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2003 Season
2003 Daytona 500
| Race Information |
| Event: Daytona 500 |
| Date: February 16, 2003 |
Track: Daytona Int'l Speedway |
| Qualified: 2nd |
Finished: 36th |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
108 of 109 (rain-shorted from
200 laps) |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
--/35th |
Points
Earned: 60 (w/ 5 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $215,976 |
Summary and Related News |
Waltrip wins Daytona 500 again as rain
falls_02/16/03
Dale Jr. Cruises, Then Falls Victim To Electrical Troubles
Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver Michael Waltrip won the 45th annual Daytona 500, as rain
stopped the race after 109 of a scheduled 200 laps. Waltrip, who won the race for the
second time in the last three years, took the lead for the final time on lap 106,
following his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. past leader Jimmy Johnson, who finished third
behind Waltrip and Kurt Busch. Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser car led the race for
22 laps, easily staying among the top three positions (except for pit stops) until he was
forced to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 89 to replace a dead battery due to a faulty
alternator. Dale Jr, finished the race in 36th position after winning the Budweiser
Shootout, the Twin-125 qualifying race and the Busch Series 300 in the previous eight
days.
 The Key Moments:
Dale Jr., starting on the outside of the front row, dropped behind teammate Waltrip on lap
five, and stayed on his rear bumper until the first set of pit stops. After the entire
field had made their first stop for fuel and/or tires, the Budweiser car cruised in third
place until the second set of pit stops. A quick stop for two tires launched the No. 8
into the lead on lap 43. Dale Jr. led the field for 22 laps until rain stopped the race on
lap 63.
The first sign of trouble for the Bud team came as the race was being restarted after the
one hour and eight minute delay. The car did start after being pushed by a tow truck, but
a faulty alternator caused the voltmeter to slowly drain to zero. The engine began to
sputter and falter, causing the team to make an unscheduled stop to replace the battery.
After falling two laps behind, Dale Jr. made a banzai run back through the field, making
up one of the two laps before rain stopped the action for good on lap 109.
 Dale Jr’s
Quotes: “Before the race, Tony (car chief Eury Jr.) and I talked, and we
agreed that no matter what happened today, we had a great week. He and I talked about that
again when the second red flag came out. Damn it – it’s really heartbreaking to
do so well and then have something like that go wrong. We know that this kind of thing
happens to champions. We’re disappointed but we’re gonna go on and focus on the
championship. That’s the way this kind of race goes – you can win everything at
Daytona, but the 500 is another kinda deal entirely. Look at my dad – it took him 20
times to win this thing. Hopefully we’re not gonna have to wait that long, but it
just seems like weird things happen in this race. My crew has been great, and we had
things going our way. You needed to stay up front, and even when we had problems, the guys
stayed focused and changed the battery as quick as they could. If the race would have gone
the distance, they would have had to deal with us.”
About making up one of the two laps: “It’s great for Michael
and DEI. Another victory just shows how strong our company is, top to bottom. But if we
could have gone back out (and finished the last 91 laps), we were gonna get back up front.
We would have needed another yellow flag or two to help us, but we would have been there.
The car was awesome, and we made our way from the back to the front pretty easily. The car
was so good, it seemed like the guys ahead of us just moved over. Kinda like they were
saying ‘go on by and we’ll see ya (next week) at Rockingham.’ They
didn’t want to get in our way. At one point, the 99 car (Jeff Burton) was right
behind me going into (turns) one and two, and I just flew through the middle lane and the
car dug in and we went high… we passed a lotta cars in one move. I wish I woulda been
in the 99 car to have watched that. Whoa! It was damn cool.”
About being totally focused for almost two weeks since arriving in Daytona:
“I was here to win. I didn’t come down here to [mess] around, and neither did my
team. I was so focused that it was like everything was happening around me and I was just
focused right down the center. Don’t talk to me – let’s just go racing.
It’s like a cell phone system that’s overloaded on race day: no calls in and no
calls out. All systems busy. It’s insane here with all the hoopla and everybody
coming at me from everywhere. It’s a madhouse. It makes ya pray to get to Rockingham,
ya know? But, we had fun as a team and we’re gonna give it one helluva run for the
title.”
 Today’s Race
Notes:
***Despite the disappointment of today’s finish, Dale Jr. had a successful and
historic week. After winning the Budweiser Shootout, the Twin-125 and the Busch Series
300, Dale Jr. joined two other drivers in the modern era with three victories in one
Speedweeks. His father, Dale Earnhardt, accomplished the same feat in 1986, 1991 and 1993,
while Bobby Allison won three in 1988. (Fireball Roberts won four races in 1962 before the
current format was adopted.)
*** Starting with last week’s Budweiser Shootout victory, Dale Jr. won three races
and total prize earnings of $569,221.
*** Budweiser Celebrity Sighting; Rap star Ludacris spent much of the race in the
Budweiser pit area as a guest of Dale Jr.
Best Radio Conversations
As the race neared the first set of pit stops, the Budweiser team and the NAPA team
(with Waltrip) were running first and second. The teams planned to pit together, but the
fuel meter on the Bud car began to fluctuate on the back stretch one lap earlier than
expected.
 Dale Jr.:
“I think we could have pushed it one more lap. I can go one more if we needed.
Let’s keep that in mind if we need it late in the race.”
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief): “Yeah, I feel bad for Slugger (Labbe,
NAPA team crew chief), because we pitted a lap early, but we wanted to be safe. We
didn’t wanna run ya out (of fuel)…”
As the race neared the 100-mile mark, the driver reported a slight problem inside the
car…
Dale Jr: “I dunno where you guys mounted this water bottle, but if I
had some tea bags, we’d have hot tea here. It burned my lips… seriously!
It’s like drinking hot coffee.”
The most dramatic moment of the race was a lap 57 crash that saw Ryan Newman flip and
tumble down the frontstretch. Dale Jr. was immediately concerned…
Dale Jr: (asking his spotter, Ty Norris): “How bad did he turn over?
Pretty bad or just a couple of flips?”
Norris: “Pretty bad, but he’s out of the car. He’s
OK…”
Dale Jr. (after passing the crash site several times): “Did you see
‘em roll it back over?”
Norris: “Yeah, the driver’s compartment looks really good. It
was in good shape…”
Dale Jr: “I don’t care what you say, that ride couldn’t
have been wilder or any cooler than that bad-ass slide through the grass I did last
year…” (Dale Jr. avoided an accident in last year’s Daytona 500 with a
wicked back-and forth slide through the infield grass…In Junior’s words, it was
“all asses over elbows…”)
Eury Jr: “Well, he had one of them ‘grass, sky, grass, sky,
grass, sky’ kinda rides like you did a few years ago…”
As the rain began to fall for the first time on lap 61…
Dale Jr: “Guys, this is not a butt-chewin,’ but if it looks
like rain, you need to have someone full-time looking at the radar… Someone feeding
us information… You know, AJ Foyt won all his Winston Cup races that way. It’d
be like some sorta untapped advantage.”
He also expressed his appreciation for the large big-screen video monitors on the
backstretch.
Dale Jr: “I love these big screens… I can watch ‘em all
the way down the straight. I’ve seen all the replays of the crashes and our pit
stops…”
As the battery began to drain and the voltmeter continued to drop after the restart,
the car began to sputter, and Dale Jr. began to worry about the field stacked behind
him…
Dale Jr. (frantically to spotter Norris): “Tell Tony (Stewart) not
to spin me out! Tell him the car is shutting off! Tell him!”
Today’s Stats
Started: 2nd
Finished: 36th
Points Position: 35th (including five bonus points for leading)
Money Won: $215,976
Laps Led: 1 time for 22 laps
Best Pit Stop: Lap 43 / Stop #2 of 5 / 2 tires, Fuel / 5.81 seconds
-Budweiser
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Daytona Speedweeks Preview_01/31/03
Dale Jr. Quotes for Daytona Speedweeks
About Daytona International Speedway: "I don't exactly remember the
first time I came here, but the first I can recall was when Greg Sacks won. (Firecracker
400, July 4, 1985. Dale Jr. was 10 years old.) I watched it in that little scoring stand
down there in turn one. That's where all the kids and wives went. The first time you came
in here, you didn't see it all. Every time you come in here you see something different -
just because this place is so big. It's a good feeling [being there].
“When you come [to Daytona], you can't get here fast enough. And then when you leave,
you drive out real slow - getting every little last bit you can because it's going to be
too long before you come back. I love it. This place is a great racetrack with a lot of
history. It has such an impact on the sport. There are other tracks on the circuit that
are important to NASCAR and that are cornerstones and the foundation. But this place here
is a pillar. This place really represents everything that I like about the sport. I really
like coming here."
About being considered one of the favorites to win the Daytona 500:
“Great... it’s a great feeling. I like it a lot. I think we should be favorites,
based on performance the last few years. I like walking into the garage on the first day
and holding my head high because the DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) teams are the ones to beat
on superspeedways. It’s almost like we have half the field psyched-out before we
start. It also means a lot in the race, because a lot of other drivers want to work with
you or draft with you because they know you’re going to the front.
“All of that [success] doesn’t just happen: it’s a lot… an awful lot
of work by a lot of people.. Richie Gilmore (DEI chief engine builder) has been putting
together some super horsepower for all three of our teams, and all of my guys in the Bud
shop – like Tony (Eury, crew chief) and Tony Jr. (Eury, car chief) – really
spend a lot of time working on our superspeedway package. I enjoy these [restrictor plate]
races, and so do they, so it just gives us that attitude and the motivation to work harder
at these races.”
About the new body style for the 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo:
“Getting this new body figured out on the speedway is going to be a little bit of a
handicap for us, getting the car to draft well and all that. We really had the old one
(the previous Monte Carlo body) figured out, so this is just like starting over. It's just
like it was when we were rookies. But, Tony Jr. has always been a whiz with the bodies for
the speedways. Daddy won five in a row here with those boys in the Busch Series. So, I
think we'll get it figured out.”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser Team at Daytona
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 6 (does not include Budweiser Shootout or 125-mile
qualifiers)
Best Start: 5th (2002 Daytona 500)
Best Finish: 1st (2001 Pepsi 400)
Daytona 500, Last Year: ST: 5th
FIN: 29th
(Two flat tires knocked the team out of contention and into several wild crashes.)
Budweiser Shootout: In two Bud all-star events, Dale Jr. has finished
sixth (2001) and second (2002).
Twin 125 Qualifier: Dale Jr. has three previous starts, finishing fourth
(2000), second (2001) and second (2002).
News, Notes and a bottle of Cold Bud:
*** Motivation: Last season, Dale Jr. invited college football coaching
legend Lou Holtz to give a pre-season motivational speech to the 220-plus employees of
DEI. This year, he chose to gather the troops to watch “Stroker Ace,” the stock
car racing-themed Burt Reynolds movie. The 1983 film included cameos from Dale Earnhardt,
Kyle Petty and Benny Parsons among other notable NASCAR faces. “It’s a great
movie, a real classic… (pause for dramatic effect) It is… Really!” enthused
Dale Jr.
*** DEI Dominates: Since the start of 2001, there have been eight
restrictor-plate races on the Winston Cup circuit. In those races, Junior has four
victories, a second place and six top-eight finishes, while his teammate Michael Waltrip
has two victories of his own.
*** I Second That: Dale Jr. finished second in last year's Budweiser
Shootout at Daytona as well as second place in his 125-mile qualifying race. In the 500,
he was running easily in second place behind teammate Michael Waltrip when a blown tire
sent the No. 8 car into the wall. Dale Jr. has also recorded second place finishes in the
2001 Daytona 500 and his 125-mile qualifier in 2001.
***That’s Ludacris: Dale Jr. hung out with rap star Ludacris earlier
this week during a photo shoot for the cover of COMPLEX Magazine, a new upscale,
urban-oriented magazine devoted to cars, music, women and all things cool. Dale Jr. has
long been a fan of Ludacris, while the rap star has been a fan of NASCAR and Dale Jr. in
particular. Ludacris, who posed alongside Junior and his Budweiser race car, has a
prominent role in the upcoming sequel to the "Fast and the Furious" feature
film.
What:
25th annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona
70 laps / 175 miles / 19 cars, starring Dale Jr., past Shootout winners and 2002 Bud Pole
winners
Daytona 500
200 laps / 500 miles / Race #1 of 36 in the 2003 Winston Cup Series
Where:
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla. / 2.5-mile Superspeedway
When:
Budweiser Shootout: Saturday, Feb. 8 8 p.m. Fox-TV
Daytona 500: Sunday, Feb. 16 1 p.m. Fox-TV (pre-race: 12 noon)
Watch:
Fox, FX, Fox Sports Network and the Speed Channel will team to present more than 75 hours
of coverage from Speedweeks, beginning Feb. 7. You can also tune-in to hear qualifying and
race action on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on a radio station or computer near you.
Bud Pole Qualifying:
The Budweiser Shootout starting line-up is determined in a drawing held Thursday, Feb. 6.
Bud Pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 can be seen live Sunday, Feb. 9 at 1:00 p.m. on
the Fox-TV and heard on MRN affiliates across the nation. The majority of the field for
the Daytona 500 will be set based on finishing positions in twin 125-mile races on
Thursday, Feb. 13. (All Times: Eastern)-Budweiser |
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