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2003 Season
2003 MBNA Bass Pro Shops
500
| Race Information |
| Event: MBNA Bass Pro Shops 500 |
| Date: March 9, 2003 |
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway |
| Qualified: 37th |
Finished: 3rd |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
325 of 325 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
18th/10th |
Points
Earned: 170 (w/ 5 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $113,917 |
Summary and Related News |
Bobby Labonte wins MBNA 500_3/9/03
Dale Jr. and No. 8 Budweiser Team Grab Second-Straight Top Three Finish
Former Winston Cup champions Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon dueled to an exciting one-two
finish today in the MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Labonte has now won six races at
the 1.54-mile Atlanta track, the fastest circuit on the Winston Cup tour. Dale Earnhardt
Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team finished third, moving up eight positions into the top-10
in Winston Cup points. The Bud team started the day in 37th position, but it took Dale Jr.
only 37 laps to pass 27 cars and move into the top 10. Once among the leaders, Dale Jr.
stayed in the top five for much of the rest of the 325-lap race. This is the third
consecutive top-five finish and the fourth consecutive top-10 at Atlanta. The team took
the lead on lap 186, and held the point position for 23 laps. After four races, the team
has now led three races and is tied with Labonte for the most bonus points awarded this
season. Since leaving the Rockingham race in 38th position in points, the team has gained
28 positions after a second place at Las Vegas and a third place this afternoon.
The Key Moments: After a harrowing qualifying attempt on Friday, Dale Jr.
and the red No. 8 started near the back of the field, but were able to slice through much
of the pack in tandem with Jeff Gordon. Race day started on a sour note, as the team was
unable to hear Dale Jr. on the radio. A faulty switch was the culprit, but Dale Jr. was
able to get the switch working 50 laps into the race. (The team wired a completely new
radio system, including a back-up helmet for Dale Jr., but did not need to put it into
place.) After grabbing a top-10 spot in less than 40 laps of racing, it took another 25
laps to climb into the top-five. The team took the lead on lap 186 when they opted not to
make a pit stop while much of the field pulled in for service, and held the front spot
until the team made a stop on lap 209. For the final 100 laps, Earnhardt Jr. battled back
and forth with Labonte, Gordon, points leader Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart, who finished
in top five.
 Dale Jr’s
Quotes: About being third while Gordon and Labonte were battling side-by-side
with less than 15 laps to go: “I’ll tell ya, Bobby Labonte has some nerve. He
made some good moves. They were racing hard, and I was hoping they’d race
side-by-side some more so I could get up there with them, but I’m not sure we had
anything for those two guys. Bobby was fast all day, and because of the aerodynamics of
these cars, once they (Labonte and Gordon) were out in front, you couldn’t do much
with ‘em. It was all about who could get off pit lane first. I wasn’t sure I
could get past Matt (Kenseth) on the restart (with 15 laps to go), but I somehow got
around him and then just hung on for third. The lapped cars were vicious (on the
restarts). I thought we were all gonna wreck on few of the restarts.”
About starting so far back: “I wasn’t very confident in our
set-up before the race started. It just felt awkward. We tried some new things (Friday)
and they didn’t work. With the new (Monte Carlo) body style, none of our old set-ups
worked, so we kind of went from one extreme to another. We made the car better and better
yesterday (during the final practice session), and Tony Jr. (Eury, car chief) insisted we
were gonna be good. I was convinced that I was gonna drive down into turn one on the first
lap and spin out. My butt was feeling pretty confident after two laps, but took another
lap or so for it to register in my brain… It felt good on the first lap and it was
damn fast all day. We were passing people left and right, and Jeff (Gordon) and I moved up
together from the back to the front. This is such a fun track – you can race so hard
side-by-side and choose the groove where your car is working. Near the end of the race, if
I hit my marks in turn three, I could really get through three & four great, but if I
missed my mark, it’d just plow.”
Best Radio Conversations
After spending the first 50 laps in silence due to a faulty radio switch, Dale Jr.
made up for the delay by talking almost non-stop during the first yellow flag period of
the day beginning on lap 133. With a very fast car, his confidence and sense of humor is
evident…
Dale Jr: “I hate the change you made to my (drinking) water (inside
the car). I hate this bag of water. Wherever it is inside this car, it’s not anywhere
cool…”
Eury Jr. (car chief): “10-4. We changed it on ya, but we’ll
change it back to your thermos for ya next time.”
Dale Jr (half teasing): “Yeah, no one consulted me on this change.
I’m the boss in here and I didn’t approve any change. Lemme tell ya, Pops (Tony
Eury, crew chief) told me way back in the Busch Series days that if I could touch it, I
was in charge of it and if it’s wrong, it’s my fault. So, I’m sayin’
it sucks and we’re changing back.”
Tony Jr: “10-4. We’ll put it back.”
Dale Jr. (still irritated): “I can’t get anything out of it
without chewing through the tube…”
Ty Norris (spotter, joking): “Junior, I think Pops meant that you
should stop bitchin’ about the things you can’t control…”
Dale Jr: “He said if it was something in the car that I could touch
– my seat belts or whatever – that I was in charge of it, and I was the boss. I
figure I’m in the right here and crew member X is in the wrong.”
Norris (perhaps trying to change the subject): “OK, on this restart,
look for (teammate) Steve (Park). He’s a lap down but he can hang with the leaders on
the restarts.”
Dale Jr: “Ty – what the hell does that have to do with with me
or this Bud red team?”
Norris: “I was just tellin’ ya what I saw…”
Dale Jr: (now just playin’ only for laughs): “Well then you
need to join the fan club… (long silence) Y’all gotta admit that was a good one.
I was just tryin’ to give y’all something to laugh about there…”
When the yellow flag flew again on lap 145, Dale Jr. asked how many laps were
left…
Dale Jr.: “What!? How many? I thought this was like 267 laps or
something… I wish that this race was over with and we could get us some good points.
I mean, damn, I wanna win bad, but I’m sittin’ here thinkin’
‘third… third… third… that’s a good points day.’ I wanna
win, but that 18 car (B. Labonte) is gone… gone!”
During the last yellow flag of the day… Dale Jr. can’t resist another joke
about the water bottle in the car…
Dale Jr: “OK, I’m goin’ for it. If we win, we win. But, if
we don’t, I’m ridin’ back to airport with you guys…”
Tony Jr: “Just for the record, we’re not pitting
here…”
Dale Jr.: “Hey! How ‘bout something nice to drink at the end of
this race? I’ve been drinkin’ this warm water that’s worse than toilet
water… (pause for comedic effect)… I’d like something fruity and nice…
something cold… In fact, anything would be better than this (stuff).”
Today’s Stats
Started: 37th
Finished: 3rd
Points Position: 10th
Money Won: $113,917
Laps Led: One time for 23 laps
Best Pit Stop: Lap 269 / Stop #6 of 7 / 4 tires, Fuel / 13.52 seconds
Three Doors Down… Dale Jr. will tape an appearance this week in a
music video with the band Three Doors Down… Dale Jr. was featured last year in the
video “Steve McQueen” with Sheryl Crow.
Fast Drive-Through: The Budweiser No. 8 team won Round 3 of the
“McDonald’s Drive-Thru Pit Championship” last Sunday at the Las Vegas 400.
Earnhardt spent 225 seconds in the pits, edging his Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael
Waltrip by 12 seconds. The victory was worth $20,000 to the Bud team. The season-ending
top prize is $200,000.
Hot Hot Hot: Since the second race at Bristol last season, the Bud team
has recorded eight top-five finishes in the last 17 races.
-Budweiser
Jr. will line up 37th at
Atlanta
3/7/03 - Bud Pole
Qualifying was all a matter of perspective for Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Friday.
Earnhardt could have lamented having to use a provisional for Sunday's Bass Pro Shops MBNA
500 after turning the slowest time of the 44 cars that took the green flag. But after
nearly losing control of his No. 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo on the first of his two
qualifying laps, Junior was happy just to be back in the garage area.
 3/7 - Junior's wild ride leaves him starting 37th
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Atlanta Preview_3/4/03
Dale Jr. Quotes for Atlanta
“I really want to get a win at Atlanta. We've come so close. I don't know how many
times we've run second or been in second place there with a few laps to go. Hopefully, one
day we'll win a race there. Daddy used to win there all the time... and they’d give
the Ski Nautiques (boats and water crafts) for winning. I hope they still do…
That’d be cool.
“I like Atlanta. We always qualify well and race well there. (Dale Jr. has a Bud Pole
and has led five of his seven career Winston Cup starts at Atlanta.) It's a fun, fun
racetrack because you can run three-wide and move around. Your car can work on the bottom,
but it can run just as good up top, so you've really got an opportunity to do some racing
there. I hope they don't ever cut back on the schedule for that track because it's a lot
of fun."
“The Las Vegas race is a relief actually. The media and a lot of other people made a
big deal about our points position after the first two races, but no one in a Bud uniform
panicked. We know what kind of a team we are, and we know that second place is a finish
that shows what we’re capable of doing week after week. We’re seven positions
better right now (18th place in points, versus 25th after Vegas in 2002) than we were at
this time last year, so it’s pointed the right direction.”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Atlanta
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 7
Best Start: 1st (Bud Pole, November, 2001)
Best Finish: 2nd (March, 2002)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 3rd
FIN: 2nd
Led: Five times for 38 laps
The No. 8 team had two top-five finishes at Atlanta in 2002, beginning with a second-place
tally at this event. (They also recorded a pair of top-five finishes in 2002 at the
following tracks: Talladega, Martinsville and Darlington) The Bud team led the race five
times for 38 laps, as Dale Jr. dueled with Tony Stewart for the victory.
The team has been in contention for victory at Atlanta numerous times, but have fallen
victim to bizarre circumstances. In March 2001, with less than five laps to go, Dale Jr.
had clearly the fastest car, and was racing three-wide to take the lead when a tire blew
and sent him to pit lane. In the final race of the 2001, Dale Jr. dominated, leading 171
laps after starting on the Bud Pole, but fell to seventh place in the final laps when a
metal piece of debris became lodged in his eye. The Bud team also led easily in the spring
race in 2000, until a piece of equipment mounted to the car for television telemetry
rubbed through a rear brake line, sending Dale Jr. into the wall. In 1999, Dale Jr. led
his first lap in a Winston Cup race at Atlanta.
What:
MBNA Bass Pro Shops 500
325 laps / 500 miles / Race #4 of 36 in the Winston Cup Series
Where:
Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA
1.5-mile speedway
When:
Sunday, March 9 / 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 from all of the Bruton Smith-owned tracks (Charlotte, Texas,
Sears Point, Atlanta, Bristol, Las Vegas) on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) on a
radio station or computer near you.
Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying can be heard live Friday at 3:00 p.m. on PRN affiliates across the
nation. It can be seen on a tape-delayed basis that evening at 8 pm on FX.
(All Times: Eastern)-Budweiser |
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