for him, but still) that one was 100% out of his control. Harvick made it three-wide on the 4th lap of a 400-mile race and slid up into Newman who slammed Busch who was riding in the high line. I'm a huge Kevin fan, he's my favorite after Smoke retired, but that was on him. I feel like something a jinx. I recorded three races on video tape that year: the Southern 500, the EA Sports 500, and this Ford 400. All three were a driver's last win. 119. RWR posted: 12.23.2017 - 2:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's probably me but that season saw a lot of driver changes during that year: Mike Skinner, John Andretti, Steve Park, Jeff Green, Christian Fittipaldi , Ward Burton, Joe Nemechek, Jack Sprague and I forgot... 120. Jimmie4life posted: 02.02.2018 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Kyle Busch was planning for his cup debut, but didn't because he's marked with a withdrawal. 121. Anonymous posted: 04.20.2018 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With a few laps left, Bobby Labontes crew chief asked him over the radio if he thought he could catch Bill. Bobby replied "The 9 car is toying with us". And then the tire went down. 122. Minnowfur posted: 04.26.2018 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My top 10 favourite races in 2003 1.Auto Club 2.Richmond second one 3.Homestead 4.Dover first one 5.Road course 6.Darlington first one 7.Texas 8.Rockingham first one 9.Bristol first one 10.Kansas 123. Greg1&9Fan posted: 07.16.2018 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Worst season in Rusty Wallace's career came to an end. Newman got 8 wins with Penske but Rusty could barely finish. 124. TheDewCrew posted: 08.21.2019 - 11:29 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) This was one of those times where, as the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yes, with the Chase/Playoffs, you're eliminating the chance of a repeat of the '01 or '03 championship scenario, with the points leader not having to worry about a thing. But you're eliminating the chance of a repeat of the amazing 1992 Hooters 500. If the old system was working for you, you don't need to risk tampering with, and possibly ruining, the masterpiece you have 125. Altracing posted: 01.01.2020 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First of 11 career poles for Jamie McMurray 126. Mile501 posted: 01.02.2020 - 7:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @125 - It is ironic that McMurray's first pole came in the last race before NASCAR switched to the chase format in 2004, because his first career start came in another "last"--the Cup Series' last caution-free race. McMurray experienced a number of unique things during his career. 127. Stonex posted: 01.09.2020 - 10:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Points standings with the modern playoff format: 1. Jimmie Johnson (5041) 2. Jeff Gordon (5039) 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5020) 4. Ryan Newman (5007) 5. Tony Stewart (2481) 6. Kevin Harvick (2407) 7. Bobby Labonte (2327) 8. Matt Kenseth (2311) 9. Terry Labonte (2273) 10. Kurt Busch (2271) 11. Greg Biffle (2231) 12. Michael Waltrip (2226) 13. Joe Nemechek (2206) 14. Dale Jarrett (2205) 15. Robby Gordon (2198) 16. Ricky Craven (2126) 128. Jimmie4life posted: 01.10.2020 - 7:37 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Had Matt Kenseth finished 31st at Rockingham, and still finished 43rd at Homestad, on a tiebreaker, Jimmie Johnson would have been the champ. Also @127, That is very interesting. The champ, under the format today, would finish 8th! Crazy to think about how the format screws people who don't win, instead of consistancy. Well, except for Crafton. 129. JSPorts posted: 01.10.2020 - 9:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth didn't have a great finish to the 2003 season. He won the title by only 90 points after leading by 418 with 10 races left. 130. Joshua posted: 01.10.2020 - 10:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Brian France took over in September of 2003 and his first move was to shake up the points and create the "Chase". The end of 2003 signaled the true crossroads of the NASCAR entity as we know it. 131. Ryan posted: 02.09.2020 - 10:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @33 you jinxed him 132. rm posted: 04.01.2020 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 43 crew chief - Gary Putnam (same for all of Green's races in that car in '03) 90 crew chief - Bobby Leslie The 4's crew chief was not Tim Brewer, the broadcast mentioned he was not at the track this weekend and that it was a group effort instead. Matt Kenseth had already clinched the title the weekend before at Rockingham, so when he went up in smoke not even 30 laps in the booth was quick to theorize that he may have been running some experimental package. Kenseth said that he was indeed running different pistons, among other parts, that were straining the motor more than usual - though he also said that the team didn't believe that they were setting the engine up to overexert itself so early on. Between that and Jimmie Johnson's 3rd place finish, this race made the championship standings look much, much closer than it actually was. It had not been in doubt for many months by this point. Michael Waltrip's dreadful stretch run ends with a test of the SAFER barriers. Waltrip had a right front tire blowout while exiting turn 2 - a very odd spot in the corner to cut a right front tire - and hit the wall so hard he literally bounced off of it. Waltrip had been running 5th. It was his fifth DNF and eighth finish of 30th+ in the last 13 races of the season. Adding insult to injury, Waltrip's team lost the lead in the pit crew contingency award standings that they'd dominated most of the year, missing out on a $200k payday from McDonalds as a result. Just to pile on, Mike Skinner's Waltrip-owned car was running just outside the top 10 when he crashed coming out of turn 4 just a few laps after Waltrip's accident. No yellow waved and Skinner never returned to the race. While this race marked the departure of one fondly-remembered sponsor in Winston, it also marked the first race for another popular sponsor promotion: the Gillette Young Guns, making a sneak peek appearance ahead of their inaugural 2004 ad campaign. Speaking of sneak peeks, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch ran 2004-spec cars in this race, getting some notes in ahead of the next season. From what was said during the race about those cars, they were adhering to as much of the 2004 rules package as possible while still passing tech, though they were granted leniency in certain areas that were described as "non-performance enhancing." Neither fared well, with Kurt Busch being taken out as an innocent bystander in the lap 4 wreck and Robby Gordon finishing 9 laps down with a gearbox issue. 133. SweetRich posted: 06.28.2020 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators were Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach. The pit road reporters were Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider and Dave Burns. 134. SweetRich posted: 07.08.2020 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The final career race for BelCar Motorsports, the team owned by veteran Travis Carter. 135. SweetRich posted: 07.08.2020 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The final race for Bace Motorsports in NASCAR's Cup Series. 136. SweetRich posted: 07.08.2020 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The final race for Morgan-McClure Motorsports competing in Pontiac before switching back to Chevrolet for 2004. 137. SweetRich posted: 07.08.2020 - 10:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The final race for Ron Hornaday in The NASCAR Cup Series until race #2 of 2015 at Atlanta. 138. JSPorts posted: 08.29.2020 - 2:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) NASCAR Winston Cup Series winners (1986-2003): 1st: Jeff Gordon, 64 2nd: Dale Earnhardt, 61 3rd: Rusty Wallace, 54 4th: Mark Martin, 33 5th: Dale Jarrett, 31 6th: Bill Elliott, 29 7th: Bobby Labonte, 21 8th: Davey Allison & Ricky Rudd, 19 10th: Jeff Burton, Terry Labonte, Tony Stewart & Darrell Waltrip, 17 139. Rich posted: 11.27.2020 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The end of not only NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing on this day, but also the end of, in my opinion, the worst season for the #43 car. 5 drivers, 1 top ten finish, tons of back marker finishes and overall poor equipment for a team that used to come to the track and dominate from start to finish. And to make matters worse, 36 races from February to November and the team led a grand total of 5 laps all season with the late John Andretti leading the most of the five drivers with 3 at Las Vegas back in March. Long story short, a miserable season for car #43 in 2003. 140. Mile501 posted: 12.04.2020 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the second time in 3 years, Bobby Labonte won the (originally-scheduled) season finale race by a last lap pass when the leader ran into trouble. In 2001 at Atlanta, Jerry Nadeau ran out of fuel on the last lap and Labonte took the win. In this race, Bill Elliott had a flat tire on the last lap and Labonte took the win. (Although Atlanta wasn't the final race of 2001, it going to be the season finale until New Hampshire had to be rescheduled.) 141. Foote posted: 12.21.2020 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin got loose under Ward Burton in this race and wiped them both out. To my knowledge, this is the only time Mark Martin ever lost control of his car in a race (spin or crash). If there are other examples I'd be curious to know. 142. KentuckyOffroadRider posted: 12.22.2020 - 7:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ?To my knowledge, this is the only time Mark Martin ever lost control of his car in a race (spin or crash). If there are other examples I'd be curious to know.? Go YouTube the 1993 Budweiser 500 where Mark Martin got loose under Rusty, resulting Rusty to have a horrific crash which ultimately, was more than enough points to cost the 2 Miller Genuine Draft team the ?93 championship 143. Tarheel posted: 12.22.2020 - 8:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark spun out at Darlington in 2005 with two laps left, but didn't hit anything and due to the field being strung out he only lost a few positions. I don't know where he restarted on the GWC, but he finished 4th. Ryan Newman had been leading, and if I recall he stayed out on 30+ lap tires and finished fifth. 144. GoRC42 posted: 12.22.2020 - 12:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkIJU4JFtJk Certainly looks like it just came out from under him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: