The 2003 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 was the third stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the sixth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 2, 2003, in North Las Vegas, Nevada at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 267 laps to complete. At race's end, Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing would dominate the late stages of the race to win his seventh career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first and only win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2003 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | March 2, 2003 | ||
| Official name | 6th Annual UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 | ||
| Location | North Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km) | ||
| Average speed | 132.934 miles per hour (213.937 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 140,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 31.211 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| Laps | 97 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
Background
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Entry list
Notes
- While Ash had participated in pre-race activities, he withdrew before qualifying.[2]
- Withdrew due to the team's trucks and cars being wrecked during the Daytona weekend. In response, the team would skip the Vegas weekend to focus on the #7 and to get the trucks ready for Darlington Raceway.[2]
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, February 28, at 11:20 AM PST, and would last for 2 hours.[2] Jeff Burton of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.267 and an average speed of 172.706 miles per hour (277.943 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 31.267 | 172.706 |
| 2 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 31.297 | 172.540 |
| 3 | 01 | Jerry Nadeau | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 31.316 | 172.436 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
The second practice session was held on Saturday, March 1, at 9:30 AM PST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 32.069 and an average speed of 168.387 miles per hour (270.993 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.069 | 168.387 |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.149 | 167.968 |
| 3 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 32.155 | 167.937 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third and final practice
The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, March 1, at 11:10 AM PST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Kurt Busch of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 32.131 and an average speed of 168.062 miles per hour (270.470 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 32.131 | 168.062 |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.267 | 167.354 |
| 3 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 32.280 | 167.286 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, February 28, at 3:05 PST.[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]
Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 31.211 and an average speed of 173.016 miles per hour (278.442 km/h).[7]
Greg Biffle would be the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin[8] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 88 | running | 180 | $365,875 |
| 2 | 4 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 267 | 97 | running | 180 | $267,167 |
| 3 | 9 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 267 | 17 | running | 170 | $190,550 |
| 4 | 1 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 1 | running | 165 | $178,908 |
| 5 | 8 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 155 | $163,503 |
| 6 | 7 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 150 | $127,067 |
| 7 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing | Dodge | 267 | 3 | running | 151 | $128,025 |
| 8 | 34 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 142 | $136,000 |
| 9 | 26 | 25 | Joe Nemechek | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 138 | $87,200 |
| 10 | 39 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 134 | $111,862 |
| 11 | 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 2 | running | 135 | $97,675 |
| 12 | 16 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 266 | 0 | running | 127 | $107,725 |
| 13 | 22 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | running | 124 | $116,553 |
| 14 | 30 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 266 | 0 | running | 121 | $113,383 |
| 15 | 18 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 266 | 0 | running | 118 | $105,100 |
| 16 | 36 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | running | 115 | $102,406 |
| 17 | 15 | 7 | Jimmy Spencer | Ultra Motorsports | Dodge | 266 | 0 | running | 112 | $90,250 |
| 18 | 6 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 266 | 3 | running | 114 | $109,928 |
| 19 | 38 | 21 | Ricky Rudd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 266 | 1 | running | 111 | $94,050 |
| 20 | 24 | 54 | Todd Bodine | BelCar Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 0 | running | 103 | $84,750 |
| 21 | 13 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 266 | 0 | running | 100 | $78,850 |
| 22 | 11 | 01 | Jerry Nadeau | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 266 | 0 | running | 97 | $78,139 |
| 23 | 21 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | running | 94 | $94,737 |
| 24 | 32 | 74 | Tony Raines | BACE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | running | 91 | $64,550 |
| 25 | 20 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 265 | 0 | running | 88 | $100,006 |
| 26 | 42 | 0 | Jack Sprague | Haas CNC Racing | Pontiac | 265 | 0 | running | 85 | $62,550 |
| 27 | 14 | 30 | Jeff Green | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | running | 82 | $72,550 |
| 28 | 28 | 49 | Ken Schrader | BAM Racing | Dodge | 263 | 0 | running | 79 | $60,550 |
| 29 | 43 | 37 | Derrike Cope | Quest Motor Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 0 | running | 76 | $60,350 |
| 30 | 33 | 23 | Kenny Wallace | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 261 | 0 | running | 73 | $63,600 |
| 31 | 19 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 261 | 0 | running | 70 | $70,400 |
| 32 | 12 | 42 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 258 | 0 | running | 67 | $59,700 |
| 33 | 41 | 66 | Hideo Fukuyama | BelCar Racing | Ford | 258 | 0 | running | 64 | $60,400 |
| 34 | 35 | 77 | Dave Blaney | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 231 | 0 | clutch | 61 | $67,300 |
| 35 | 31 | 14 | Larry Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Dodge | 216 | 0 | vibration | 58 | $59,100 |
| 36 | 37 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Pontiac | 211 | 0 | running | 55 | $66,900 |
| 37 | 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 193 | 53 | crash | 57 | $106,053 |
| 38 | 5 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 179 | 2 | crash | 54 | $78,475 |
| 39 | 40 | 4 | Mike Skinner | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Pontiac | 174 | 0 | crash | 46 | $58,275 |
| 40 | 25 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing | Dodge | 174 | 0 | crash | 43 | $92,717 |
| 41 | 27 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 131 | 0 | crash | 40 | $103,633 |
| 42 | 23 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 125 | 0 | engine | 37 | $91,915 |
| 43 | 29 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 114 | 0 | engine | 34 | $91,542 |
| Failed to qualify or withdrew | ||||||||||
| 44 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | ||||||
| WD | 02 | Brandon Ash | Ash Motorsports | Ford | ||||||
| WD | 07 | Ted Musgrave | Ultra Motorsports | Dodge | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
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