2003 Daytona 500

45th iteration of Daytona 500 February 2025 April 2026April 2026 NASWINSTON 2003 2 16 2003 1 36 2003_Daytona_500_logo.png 2003 Daytona 500 logo Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida 2.5 4.02336 109 272.5 438.546 200 500 804.672 Warm with temperatures reaching up to 81 F C; wind speeds approaching 22.9 mph km/hhttp://www.almanac.com/weather/history/FL/Daytona%20Beach/2003-02-16 Weather of the 2003 Daytona 500 The Old Farmers' Almanac 2013-06-19 133.870 mi/h 200,000 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Inc. Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt Inc. 68 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt Inc. Fox Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds 9.8/21(16.8 million average viewers) The 2003 Daytona 500, the 45th running of the event, was the first race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup season, having been held on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. 2000 NASCAR Busch Series champion Jeff Green won his second career Winston Cup pole. Prior to the race, the drivers paid tribute by having decals on their cars in honor of the astronauts who were killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster two weeks earlier, similar to the 1986 Daytona 500, in which they paid tribute to the fallen crew members of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In addition, the Pledge of Allegiance and pre-race opening invocation given by the Reverend Hal Marchman, in his next-to-last running of the event before his retirement and subsequent death, were recited. Grammy Award-winning artist Mariah Carey then performed the national anthem. The race ended after 109 laps when rain had begun pouring on the track. Michael Waltrip won the race for the second time in three years, giving him his third NASCAR Winston Cup win; all of his wins to that point had been in races held at Daytona. It was the first of Waltrip's two wins in 2003, both coming in restrictor plate races (he later won the EA Sports 500 at Talladega in October for his fourth and last Cup win). For the first time since 1966, the race was stopped due to rain; at 272.5 miles, it had been the shortest Daytona 500 ever. During lap 58 into the race, Ryan Newman had an accident in the tri-oval, where his No. 12 Dodge tumbled end-over-end onto the track's infield grass, but he was not injured in the crash. This is the first Daytona 500 event that respected Winston Cup veteran Dave Marcis did not attempt since 1967, a whole season before he had started driving. Race summary The green flag came nearly half an hour earlier than planned, due to the impending rain showers which officials feared would lead to the race having to be completed on another day. Jeff Green was out in front at the start of the race, but he was quickly passed by Michael Waltrip who led the first 34 laps. On lap 42, the race's first caution came out after Bobby Labonte spun out entering the backstretch. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead from Tony Stewart as the field raced back to the caution. The first round of green flag pit stops came on lap 50. On lap 58 Ryan Newman was running in the Top 15, but defending Daytona 500 champion Ward Burton hit Ken Schrader and both he and Newman hit the wall. The rear tire fixture underneath Newman's car detached from the car as he went sliding into the infield grass, and the No.12 went airborne and when it landed, its right-rear wheel dug into the dirt, causing Newman to flip several times before landing on its roof. Most of the car came apart in the infield, but Newman was uninjured and was able to walk away from the crash. Following Newman's flip, there were six caution laps, during which a light rain began to fall, so the race was red-flagged when the rain became heavier. Following a rain delay which lasted over an hour, the race restarted with Michael Waltrip back in front. The race remained under the green flag until lap 95, when Jeff Green and Jimmy Spencer collided entering turn 4, bringing out a third caution. Spencer ended up hitting the frontstretch retaining wall and coming to rest just past the start-finish line. Spencer had a very similar crash in the 2000 race. A caution came on lap 103 for debris, and then Ward Burton hit the turn 4 wall on lap 106, bringing out another. There were three yellow flag laps after Burton's crash, and the race was once red-flagged again due to more rain. Although it briefly looked as if the race would get back underway, the race was eventually called off due to the forecast of more rain and Michael Waltrip was declared as the winner. It was his third career Winston Cup win both overall and at Daytona, and his second career Daytona 500 win. Coincidentally, Waltrip's first three wins came in the first three Daytona races broadcast by Fox. This was the third Daytona 500 to have been shortened by rain, following the races held in 1965 and 1966. At 272.5 miles and 109 laps, this race was also the shortest Daytona 500 ever, only eight laps more than the minimum required for an official race (101 laps). Results W = Past winner of the Daytona 500; R = Daytona 500/NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie Pos Grid Car No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Laps Led Status 1 4 15 Michael Waltrip (W) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 109 68 Running 2 36 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 109 0 Running 3 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 109 8 Running 4 31 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 109 0 Running 5 26 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 109 0 Running 6 3 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 109 0 Running 7 8 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 109 6 Running 8 20 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 109 0 Running 9 18 09 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Dodge 109 0 Running 10 11 88 Dale Jarrett (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 109 0 Running 11 9 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 109 0 Running 12 13 24 Jeff Gordon (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 109 0 Running 13 30 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 109 0 Running 14 24 0 Jack Sprague (R) Haas CNC Racing Pontiac 109 0 Running 15 5 21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 109 0 Running 16 21 23 Kenny Wallace Bill Davis Racing Dodge 109 0 Running 17 7 40 Sterling Marlin (W) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 109 0 Running 18 6 54 Todd Bodine BelCar Motorsports Ford 109 1 Running 19 40 10 Johnny Benson MBV Motorsports Pontiac 109 0 Running 20 35 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 109 2 Running 21 27 16 Greg Biffle (R) Roush Racing Ford 109 0 Running 22 15 25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 109 0 Running 23 16 38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford 109 0 Running 24 39 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 109 0 Running 25 38 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Dodge 109 0 Running 26 25 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Pontiac 109 1 Running 27 29 41 Casey Mears (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 109 1 Running 28 42 01 Jerry Nadeau MBV Motorsports Pontiac 109 0 Running 29 32 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 109 0 Running 30 41 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 109 0 Running 31 19 42 Jamie McMurray (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 109 0 Running 32 14 9 Bill Elliott (W) Evernham Motorsports Dodge 109 0 Running 33 33 74 Tony Raines (R) BACE Motorsports Chevrolet 109 0 Running 34 12 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 108 0 Flagged 35 34 33 Christian Fittipaldi (R) Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 108 0 Flagged 36 2 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 108 22 Flagged 37 43 4 Mike Skinner Morgan-McClure Motorsports Pontiac 108 0 Flagged 38 17 22 Ward Burton (W) Bill Davis Racing Dodge 105 0 Accident 39 1 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 94 0 Accident 40 23 7 Jimmy Spencer Ultra Motorsports Dodge 94 0 Accident 41 22 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 81 0 Flagged 42 28 49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge 57 0 Accident 43 37 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Dodge 56 0 AccidentFailed to Qualify 14 Larry Foyt (R) A. J. Foyt Racing Dodge 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 02 Hermie Sadler (R) SCORE Motorsports Pontiac 60 David Green (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 Kirk Shelmerdine (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 37 Derrike Cope (W) Qwest Motor Racing Chevrolet 78 Mike Harmon (R) BC Motorsports Chevrolet Source:2003 Daytona 500 - Racing-Reference.info http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2003_Daytona_500/W https://archive.today/20120909031338/http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1996_Daytona_500/W 2012-09-09 live 2013-06-15 Withdrew: No. 84 – Norm Benning. References Winston Cup Series 2003 2003 Gatorade 125s (exhibition) 2002 Ford 400 (points) 2003 Subway 400 Daytona 500 Daytona 500 Category:NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway Category:February 2003 sports events in the United States