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2003 Season
2003 Tropicana 400
| Race Information |
| Event: Tropicana 400 |
| Date: July 13, 2003 |
Track: Chicagoland Speedway |
| Qualified: 16th |
Finished: 38th |
| Status: Accident |
Laps Completed:
206 of 267 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
2nd/3rd |
Points
Earned: 49 (w/ 0 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $-- |
Summary and Related News |
Newman takes Chicago victory,
Dale Jr. uninjured in crash_7/13/03
No. 8 Budweiser Team Fast, But Crash Ends Afternoon
Ryan Newman scored win number three for 2003, as he won Sunday’s Tropicana 400 at
Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. Tony Stewart was second and Jimmie Johnson was third.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was uninjured in a single-car crash on lap 206 (of 267), and the
Budweiser team finished the day in the garage with a 38th place finish. The finish drops
Dale Jr. one position in the Winston Cup points standings, as he is now third behind Matt
Kenseth and Jeff Gordon at the season's halfway point (18 of 36 races).
 The Key Moments:
The Budweiser team started the afternoon from the 16th position, and gradually improved
their spot in the field with a fast car and saavy pit strategy. Dale Jr. climbed into the
top-10 by lap 20, turning laps consistently quicker than the rest of the field. A two-tire
pit stop on lap 83 launched them into the fourth position, but their good fortune began to
wane when the Budweiser car was hit by a chunk of metal from the No. 4 car of Johnny
Sauter. Sauter’s car deposited an array of debris on the track when the right rear
tire exploded. The corresponding pit stop for repairs to the nose of the car dropped Dale
Jr. to 18th position. The team again utilized an aggressive pit strategy to get back into
the top 10, then made what was scheduled to be their final pit stop of the day on lap 198,
but the changes to the car were not what the doctor (or the chassis) ordered. Dale Jr.
dropped to 14th place with a loose handling racecar before spinning and hitting the wall
in turn two with the rear of the Bud car on lap 206.
 Dale Jr’s
Quotes: “I’m OK. No problem there. The car was just too loose. I about
crashed in every corner after that last stop, and I couldn’t hang on. Whooo – I
was outta control. It just spun around. The car had been tight, and we really loosened it
up there. Maybe too much, I guess. That’s how it goes. You know, I’m not worried
about the points or anything, because we were fast again today and we’re still having
our best season ever. It happens, and ya can’t worry about it. I’m still really
optimistic about the year we’re having.”
Best Radio Conversations
Dale Jr. was among the quickest cars on the track throughout the first 200 laps of the
race, but suffered from a stray list of incidents and problems, starting with a severe
vibration that began before the team made the first pit stop of the day on lap 63.
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief): “You were right about that vibration. The
left rear tire had several lug nuts that were loose. It didn’t hurt the studs or
anything, so ya should be good to go…”
Dale Jr: (jokingly): “Sabotage! You boys better be watching this car
every morning before the race!… I was pretty good there by myself. I could run as
fast as anybody, but track position is HUGE here- you wouldn’t believe it. I tried
running the high line and about busted my (butt), but I think we might be able to use that
line to our advantage later on…”
 After running over
debris from the Sauter car on lap 106.
Dale Jr: “We ran over something! I have a flat tire and a big piece
of metal went under the car.”
Tony Jr. (after the pit stop for repairs): “You were right, I think
the right front tire had a hole in it. And we fixed the valance (on the nose of the car).
You would NOT have liked it if we hadn’t fixed that. The boys got ya fixed up.”
Understatement of the day…
Dale Jr. (one lap before his crash on lap 206): “You guys sure
loosened her up, I’ll tell ya that!”
Today’s Stats
Started: 16th
Finished: 38th
Points Position: 3rd (lost one position)
Best Pit Stop: Lap 198 / Stop # 6 of 6 / Fuel, four tires / 13.98 seconds
 Best Celeb
Visitors: Members of the Atlanta Braves visited the Budweiser pit area, including
Chipper Jones and Terry Pendelton.
Hey Now, You’re an All-Star: Dale Jr. will make his third
consecutive appearance at festivities leading up to the Major League Baseball All-Star
game in Chicago. Dale Jr. will take batting practice at US Cellular Field Monday morning
before making appearances at FanFest and the Home Run Derby Monday afternoon. Budweiser is
the official beer of Major League Baseball.
Want music? Films? Fun? Budweiser? Get it all at www.Budweiser.com. True.
-Budweiser
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Tropicana 400 Preview_7/7/03
Dale Jr. Quotes for Chicago
“We’re back with another special paint scheme for Budweiser and Major League
Baseball for the MLB All-Star game. This is our third year doing the special All-Star car
and I know the fans love the special paint schemes, so it makes me excited as well. I
think the car looks beautiful. We won at Daytona (in 2001) with a baseball paint-scheme,
so maybe we can do it again this weekend. I always like getting to go hang with the
baseball boys for a day. I’ll be out there Monday for the cool stuff. That’s
always a lot of fun, and they even let me take batting practice...
“The Bud car was great here (at Chicagoland) last year (leading four times for 81
laps). We ended up taking four tires on our last stop and it put us so far back in the
field that I could only move up a few spots before the laps ran out. When we were in
front, we were able to pull away easily – a few tenths (of a second) each lap. We
were gone, so long! But, the aero-push (aerodynamic push) in traffic was awful. We had a
great car, but restarting back in the pack with lapped cars kills ya. We’ve been
great all this year with track position – making the right decisions on pit lane, and
staying at or near the front of the pack, so we’ll have to try and do that again
Sunday.
“It’s hard to be too disappointed about Daytona. We ran strong and had a shot to
win, but there were no yellows in the last half of the race, so it caught us out. We had
the right strategy at the time, because the guys that came in for the splash of fuel were
at the back of the pack. They had nothing to lose. We were leading, and didn’t want
to give up that position for a splash at that point in the night. Overall, my guys gave me
a car that was strong like it always is, so we’ll clean it up, hose it down and get
it ready for Talladega.
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Chicago
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 2
Best Start: 9th (2002)
Best Finish: 10th (2002)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 9th / FIN: 10th / Led: 81 laps
What:
Tropicana 400
267 laps / 400 miles / Race #18 of 36-race Winston Cup Series
Where:
Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, IL
1.5-mile speedway
When:
Saturday, July 13 / 3:00 p.m.
Watch:
NBC-TV (pre-race: 2:30 pm)
Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying can be seen Friday at 4:00 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)
"Sports do not build character, they reveal it..." John Wooden, college
basketball legend
-Budweiser |
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