2003 Ford 400
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 36 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Map of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gray dashed lines are other courses. Gray solid line is another pit road option. | |||
| Date | November 16, 2003 | ||
| Location | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida, United States | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.5 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 80.6 °F (27.0 °C); with wind speeds reaching up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 116.868 miles per hour (188.081 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | |
| Laps | 189 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., and Benny Parsons | ||
The 2003 Ford 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 16, 2003 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, United States. This was the last race ever under the "Winston Cup" name.
Summary
It took almost three and a half hours for Bobby Labonte to defeat Kevin Harvick by nearly 1.8 seconds in front of 75000 fans.[3] The race was dominated by Bill Elliott, who led 189 out of 267 laps, but he cut a tire on the next to last turn of the last lap while leading and finished 8th. NASCAR officials handed out ten cautions for 60 laps while 21 different changes in the lead position were made.[3] Matt Kenseth earned the last-place position on the 28th lap of this 267-lap racing event.[3] Drivers who failed to make the race were Ken Schrader, Kyle Petty, Mike Wallace, Derrike Cope, and Rich Bickle.[3] The race was plagued with oil issues and accidents, while debris caused only one caution throughout the race.[3] Despite Kenseth's last-place finish, he would go on to clinch the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship after this race.[3]
Jamie McMurray qualified for the pole position, driving at speeds up to 181.111 miles per hour (291.470 km/h), while the average speed for the actual race was 116.868 miles per hour (188.081 km/h).[3] This was Ron Hornaday Jr.'s last NASCAR Winston Cup Series race until Atlanta in 2015.
References
- ^ Weather information for the 2003 Ford 400 at The Old Farmers' Alamanac
- ^ 2003 Ford 400 NASCAR.com Official site of NASCAR
- ^ a b c d e f g 2003 Ford 400 racing information at Racing Reference
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