The 2003 MBNA America 400 was the 28th stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 21, 2003, before a crowd of 137,000 in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Ryan Newman of Penske Racing South would come back from two laps down and save fuel at the end to win his eighth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his seventh win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports and Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 28 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2003 MBNA America 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | September 21, 2003 | ||
| Official name | 35th Annual MBNA America 400 | ||
| Location | Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Average speed | 108.802 miles per hour (175.100 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 137,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | Set by 2003 owner's points | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 133 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Dale Earnhardt Jr. would suffer a concussion during the race on lap 363.[2]
Background
edit
Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
Entry list
edit*Withdrew.[3]
Practice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Saturday, September 20, at 11:15 AM EST, and would last for one hour and 15 minutes.[3] Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.472 and an average speed of 153.374 miles per hour (246.832 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.472 | 153.374 |
| 2 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 23.521 | 153.055 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 23.538 | 152.944 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
editThe second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, September 20, at approximately 3:00 PM EST, and would last for approximately one hour.[3] Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.583 and an average speed of 152.652 miles per hour (245.670 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 23.583 | 152.652 |
| 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 23.630 | 152.349 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 23.650 | 152.220 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was canceled due to the impeding threat of Hurricane Isabel. As a result, the current 2003 owner's standings were used to determine the lineup.[3] Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing would win the pole.[6]
Race results
editReferences
edit- ^ "Newman scores seventh win of 2003". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ "Dale Jr.'s final ride: Dover". ESPN.com. 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Dover 2 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Dover 2 Practice 1Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Dover 2 Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ "Kenseth on pole at Dover". UPI. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ "2003 MBNA America 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.