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2003 Season
2003 Subway 400
| Race Information |
| Event: Subway 400 |
| Date: February 23, 2003 |
Track: North Carolina Speedway |
| Qualified: 12th |
Finished: 33rd |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
390 of 393 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
35th/38th |
Points
Earned: 64 (w/ 0 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $64,225 |
Summary and Related News |
Dale Jarrett wins Subway 400_02/23/03
Dale Jr. Has Rough Day, Finishes 33rd at Rockingham
Dale Jarrett prevailed in a thrilling late-race duel with Kurt Busch to win the Subway 400
Sunday at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. Busch finished as the runner-up for the
second consecutive week, taking the early lead in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings.
Matt Kenseth, who won this race last season, finished third. It was anything but a
thrilling day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team, as a blown tire on lap
45 began what would be a long afternoon of spins and incidents. After the blown tire
caused some damage to the machine, Dale Jr. was involved in several of the subsequent
yellow flags throughout the frigid and gusty afternoon, including two solo spin-outs in
turn two. Dale Jr. completed 390 laps, finishing in the 33rd position, three laps behind
at the finish.
 The Key Moments:
Dale Jr. started the race in the 12th position and was dicing for position on lap 10 when
the Bud car was hit by Jeff Gordon. The damage to the No. 8 car became immediately
apparent, as the left front fender began rubbing on the tire every time Dale Jr. went into
a corner. The tire smoke slowly subsided, but the damage had been done, and the tire
shredded and blew on lap 45. A yellow flag period allowed the team to make five pit stops
to repair the damage while remaining on the lead lap, but the car was never able to run
competitive lap times after the blown tire. Dale Jr. fought with the ill-handling car, and
was later involved in solo spins in turn two on lap 163 and again on lap 291. He did not
make contact with the wall or another car in either incident.
 Dale Jr’s
Quotes: “We have always struggled here before, and we thought we had figured
some things out at a test a few weeks ago. We qualified well, and started the race
alright, but once the tire began rubbing and then blew out, the damage was done. It was
never the same after that. I know Jeff (Gordon) didn’t mean to get into me, but he
turned into the left front. It wasn’t a hard hit, but it was enough to damage the
tire…”
“We had a bad set of tires or a bad wheel after that – it was vibrating so bad I
though the brakes had failed, but once we changed tires again, we were actually able to
run pretty decent for 10 laps or so, but then the car would just get loose, really loose.
It would just snap out from under me, and that’s why I spun a couple of times. It
felt to me like it was gonna crash or spin out on every lap. Well… I guess we just go
to Las Vegas (for next week’s race) and try again.”
 Best Radio
Conversations
When a blown tire knocked the team out of contention just after the race was 10
percent completed, it became hard to find radio “highlights…” Dale Jr. had
complained about problems with the brakes after the tire trouble, so car chief Tony Eury
Jr. asked about the brakes before the next pit stop on lap 88…
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief): “Do you think you have brakes? Is the
(brake) pedal soft?”
Dale Jr (exasperated): “That ain’t our problem right now. The
brakes seem alright, but I have a bad, bad vibration. The car is just not drivin’
right… it’s not handling. It feels like it’s drivin’ wrecked instead
of drivin alright. It’s kind of loose, then it’s tight… it’s
awful…”
 Was he joking, or is
time to upgrade to a newer, more comfortable seat?
Dale Jr (before a lap 231 pit stop): “Has anyone dropped out (of the
race) yet? Are there any drivers around that can get in this car?”
Tony Jr: “Uhhhhh no. Nobody’s dropped out…”
Dale Jr.: “Well, I need something because my (butt) is asleep…
I can’t feel a thing… (Speaking to Tony Jr. ) I wish you could drive this car
because it’s loose like I’ve never felt before. I don’t know how to tell ya
or describe it. It’s just loose, loose, loose… The right front (tire) is holding
the whole car up in the turns. It’s like the left rear (tire) is just up in the air..
up in the wheel-well, like it’s not supporting the car at all. It’s not
good… it’s like I’m crashing every lap.”
Today’s Stats
Started: 12th
Finished: 33rd
Points Position: 38th
Money Won: $64,225
Laps Led: --
Best Pit Stop: Lap 123 / Stop #9 of 14 / 4 tires, Fuel / 13.81 seconds
 Bad Call of the
Race: To the person who approved the pre-race parachute jump by an US Army team
in what were just short of gale-force winds… As the skydivers came to earth, they
smashed, crashed and scattered all across the race facility. Four jumpers were injured,
including one who crashed hard into the hood of the Budweiser team transporter in the
Winston Cup garage… The unidentified jumper was airlifted to a local hospital for
evaluation.
-Budweiser
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Rockingham Preview_02/18/03
Dale Jr. Quotes for Rockingham
“Everyone made so much about how strong we were at Daytona, but we didn’t talk a
lot about our really, really good test at Rockingham a few weeks ago. Who would have
imagined that I’d be looking forward to going there?!”
“Rockingham was just one of those places that we hadn’t been able to get it done
in the past- in (Winston) Cup or the Busch Series. I just didn’t know how to drive
the place or something, but we made a big commitment, as a team, to work hard on
eliminating what we think are our weak spots - or weak tracks. If the test means anything,
and I think it will, we’re going to be much better than ever before. Last year, we
focused on improving at certain tracks where we had struggled, and then we went out and
got top-fives at places like Martinsville and Darlington. That’s what we’re
looking to do again this season. We’re serious about all this 'championship talk,'
and we’re out to eliminate the holes in the schedule where we have not run as
competitively like we should. I used to come into a weekend here with a bad attitude, and
it seemed to set the tone for the whole team. Now, I think all that will change."
"We're not looking back at Daytona. We're moving forward. We're not going to get too
down about the 500 and we're not going to get too excited about winning the other races
there. Everyone knew we were there and we were the car to beat, but we need be the car to
beat every week for the next 35 races."
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Rockingham
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 6
Best Start: 7th (Feb, 2000)
Best Finish: 15th (Nov. 2001)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 29th
FIN: 26th
A cut tire relegated the Bud team to a finish two laps behind the race leaders at last
year's Subway 400...
Budweiser Team NOTES:
“Pops” Eury STILL the Boss
There continue to be erroneous print and broadcast reports that Tony Eury Jr. is the crew
chief for the No. 8 Budweiser car, replacing his father Tony Eury. This is not – and
has never been – the case. Tony, better known among the team as “Pops,” is
the crew chief while Tony Jr. continues in his capacity as car chief.
“B” Makes Milestones
Racing Milestones magazine will feature monthly columns this season by Barry “B”
Hoover, a mechanic on the No. 8 Budweiser team. The fun and likeable “B” has
been with the team since the championship days in the Busch Series, and is the
self-proclaimed “hardest workin’ man in NASCAR…”
What:
Subway 400
393 laps / 400 miles / Race #2 of 36 in the Winston Cup Series
Where:
North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham, NC
1.017-mile speedway
When:
Sunday, Feb. 23 1 p.m. Fox-TV (pre-race: 12:30 pm)
Watch:
Fox-TV will carry the first half of the 2003 season… 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:
Bud Pole qualifying can be seen live Friday at 3:00 p.m. on Fox Sports Network and heard
on MRN affiliates across the nation. FX and Speed Channel will also have coverage
throughout the weekend.
(All Times: Eastern)-Budweiser |
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