2003 Auto Club 500

2003 Auto Club 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 10 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Track map of the speedway at Auto Club Speedway AKA California Speedway
Date April 27, 2003 (2003-04-27)
Official name Auto Club 500
Location California Speedway, Fontana, California
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 2.0 miles (3.23 km)
Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 140.111 miles per hour (225.487 km/h)
Attendance 120,000
Pole position
Driver
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Most laps led
Driver Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 100
Winner
No. 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2003 Auto Club 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on April 27, 2003, at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 250 laps on the 2-mile (3.23 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the tenth race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Steve Park of DEI won the pole. Kurt Busch of Roush Racing won the race. This was also the last race for Jerry Nadeau. His career ended with an injury during practice at Richmond.

Background

The track, California Speedway, was a four-turn superspeedway that was 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[1] The track's turns were banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway was banked at three degrees.

Results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Laps led Status
1 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 250 27 Running
2 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 250 11 Running
3 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Dodge 250 54 Running
4 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 250 12 Running
5 42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 250 41 Running
6 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 250 0 Running
7 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 250 0 Running
8 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 250 0 Running
9 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 250 2 Running
10 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 250 0 Running
11 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 250 0 Running
12 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 250 0 Running
13 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 250 2 Running
14 01 Jerry Nadeau MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 250 0 Running
15 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Pontiac 250 1 Running
16 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 250 0 Running
17 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 249 0 Running
18 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 249 0 Running
19 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 249 0 Running
20 4 Mike Skinner Morgan–McClure Motorsports Pontiac 249 0 Running
21 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 249 0 Running
22 23 Kenny Wallace Bill Davis Racing Dodge 249 0 Running
23 38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford 249 0 Running
24 21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 249 0 Running
25 54 Todd Bodine BelCar Motorsports Ford 249 0 Running
26 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 249 0 Running
27 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 249 0 Running
28 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 249 0 Running
29 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 248 0 Running
30 49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge 248 0 Running
31 74 Tony Raines BACE Motorsports Chevrolet 248 0 Running
32 25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 248 0 Running
33 7 Jimmy Spencer Ultra Motorsports Dodge 247 0 Running
34 41 Casey Mears Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 247 0 Running
35 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 233 0 Crash
36 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 229 0 Crash
37 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 228 0 Crash
38 14 Larry Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dodge 226 0 Crash
39 0 Jack Sprague Haas CNC Racing Pontiac 199 0 Crash
40 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 138 0 Crash
41 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 128 100 Engine
42 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Dodge 34 0 Crash
43 37 Derrike Cope Quest Motor Racing Chevrolet 9 0 Engine
Source:[2]

Failed to qualify

Race statistics

  • Time of race: 3:34:07[2]
  • Average speed: 140.111 mph (225.487 km/h)[2]
  • Pole speed: 186.838 mph (300.687 km/h)[2]
  • Cautions: 8 for 34 laps[2]
  • Margin of victory: 2.294 seconds[2]
  • Lead changes: 19[2]
  • Percent of race run under caution: 13.6%[2]
  • Average green flag run: 24 Laps[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Auto Club Speedway Track Facts". Auto Club Speedway. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "2003 Auto Club 500". racing-reference.info. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2025.


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