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2003 Season
2003 Pocono 500
| Race Information |
| Event: Pocono 500 |
| Date: June 8, 2003 |
Track: Pocono Raceway |
| Qualified: 5th |
Finished: 4th |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
200 of 200 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
2nd/2nd |
Points
Earned: 165 (w/ 5 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $116,272 |
Summary and Related News |
Tony Stewart wins at Pocono, Dale Jr.
fourth_6/8/03
No. 8 Budweiser Team Record Seventh Top-Five of Season
Tony Stewart, the 2002 Winston Cup champion, grabbed his first victory of the season
Sunday, taking the win at the Pocono 500. Stewart crossed the finish line ahead of Mark
Martin in second and Matt Kenseth in third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser
team finished fourth, their seventh top-5 tally of the season after 14 races. Dale Jr. led
the race three times for 22 laps, and remains in second place in the Winston Cup point
standings behind Kenseth. The team has finished in the top-10 in all but five races so far
this season, and have led 10 of the 14 races. This is the seventh consecutive week that
Dale Jr. and the Budweiser team have been in the second position in Winston Cup points.
The Key Moments: The No. 8 Budweiser team qualified fifth for Sunday’s
race, their best starting positions in seven starts at Pocono. The red Bud car steadily
climbed toward the front, taking the lead on lap 31 (of 200 laps), then leading by an
ever-increasing margin until making a pit stop on lap 47. The team chose to return to pit
lane again on lap 54 during a caution-period to change two right-side tires when Dale Jr.
complained of an ill-handling set of tires (“they just feel… weird.”). The
additional stop dropped them to 12th position at the restart on lap 61. It took less than
15 laps for Dale Jr. to slice through his way into second place before the next set of pit
stops. After being consistently the quickest car on the track during the first 125 laps,
Dale Jr. struggled with the car for the final 75 laps, but stayed among the top-10
positions before taking the lead again on lap 178 until making a final pit stop on lap
180. The race ended under the caution flag after a hard crash by Dale Earnhardt Inc.
teammate Jeff Green. Green was uninjured.
 Dale Jr’s
Quotes: “I’ll tell ya, that’s a good finish. We’re getting
there, and I’m proud of the team. A top-five is always something we strive for, but
we brought a brand-new car, and it responded well. We didn’t have many practice laps
(due to heavy rains on Saturday), but I felt like we had the best car out there for the
first half of the race. We have struggled here before, but we had a fast car all weekend,
especially after we took only two tires on a couple of stops. I’m happy with that
– fourth place… You always want to win, and we would have liked to have finished
ahead of Matt (Kenseth, Winston Cup point leader), but we gained points on a lot of guys
that are behind us in the point standings, so that’s a positive result.”
Best Radio Conversations
The race was marked by a series of long green-flag segments, which reduced the volume
of banter between Dale Jr. and the team. However, several yellow-flags late in the race
allowed for some lively debate about strategy and adjustments to the car.
Under a yellow flag on lap 153.
Dale Jr: “I feel like the car is OK, but it’s just a little too
tight.”
Tony Eury Jr (car chief): “Nah, we lost a few tenths (of a second
per lap) from some of those changes. We aren’t as quick as we were.”
Dale Jr.: “I guess it’s too late to undo everything… I
thought we were OK, but if I need to drive this thing sideways, I’ll do it.”
When a yellow flag flew with seven laps remaining, the team briefly considered a quick
stop for tires for the final run to the checkered flag.
Dale Jr: “How many on the lead lap? I could use some tires… I
ain’t sayin’ I can win, but I just don’t feel like I’m fast enough to
hold off that 12 car (Ryan Newman) or the 40 (Sterling Marlin). They were coming fast, and
there was nothing I could do about it.”
Tony Jr: “Not enough laps to make it up if we stop…”
Tony Eury Sr. (crew chief): “Alright now – let’s all think
positive here. Somedays we have a car that can win, and some days we’re gonna have a
tenth-place car. Let’s get what we can – we’re gonna race the hell outta
them boys and wherever we end up is gonna be alright. So let’s think positive
here…”
Today’s Stats
Started: 5th
Finished: 4th
Points Position: 2nd
Led: Three times for 22 laps.
Best Pit Stop: Lap 154 / Stop #6 of 7 / Fuel, four tires / 14.05 seconds
-Budweiser
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Pocono 500 Preview_6/2/03
Dale Jr. Quotes for Pocono
“Pocono was a track that was brand new to all of us on the team when we started in
Winston Cup. It’s a weird, unique place, and it’s tough to get comfortable as a
driver and for a team to find a fast and consistent set-up. If there has been a trend at
Pocono, it seems like things happen here early in the race, where we fall back and then
make our way back to the front. Everytime I leave this place, I’m tired and sore
because I feel like I’ve passed 1000 cars. This week, maybe we’ll pass that many
while we’re lapping them from the front of the field, rather than passing them to
catch up.
“I wasn’t happy with 11th this week (at Dover), but I was proud that we started
at the back and were able to move up like we did. No one on the team was panicked when we
had to start at the back with a car that hadn’t turned a lap. We were confident that
we were going to be alright.”
“By far, the best moment for me at Pocono was racing Bobby Labonte so hard for the
win (at the July, 2001 race). I wish we would have won – but we were lucky to even
finish second because we ran out of fuel in the final turn. It was a great race, back and
forth with Bobby. That’s what is really fun – going as hard as you can and
racing with guys like him – drivers that you respect and that you know will race you
hard and clean. I was weaving and blocking and doing all I could to keep him behind me,
but he managed to get past me with two- or three-laps left. That kind of racing is great
for the fans, but it’s awesome from my seat too.”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Pocono
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 6
Best Start: 6th (June, 2001)
Best Finish: 2nd (July, 2001)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 14 / FIN: 12
(After running out of fuel, the Bud team recovered from one lap down to
finish 12th, gaining more than 10 positions in the final 30 laps.)
--- The Budweiser team have now been in the top-10 in points for 10 consecutive weeks, and
have been in the second position since winning the race at Talladega in early April.
What:
Pocono 500
200 laps / 500 miles / Race #14 of 36-race Winston Cup Series
Where:
Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA
2.5-mile scalene triangle
When:
Sunday, June 8 / 1:00 p.m.
Watch:
Fox-TV (pre-race: 12:30 pm)
Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying can be seen Friday at 3:00 p.m. on Speed Channel. You can also hear
qualifying and race action on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on a radio station or
computer near you. The radio programming is also heard on the 24-hour NASCAR channel on XM
Radio. (All Times: Eastern)
"The first quality of a commander-in-chief is a cool head to receive the correct
impression of things. He should not allow himself to be confused either by good or bad
news... "
- Napoleon Bonaparte, French general
-Budweiser |
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