2003 Aaron's 499
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2003 Aaron's 499
The 2003 Aaron's 499 was held on April 6, 2003, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It was the eighth race of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeremy Mayfield was the polesitter. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race, his first win of the season and fourth consecutive at Talladega, becoming the 8th different winner in the first 8 races, while Kevin Harvick finished second and Elliott Sadler finished third. This was also the fifth consecutive restrictor plate race win for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. stretching back to the previous year's spring Talladega race. There were six cautions, 16 different leaders, and 43 lead changes. The Big One did not take long, collecting 27 cars on the fourth lap — the largest crash in a Cup race in the modern era. Race Summary The "Big One" On lap 4, as the field entered turn 1, Ryan Newman (who already had a violent blowover at the rain shortened Daytona 500 in February) blew a tire and smashed hard into the turn 1 wall, a ...
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2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 55th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 32nd modern-era Cup Series season. The season began on February 8 at the Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout and ended on November 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 400. Despite only winning one race throughout the whole season, Matt Kenseth, driving the No.17 Ford for Roush Racing, was strongly consistent following the lone win, and was crowned the Winston Cup champion. His only win came in the third race of the 36 race season. Chevrolet took home the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship after capturing 19 wins and 264 points over second-place finisher Dodge, who had nine wins and 203 points. Ford finished the year third with seven wins and 200 points, and Pontiac finished fourth with one win and 125 points. This was the final year for Winston being the title sponsor of the Cup Series. Winston had been the title sponsor for NAS ...
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2003 Daytona 500
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 t ...
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Steve Park
Stephen Park (born August 23, 1967) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He won races in NASCAR's two top Northeast touring series ( Modified and K&N East) and all three national divisions (Truck, Busch, Cup Series). Park was born in East Northport, New York as the youngest of four sons. Park began racing not in an entry-level class, but in NASCAR Modifieds on Long Island of longtime National Modified Championship contender Bob Park. After establishing himself in weekly Modified racing at Riverhead Raceway, he advanced to the Featherlite Modified Series. He won several races and became a championship contender before moving on to the Busch Series. He won twice in NASCAR's highest division, but injuries derailed his Cup Series career. NASCAR career 1996–1997 Park was first hired by seven-time Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt in 1996. Initially, Park refused to return Dale's phone messages, who was calling with interest to hire Park, thinking his fri ...
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Mike Wallace (racing Driver)
Michael Samuel Wallace (born March 10, 1959) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. Born in Fenton, Missouri, he is the younger brother of Rusty Wallace, older brother of Kenny Wallace, and uncle of Steve Wallace. His daughter, Chrissy Wallace, and son, Matt Wallace, are also active in racing competition. Racing career Early NASCAR career Wallace made his Busch Series debut in 1990 at the season-closing Winston Classic at Martinsville Speedway. Starting 24th, Wallace finished sixth in the No. 40 Lowes Foods-sponsored Chevrolet. The next season, he ran nine Busch races for a variety of different teams, and had a third-place finish at Lanier Raceway. He also made his Winston Cup debut at the Pyroil 500, where he finished 31st in the Jimmy Means-owned car. It also marked the first time since the 1950s that three brothers competed against each other in a Winst ...
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Jack Sprague
Jack Sprague (born August 8, 1964) is an American former stock car racing driver who has competed in all of NASCAR's three top divisions, most notably in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won series championships in 1997, 1999 and 2001. Racing career Beginnings Sprague was born in Spring Lake, Michigan, and began racing street stock cars at local short tracks. After winning the track championships at Thunderbird Raceway and later Winston Raceway, Sprague began racing in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series, in its North Carolina Late Model Division competition. He won the Big Ten Championship at Concord Motorsports Park, and won more than 30 Late Model Races. Eventually, he won the NASCAR Winston Racing Series championship at Concord Motorsports Park. Sprague finished first in the inaugural race of the NASCAR Sportsman Division at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1989, but was disqualified in post-race inspection, giving the win to Tim Bender. Busch Series Sprague made his Busch Se ...
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Johnny Sauter
Jonathan Joseph "Johnny" Sauter (born May 1, 1978) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 47 Toyota Tundra for G2G Racing, the No. 13 Tundra for ThorSport Racing and the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado for Young's Motorsports. He has also driven in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series in the past. Sauter is the son of former NASCAR driver Jim Sauter, the brother of NASCAR drivers Tim Sauter and Jay Sauter, and the uncle of Travis Sauter. He is the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion. Early career After graduating high school in 1996, Sauter began competing in various amateur series throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest. By the end of 1997, Sauter had collected three wins in the Sportsman Division at Dells Raceway Park and a win in the Late Model Division at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Sauter then joined the American Speed Association Series in 1998. By 2001, ...
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Matt Kenseth
Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track championships at Madison International Speedway, Slinger Super Speedway and Wisconsin International Raceway. He moved to the ARTGO, American Speed Association, and Hooters Late Model touring series before getting a full-time ride in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) for his former Wisconsin short track rival Robbie Reiser, finishing second and third in the standings. Kenseth moved up to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He won the series' Rookie of the Year title in 2000 and the final Winston Cup championship in 2003. The International Race of Champions invited Kenseth to race in their 2004 season as the reigning champion and he won the season championship. In 2009, he won a rain-shortened Daytona 500 and won a second Daytona 500 i ...
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Jerry Nadeau
Gerald Nadeau (born September 9, 1970) is an American former stock car racer. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He started racing in karting before moving up to car racing, driving in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the European Formula Ford Festival, and the Barber Dodge Pro Series. Nadeau arrived in NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing in the United States, with a limited budget. He started racing part-time in NASCAR and finished sixth in the 1996 Formula Opel Euro Series. He started full-time racing in 1998 and came third in that year's NASCAR Rookie of the Year award standings. After Nadeau took his first Top Ten finish at Talladega Superspeedway in 1999, he won his first NASCAR sanctioned race in the Winston West Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He earned his first Winston Cup victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway the following year. Nadeau achieved his top NASCAR season in 2001 when he finished seventeenth in points, but his racing career ende ...
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Rusty Wallace
Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful career, Wallace has been inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2013), the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2014) and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010). Racing career Early career Prior to joining the NASCAR circuit, Wallace made a name for himself racing around in Florida, winning a pair of local track championships and more than 200 short track races. In 1979, he won the United States Auto Club's (USAC) Stock Car Rookie of the Year honors, finishing third in points behind A. J. Foyt and Bay Darnell.
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Johnny Benson
Jonathan Thomas Benson Jr. (born June 27, 1963) is an American retired stock car racing driver and the son of former Michigan modified driver John Benson Sr. Benson has raced across NASCAR's three national series ( Cup, Busch, Truck), and his career highlights include the 1993 American Speed Association AC-Delco Challenge series championship, the 1995 NASCAR Busch Series championship, the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award, and the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. Benson, who began his NASCAR career in 1993, is the second of only three drivers that have won a championship in both the Busch Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, and the seventeenth of only thirty-six drivers to win a race in each of NASCAR's three national series. Early career Benson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from Forest Hills Northern High School in 1981. He became a late model champion at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan before joining the Amer ...
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Casey Mears
Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Super Trucks. A former winner of the Coca-Cola 600, Mears is the nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears and the son of IndyCar and off-road veteran Roger Mears. He also works as a NASCAR analyst for Fox Sports 1. Early career and open-wheel racing After racing in go-karts for a season in 1991, Mears began competing in the SuperLites Off-Road Series in 1992 where he posted several top-three finishes. He moved to sprint cars in 1994 and finished third in the Jim Russell USAC Triple Crown Championship, with a win at Mesa Marin Raceway. The next season, he won the championship in the USAC series. In 1996, Mears made his Dayton Indy Lights debut at the Cleveland Grand Prix and finished eighth. The following year, he competed full-ti ...
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Hermie Sadler
Herman Marion Sadler III (born April 24, 1969) is a candidate for the newly redrawn Virginia State Senate District 17 and was a former American professional stock car racing driver, announcer, professional wrestling promoter, and autism advocate from Emporia, Virginia. He was a NASCAR driver with occasional appearances for the Virginia Lottery at Martinsville Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, and Bristol Motor Speedway; in 2019, he drove the No. 93 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for RSS Racing. He was also a pit reporter with Fox Sports 1 for Xfinity and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series broadcasts. Racing career Sadler began racing in go-karts alongside younger brother Elliott in their hometown of Emporia. He then began running late models in Virginia. In 1992, Sadler made his debut in the NASCAR Busch Series at Orange County Speedway. He started 19th but finished 25th after wrecking his No. 32 Oldsmobile. He ran four more races that season, with a be ...
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