2003_Pontiac_Excitement_400

2003 Pontiac Excitement 400

2003 Pontiac Excitement 400

11th race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 2003 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the 11th stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 49th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, May 3, 2003, before a crowd of 110,000 in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race was shortened from its scheduled 400 laps to 393 due to rain cutting the race short. At race's end, Joe Nemechek, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would rally from the mid-pack and eventually win his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first and only win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing and Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would finish second and third, respectively.

Quick Facts Race details, Date ...

MB2 Motorsports driver Jerry Nadeau would suffer career-ending injuries in the second practice session of the race.[2]

Background

Entry list

  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
More information #, Driver ...

*Driver changed to Jason Keller after Nadeau crashed in second practice, leaving Nadeau critically injured and effectively ending Nadeau's racing career.[2][3][4]

**Withdrew after crashing in first practice.[5]

Practice

First practice

The first practice session was held on Friday, May 2, at 11:20 AM EST, and would last for two hours.[5] Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.230 and an average speed of 127.178 miles per hour (204.673 km/h).[6]

More information Pos., # ...

Second practice

The second practice session was held on Friday, May 2, at 4:45 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[5] Jeff Burton of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.640 and an average speed of 124.769 miles per hour (200.796 km/h).[7]

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Third and final practice

The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, May 2, at 6:10 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[5] Jeff Burton of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.640 and an average speed of 124.769 miles per hour (200.796 km/h).[8]

More information Pos., # ...

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, May 2, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[5] Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[9]

Terry Labonte of Hendrick Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 21.342 and an average speed of 126.511 miles per hour (203.600 km/h).[10]

Two drivers would fail to qualify: Derrike Cope and Hermie Sadler.

Full qualifying results

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Race results

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References

  1. [1]
    Minter, Rick (2003-05-04). "A slick win for Nemechek". The Atlanta Constitution. pp. D16 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. [2]
    Smith, Marty (October 25, 2012). "Nadeau: 'It's almost like I lost my life'". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  3. [3]
    Lew Freedman (2013). Encyclopedia of Stock Car Racing. ABC-CLIO. p. 529. ISBN 978-0-313-38710-4.
  4. [4]
    "Nadeau's condition improves". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. May 6, 2003. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Richmond 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  6. [6]
    "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Richmond 1 Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  7. [7]
    "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Richmond 1 Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  8. [8]
    "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Richmond 1 Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  9. [9]
    "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Provisional Land Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  10. [10]
    "Labonte takes top spot at Richmond". www.espn.com. 2003-05-02. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  11. [11]
    "2003 Pontiac Excitement 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
Previous race:
2003 Auto Club 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2003 season		 Next race:
2003 Coca-Cola 600
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