2003 Chevy Rock & Roll 400

The 2003 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 was the 26th stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 46th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 6, 2003, before a crowd of 105,000 in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Penske Racing South driver Ryan Newman would hold off the field on a late restart with four to go to win his seventh career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his sixth win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports and Ricky Rudd of Wood Brothers Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

2003 Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Race details
Race 26 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2003 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 program cover.
The 2003 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 program cover.
Date September 6, 2003
Official name 46th Annual Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Location Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.75 mi (1.21 km)
Distance 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Average speed 94.945 miles per hour (152.799 km/h)
Attendance 105,000
Pole position
Driver MB2 Motorsports
Time 21.464
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 126
Winner
No. 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing South
Television in the United States
Network TNT
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

edit
 
The layout of Richmond International Raceway, the venue where the race was at.

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

Entry list

edit
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Jason Leffler Haas CNC Racing Pontiac NetZero HiSpeed
1 John Andretti Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Pennzoil
01 Mike Skinner MB2 Motorsports Pontiac U.S. Army
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Dodge Miller Lite
02 Hermie Sadler SCORE Motorsports Pontiac Dollar Tree
4 Johnny Sauter Morgan–McClure Motorsports Pontiac Kodak EasyShare
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's, Got Milk?
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Viagra
7 Jimmy Spencer Ultra Motorsports Dodge Sirius Satellite Radio
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Budweiser True Music, Staind
9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dodge Dealers, UAW
09 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Dodge Miccosukee Resort & Gaming
10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac Valvoline
11 Brett Bodine* Brett Bodine Racing Ford Brett Bodine Racing
12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing South Dodge Alltel
15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts, Hootie & the Blowfish
16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford Grainger
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford Smirnoff Ice Triple Black
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dodge Dealers, UAW
20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet The Home Depot
21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Motorcraft
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge Caterpillar
23 Kenny Wallace Bill Davis Racing Dodge Stacker 2
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet UAW, Delphi, Uncle Kracker
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench, Sugar Ray
30 Steve Park Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet America Online, Third Eye Blind
31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Cingular Wireless, Trapt
32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Pontiac Tide
37 Derrike Cope* Quest Motor Racing Chevrolet Friendly's
38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford M&M's
40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Coors Light
41 Casey Mears Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Target
42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Texaco, Havoline
43 Christian Fittipaldi Petty Enterprises Dodge Cheerios
45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge Georgia-Pacific Brawny
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's
49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge BAM Racing
50 Larry Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dodge Harrah's "Oh Yeah!"
54 Todd Bodine BelCar Motorsports Ford National Guard
74 Tony Raines BACE Motorsports Chevrolet BACE Motorsports
77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
79 Billy Bigley Arnold Motorsports Dodge Arnold Development Companies
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford UPS
97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford Rubbermaid, Sharpie
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Citgo
Official entry list

Practice

edit

First practice

edit

The first practice session was held on Friday, September 5, at 11:20 AM EST, and would last for two hours.[2] Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.398 and an average speed of 126.180 miles per hour (203.067 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 21.398 126.180
2 01 Mike Skinner MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 21.449 125.880
3 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Dodge 21.450 125.874
Full first practice results

Second practice

edit

The second practice session was held on Friday, September 5, at 4:45 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Todd Bodine of BelCar Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.670 and an average speed of 124.596 miles per hour (200.518 km/h).[4]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 54 Todd Bodine BelCar Racing Ford 21.670 124.596
2 01 Mike Skinner MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 21.716 124.332
3 7 Jimmy Spencer Ultra Motorsports Dodge 21.720 124.309
Full second practice results

Third and final practice

edit

The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, September 5, at 6:10 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Jeff Burton of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.599 and an average speed of 125.006 miles per hour (201.178 km/h).[5]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 21.599 125.006
2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.705 124.395
3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.775 123.995
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

edit

Qualifying was held on Friday, September 5, at 3:05 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[2] Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[6]

Mike Skinner of MB2 Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 21.464 and an average speed of 125.792 miles per hour (202.443 km/h).[7]

Larry Foyt and Billy Bigley would fail to qualify.[8]

Full qualifying results

edit
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 01 Mike Skinner MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 21.464 125.792
2 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 21.489 125.646
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 21.499 125.587
4 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing South Dodge 21.536 125.371
5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.594 125.035
6 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 21.610 124.942
7 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 21.611 124.936
8 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 21.624 124.861
9 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 21.643 124.752
10 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 21.643 124.752
11 25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.671 124.590
12 54 Todd Bodine BelCar Racing Ford 21.674 124.573
13 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 21.704 124.401
14 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 21.709 124.372
15 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 21.731 124.246
16 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 21.733 124.235
17 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Dodge 21.734 124.229
18 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 21.745 124.166
19 21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 21.753 124.121
20 74 Tony Raines BACE Motorsports Chevrolet 21.757 124.098
21 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 21.781 123.961
22 7 Jimmy Spencer Ultra Motorsports Dodge 21.794 123.887
23 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 21.795 123.882
24 1 John Andretti Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 21.803 123.836
25 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 21.830 123.683
26 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.838 123.638
27 49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge 21.838 123.638
28 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 21.845 123.598
29 42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 21.849 123.575
30 38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford 21.871 123.451
31 41 Casey Mears Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 21.874 123.434
32 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.896 123.310
33 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 21.922 123.164
34 23 Kenny Wallace Bill Davis Racing Dodge 21.938 123.074
35 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Pontiac 21.939 123.068
36 4 Johnny Sauter Morgan–McClure Motorsports Pontiac 21.949 123.012
Provisionals
37 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 22.014 122.649
38 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 21.953 122.990
39 30 Steve Park Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.005 122.699
40 0 Jason Leffler Haas CNC Racing Pontiac 22.165 121.814
41 43 Christian Fittipaldi Petty Enterprises Dodge 22.396 120.557
42 09 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Dodge 22.142 121.940
43 02 Hermie Sadler SCORE Motorsports Chevrolet 21.985 122.811
Failed to qualify or withdrew
44 50 Larry Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dodge 22.172 121.775
45 79 Billy Bigley Arnold Motorsports Dodge 22.269 121.245
WD 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford
WD 37 Derrike Cope Quest Motor Racing Chevrolet
Official qualifying results

Post-race conflict

edit

This race was notable for the post-race conflict between veteran Ricky Rudd and 3rd year Winston Cup driver Kevin Harvick. With 8 laps to go with Harvick running 2nd and Rudd running 3rd, Rudd got into the back of Harvick heading into turn 1. Harvick's car got sideways for a bit and eventually snapped around on him and crashed into the outside wall in turn 1 bringing out the 14th and final caution of the race. Once the race concluded, Rudd had finished 3rd which meant Rudd went over to pit road while the others who did not finish in the top 5 went to their haulers behind pit road. Harvick, who finished 16th, knew that Rudd had finished in the top 5 and went to pit road and pulled up alongside his car. Both crews of Harvick and Rudd came running out to their drivers. Rudd came halfway out of his car while Harvick got out of his car with the help of his crew and the two began to yell back and forth at each other with NASCAR officials yelling at Harvick to get off of the top of his car. Harvick went down from Rudd's car with one of his crew members holding him back while another of Havick's crew members behind him jumped up in the air and landed on Rudd's hood damaging his car. Harvick got separated from Rudd and began to walk away. As he was walking away, Harvick took his HANS device and threw it at Rudd's direction landing on top of Rudd's roof. Rudd took the device and threw it back at Harvick. Harvick said in his interview that "Ricky Rudd took a goddamn cheap shot at us. And if he's gonna take a cheap shot, he's going to get one back I promise you that." Rudd said that Harvick braked a little harder than he thought he would and said that the damage to his car from Harvick's crew was unnecessary. He finished his interview by saying "I couldn’t hear him. He’s got that little yap-yap mouth. I couldn’t tell what he was saying."[9]

Race results

edit
Fin[10] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 4 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing South Dodge 400 125 running 180 $160,970
2 23 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 400 0 running 170 $136,365
3 19 21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 400 0 running 165 $104,130
4 7 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 400 5 running 165 $116,897
5 17 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Dodge 400 0 running 155 $99,047
6 16 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 400 5 running 155 $104,513
7 18 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 400 0 running 146 $75,230
8 32 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 10 running 147 $83,161
9 9 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 400 0 running 138 $83,455
10 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 126 running 144 $102,333
11 26 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 0 running 130 $70,605
12 42 09 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Dodge 400 7 running 132 $56,290
13 3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 400 1 running 129 $89,463
14 24 1 John Andretti Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 400 0 running 121 $76,917
15 8 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 400 0 running 118 $88,811
16 28 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 23 running 120 $89,383
17 13 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 399 76 running 117 $105,522
18 1 01 Mike Skinner MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 399 0 running 109 $73,155
19 29 42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 399 0 running 106 $53,930
20 2 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 399 2 running 108 $54,680
21 37 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 399 0 running 100 $94,333
22 6 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 399 1 running 102 $92,430
23 34 23 Kenny Wallace Bill Davis Racing Dodge 399 0 running 94 $65,555
24 25 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 398 0 running 91 $78,605
25 27 49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge 398 0 running 88 $51,655
26 11 25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 397 0 running 85 $51,030
27 14 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 397 0 running 82 $100,283
28 40 0 Jason Leffler Haas CNC Racing Pontiac 397 19 running 84 $50,680
29 21 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 397 0 running 76 $75,647
30 35 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Pontiac 396 0 running 73 $67,189
31 39 30 Steve Park Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 394 0 running 70 $57,765
32 33 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 388 0 running 67 $65,230
33 38 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 377 0 running 64 $56,100
34 10 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 373 0 running 61 $55,135
35 20 74 Tony Raines BACE Motorsports Chevrolet 360 0 running 58 $47,100
36 22 7 Jimmy Spencer Ultra Motorsports Dodge 324 0 engine 55 $47,065
37 15 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 302 0 running 52 $85,863
38 36 4 Johnny Sauter Morgan–McClure Motorsports Pontiac 291 0 running 49 $46,995
39 30 38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford 280 0 crash 46 $81,195
40 43 02 Hermie Sadler SCORE Motorsports Chevrolet 266 0 crash 43 $46,885
41 31 41 Casey Mears Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 247 0 crash 40 $54,830
42 12 54 Todd Bodine BelCar Racing Ford 230 0 crash 37 $46,790
43 41 43 Christian Fittipaldi Petty Enterprises Dodge 130 0 crash 34 $82,778
Failed to qualify or withdrew
44 50 Larry Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dodge
45 79 Billy Bigley Arnold Motorsports Dodge
WD 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford
WD 37 Derrike Cope Quest Motor Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

References

edit
  1. ^ "No fighting, just winning for Newman". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Richmond 2 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  3. ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Richmond 2 Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  4. ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Richmond 2 Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  5. ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Richmond 2 Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  6. ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Provisional Land Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  7. ^ Kurz Jr., Hank (2003-09-06). "Skinner wins Richmond pole, crashes". Gadsden Times. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  8. ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Richmond 2 Qualifying Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  9. ^ "Throwback Thursday Theater: The Saga of Kevin Harvick vs. Ricky Rudd". Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "2003 Chevy Rock and Roll 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
Previous race:
2003 Mountain Dew Southern 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2003 season
Next race:
2003 Sylvania 300