2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400

2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
Race details[1][2]
Race 5 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
The 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers program cover, celebrating the 100th race at Darlington Raceway.
The 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers program cover, celebrating the 100th race at Darlington Raceway.
Date March 16, 2003 (2003-March-16)
Official name Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
Location Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Course 1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 293 laps, 400.238 mi (644.014 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 64.4 °F (18.0 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)[3]
Average speed 126.214 mph (203.122 km/h)
Attendance 55,000
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 28.902
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Laps 91
Winner
No. 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings
  • 5.9/15 (Final)
  • 5.5/13 (Overnight)[4]
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network
Booth Announcers Joe Moore and Barney Hall
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Mike Bagley (3 & 4)

The 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 was the fifth stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was held on March 16, 2003, before a crowd of 55,000, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway. The 293-lap race, the 100th NASCAR Cup Series event at Darlington Raceway, was won by PPI Motorsports driver Ricky Craven starting from the 31st position. Kurt Busch of the Roush Racing squad finished in second place and Dave Blaney third for the Jasper Motorsports team.

Elliott Sadler won the pole position by recording the fastest lap in qualifying. He and Ryan Newman traded the lead for the first two laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. assumed the lead on lap 17 and went on to lead for 91 laps, more than any other driver. On lap 197, Jeff Gordon led at a rolling restart after a yellow caution flag, ahead of Sadler. Busch passed Gordon on the 269th lap but later had a power steering failure, allowing Craven to gradually lower his lead. By lap 291, Craven drew close enough to challenge Busch; after two attempts at a pass failed, he overtook Busch on the final lap, and won by two-thousandths of a second, tied for the closest finish in series history.

It was Craven's second win of his career. The result advanced him from sixteenth to fifth in the Drivers' Championship, 143 points behind Matt Kenseth, whose eighth-place finished maintained his championship lead over Tony Stewart. Ford maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, five points ahead of Chevrolet in second. Pontiac (in what would be ultimately their last win in the Winston Cup Series, as the marque withdrew from NASCAR at the end of the season) overtook Dodge for third with 31 races remaining in the season.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference event was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "Weather Information for Darlington, South Carolina". Old Farmer's Almanac. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  4. ^ "2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series TV Ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved December 22, 2014.

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