EA Sports 500
The EA Sports 500 was held September 28, 2003 at Talladega Superspeedway. Elliott Sadler won the pole. An early wreck took place on lap 10 when #19-Jeremy Mayfield had a tire go down, during pit stops #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. made contact with #43-Jeff Green resulting in damage to his car's nose. Earnhardt Jr. would go a lap down on lap 62 after damage repair to his car. On lap 143 the 3rd caution came out when leader #48-Jimmie Johnson was sent spinning down to the inside of Turn 1 after Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumped #15-Michael Waltrip who slapped the side of Johnson, Johnson's car slid back up the Turn 1 banking barely missing a few cars. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the lucky dog during the caution and got back on the lead lap. On lap 158 Johnson retired to the garage with engine problems. On lap 182 with 7 laps of racing left #38-Elliott Sadler who was racing four wide near the front of the pack down the backstretch went to block #97-Kurt Busch. The #38 car made contact with the #97 and was turned around, as the car spun it became airborne flipping through the air then landing on the roof near the entrance of Turn 3. The car continued to slide across the grass to the track pavement in Turn 3, when the car caught the pavement it tumbled 5 more times before coming to a stop. Elliott Sadler was removed from the car and was ok. The race was red flagged as track workers cleaned up debris. Michael Waltrip lead during the restart with 5 laps to go, Waltrip lead all of the last five laps with drafting help from teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., as the checkered flag waved cars were running 5 wide mid pack when #9-Bill Elliott made contact with #18-Bobby Labonte creating a small wreck in Turn 1. Waltrip celebrated the win by popping out of his car's newly installed emergency roof hatch after doing donuts on the infield grass.
Top Ten Results:
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt Inc. |
| 2 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt Inc. |
| 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Penske Racing |
| 5 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Ford | Roush Racing |
| 7 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 8 | 32 | Ricky Craven | Pontiac | PPI Motorsports |
| 9 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Dodge | Penske Racing |
| 10 | 09 | Mike Wallace | Dodge | Phoenix Racing |
Did not Qualify: Jason Leffler (#0), Kevin Lepage (#4), Steve Park (#30), Kyle Petty (#45), Mike Bliss (#80), Todd Bodine (#54)
Read more about this topic: 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
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