2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup began on Saturday February 8 and ended on Sunday November 16. Matt Kenseth with Roush Racing driving a Ford was crowned the Winston Cup champion, despite winning only one race all year.

This was the last year in which Winston was the title sponsor of the Cup series. After it decided not to renew its sponsorship, NASCAR decided on the telecommunications firm Nextel to be the title sponsor of the new series.

In addition, NASCAR instituted a new points system after this season entitled the Chase for the Cup, in which after 26 races, all the points standings in the top ten as well as any position within 400 points of the lead, would be reset, so the drivers in those positions would be eligible for the championship. This was done primarily because of the huge lead Kenseth accumulated during 2003 despite winning one race.

2003 Team Chart

List of full time teams of 2003.

Did not Qualify: #0-Jason Leffler, #4-Kevin Lepage, #30-Steve Park, #45-Kyle Petty, #80-Mike Bliss, #54-Todd Bodine

Banquet 400

The Banquet 400 was held at Kansas Speedway on October 5, 2003. Jimmie Johnson sat on the pole.

# Ryan Newman
# Bill Elliott
# Jeremy Mayfield
# Tony Stewart
# Jeff Gordon
# Kevin Harvick
# Jimmie Johnson
# Jamie McMurray
# Rusty Wallace
# Ricky Rudd

Failed to qualify: Larry Foyt (#14), Johnny Sauter (#4)

UAW-GM Quality 500

The UAW-GM Quality 500 was held at Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 11, 2003. Ryan Newman sat on the pole.

# Tony Stewart
# Ryan Newman
# Jimmie Johnson
# Bill Elliott
# Jeff Gordon
# Bobby Labonte
# Jamie McMurray
# Matt Kenseth
# Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
# Kevin Harvick

Failed to qualify: Ken Schrader (#49), Hermie Sadler (#02), Mark Green (#14), Jeff Fultz (#55)

Subway 500

The Subway 500 was held at Martinsville Speedway on October 19, 2003. Jeff Gordon sat on the pole.

# Jeff Gordon
# Jimmie Johnson
# Tony Stewart
# Dale Earnhardt Jr.
# Ryan Newman
# Terry Labonte
# Kevin Harvick
# Jamie McMurray
# Bill Elliott
# Jeff Burton

Failed to qualify: Mark Green (#14), Morgan Shepherd (#89)

Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500

The Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 26-October 27, 2003. Ryan Newman sat on the pole. The race was a two-day event, as it started on Sunday but 39 laps into the race, the race was postponed till Monday.

# Jeff Gordon
# Tony Stewart
# Jimmie Johnson
# Bill Elliott
# Bobby Labonte
# Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
# Jeremy Mayfield
# Kurt Busch
# Jimmy Spencer
# Joe Nemechek

Failed to qualify: Jeff Green (#43), Buckshot Jones (#00), Larry Foyt (#14), Mike Wallace (#09), Billy Bigley (#79), Shelby Howard (#27)

Checker Auto Parts 500

The Checker Auto Parts 500 was held Phoenix International Raceway on November 2, 2003. Ryan Newman sat on the pole.

# Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
# Jimmie Johnson
# Ryan Newman
# Kurt Busch
# Michael Waltrip
# Matt Kenseth
# Jeff Gordon
# Jeff Burton
# Scott Wimmer
# Mark Martin

Failed to qualify: Derrike Cope (#37), Brandon Ash (#02)

Pop-Secret Microwave Popcorn 400

The Pop-Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 was held at North Carolina Speedway on November 9, 2003. This was the last fall race held at Rockingham. Ryan Newman sat on the pole.

# Bill Elliott
# Jimmie Johnson
# Jeremy Mayfield
# Matt Kenseth
# Ryan Newman
# Tony Raines
# Jeff Burton
# Bobby Labonte
# Tony Stewart
# Sterling Marlin

Failed to qualify: Hermie Sadler (#02), Tim Sauter (#71), Rich Bickle (#79)

Ford 400

The Ford 400, the final race of the season, and the last Winston Cup race ever, was held at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, 2003. Jamie McMurray sat on the pole.

# Bobby Labonte
# Kevin Harvick
# Jimmie Johnson
# Johnny Benson
# Jeff Gordon
# Jeremy Mayfield
# Tony Stewart
# Bill Elliott
# Jamie McMurray
# Sterling Marlin

Failed to qualify: Ken Schrader (#49), Kyle Petty (#45), Mike Wallace (#09), Derrike Cope (#37), Rich Bickle (#79)

Final Points Standings

# Matt Kenseth - 5022
# Jimmie Johnson - 4932
# Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 4815
# Jeff Gordon - 4785
# Kevin Harvick - 4770
# Ryan Newman - 4711
# Tony Stewart - 4549
# Bobby Labonte - 4377
# Bill Elliott - 4303
# Terry Labonte - 4162
# Kurt Busch - 4150
# Jeff Burton - 4109
# Jamie McMurray - 3965
# Rusty Wallace - 3950
# Michael Waltrip - 3934
# Robby Gordon - 3856
# Mark Martin - 3769
# Sterling Marlin - 3745
# Jeremy Mayfield - 3736
# Greg Biffle - 3696
# Ward Burton - 3550
# Elliott Sadler - 3525
# Ricky Rudd - 3521
# Johnny Benson - 3448
# Joe Nemechek - 3426
# Dale Jarrett - 1664
# Ricky Craven - 1688
# Dave Blaney - 1828
# Jimmy Spencer - 1875
# Kenny Wallace - 1961
# Todd Bodine - 2046
# Steve Park - 2099
# Tony Raines - 2250
# Jeff Green - 2366
# Casey Mears - 2384
# Ken Schrader - 2571
# Kyle Petty - 2608
# John Andretti - 2643
# Mike Skinner - 3062
# Jack Sprague - 3738
# Larry Foyt - 3794
# Mike Wallace - 3833
# Kevin Lepage - 4145

All information in this article is from [http://www.racing-reference.info/raceyear?yr=2003&series=W Racing Reference]

Rookie of the Year

The easy favorite for Rookie of the Year heading was Jamie McMurray, who had won the previous year in just his second start, and he did not disappoint, posting thirteen top-tens and a pole position despite not winning again. Runner-up Greg Biffle finished in the top-25 in the first two races, failed to qualify at Las Vegas, then won the Pepsi 400, while Tony Raines posted just one top ten finish in BACE Motorsports' only full season in Winston Cup. Casey Mears couldn't finish higher than 15th in his debut season, but has gone on since to garner sixteen top-tens. Former Craftsman Truck Series champion Jack Sprague only lasted eighteen races before being released from his #0 ride, while Larry Foyt's best finish in 20 starts was a sixteenth at the season ending race at Homestead. The only other declared candidate, Hideo Fukuyama, dropped out early due to a lack of funding from his BelCar Racing team.

References