The 2003 Tropicana 400 was the stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 13, 2003, in Joliet, Illinois, at Chicagoland Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.41 km) tri-oval speedway. The race took the scheduled 267 laps to complete. At race's end, Penske Racing South driver Ryan Newman would stretch out his fuel mileage well enough to coast to the line and win his fourth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his third of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 The 2003 Tropicana 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | July 13, 2003 | ||
| Official name | 3rd Annual Tropicana 400 | ||
| Location | Joliet, Illinois, Chicagoland 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 | 134.059 miles per hour (215.747 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 85,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 29.223 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 80 | ||
| 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 | ||
Background
edit
Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.41 km) tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.
Entry list
editPractice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, July 11, at 11:20 AM CST, and would last for 2 hours.[2] Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.324 and an average speed of 184.150 miles per hour (296.361 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.324 | 184.150 |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.376 | 183.824 |
| 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 29.404 | 183.648 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session was held on Saturday, July 12, at 9:30 AM CST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.242 and an average speed of 178.560 miles per hour (287.364 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 30.242 | 178.560 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 30.255 | 178.483 |
| 3 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 30.310 | 178.159 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third and final practice
editThe third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, July 12, at 11:10 AM CST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.231 and an average speed of 178.625 miles per hour (287.469 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.231 | 178.625 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 30.353 | 177.907 |
| 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 30.405 | 177.602 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, July 11, at 3:05 PM CST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. The session would commence after a near two-hour rain delay.[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]
Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 29.223 and an average speed of 184.786 miles per hour (297.384 km/h).[7]
Jason Keller would be the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
edit| Fin[8] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 267 | 67 | running | 180 | $191,000 |
| 2 | 1 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 80 | running | 180 | $213,468 |
| 3 | 6 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 25 | running | 170 | $134,575 |
| 4 | 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 47 | running | 165 | $158,178 |
| 5 | 12 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 267 | 1 | running | 160 | $100,975 |
| 6 | 27 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 150 | $114,092 |
| 7 | 35 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 146 | $106,812 |
| 8 | 10 | 42 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 267 | 1 | running | 147 | $77,375 |
| 9 | 8 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 138 | $108,375 |
| 10 | 5 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 134 | $85,075 |
| 11 | 3 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 130 | $106,908 |
| 12 | 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 266 | 0 | 0running | 127 | $87,725 |
| 13 | 37 | 21 | Ricky Rudd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 266 | 0 | running | 124 | $94,475 |
| 14 | 13 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 266 | 0 | running | 121 | $103,883 |
| 15 | 28 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | running | 118 | $96,356 |
| 16 | 15 | 1 | Jeff Green | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | running | 115 | $89,937 |
| 17 | 11 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 46 | running | 92 | $104,028 |
| 18 | 36 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 265 | 0 | running | 109 | $94,700 |
| 19 | 30 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 265 | 0 | running | 106 | $100,106 |
| 20 | 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 265 | 0 | running | 103 | $69,650 |
| 21 | 19 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 265 | 0 | running | 100 | $107,650 |
| 22 | 29 | 74 | Tony Raines | BACE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | running | 97 | $63,450 |
| 23 | 21 | 7 | Jimmy Spencer | Ultra Motorsports | Dodge | 265 | 0 | running | 94 | $82,550 |
| 24 | 38 | 23 | Kenny Wallace | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 265 | 0 | running | 91 | $79,325 |
| 25 | 26 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Pontiac | 265 | 0 | running | 88 | $84,925 |
| 26 | 23 | 30 | Steve Park | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | running | 85 | $73,725 |
| 27 | 41 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 264 | 0 | running | 82 | $73,425 |
| 28 | 43 | 49 | Ken Schrader | BAM Racing | Dodge | 263 | 0 | running | 79 | $73,614 |
| 29 | 42 | 43 | Christian Fittipaldi | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 263 | 0 | running | 76 | $100,303 |
| 30 | 33 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 263 | 0 | running | 73 | $108,063 |
| 31 | 9 | 77 | Dave Blaney | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 262 | 0 | running | 70 | $69,575 |
| 32 | 22 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 249 | 0 | running | 67 | $96,042 |
| 33 | 39 | 54 | Todd Bodine | BelCar Racing | Ford | 237 | 0 | transmission | 64 | $62,075 |
| 34 | 4 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 232 | 0 | crash | 61 | $68,975 |
| 35 | 20 | 4 | Johnny Sauter | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Pontiac | 213 | 0 | running | 58 | $60,775 |
| 36 | 18 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 212 | 0 | crash | 55 | $105,658 |
| 37 | 40 | 01 | Mike Wallace | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 211 | 0 | crash | 52 | $60,375 |
| 38 | 16 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | crash | 49 | $101,092 |
| 39 | 32 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 124 | 0 | engine | 46 | $79,985 |
| 40 | 34 | 0 | Jack Sprague | Haas CNC Racing | Pontiac | 117 | 0 | engine | 43 | $59,785 |
| 41 | 31 | 14 | Larry Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Dodge | 88 | 0 | crash | 40 | $59,590 |
| 42 | 17 | 25 | Joe Nemechek | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | engine | 37 | $59,395 |
| 43 | 25 | 37 | Derrike Cope | Quest Motor Racing | Chevrolet | 6 | 0 | transmission | 34 | $59,457 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 44 | 81 | Jason Keller | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Hoosiers Set Pace at Chicagoland". wthr.com. 2003-07-13. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Chicagoland Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. 2005-02-04. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Chicagoland Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Chicagoland Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-06. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Chicagoland Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "In Reversal, Stewart Surges for First Pole of Season". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
- ^ "2003 Tropicana 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.