RYAN IS DOVER'S
LUCKY DOG
Dover, DE: New rules prove to be an advantage for Ryan Newman as he wins his 7th race of the season. NASCAR implemented new rules that were designed to protect drivers. The field would be frozen when the caution flag comes out. No more racing back to the flag. No more gentlemen's agreement. Another perk of the new rule is that the first car one lap down gets a free pass back onto the lead lap.
Ryan used the new rule to perfection. He first led the race on lap 13. Unfortunately, he had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a tire going down. He went a lap down early in the race. Because of the new rule, Ryan would have to make his way past other lapped traffic to the position of 1st car one lap down. He finally accomplished this feat on lap 288. When a caution came out for debris, he was awarded the free pass. While other lead lap cars retained their position after their initial pit stop, Ryan made several stops to top off his fuel. When the next caution came out on lap 326, Ryan did not pit. The #12 Alltel Dodge was able to stretch out his fuel for a total of 106 laps, with only 6 of those laps under caution. Ryan won the race on fumes, sweeping Dover for 2003.
Coming in 2nd was Jeremy Mayfield in the #19 Dodge Dealers Dodge. He had started the race 22nd, but flew up through the field taking 2nd from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on lap 257. Jeremy made a great effort to get past Ryan Newman, at one point getting side by side and rubbing fenders. Although he had made an impressive showing, he was not able to move past Ryan.
Tony Stewart made another strong effort at Dover. Due to Hurricane Isabel, qualifying was canceled and the field had been set by points. This put the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet in the 11th starting position. It didn't take Tony long to make his way to the lead. By lap 200, Tony had left the field behind. He stayed in front until lap 327 when Ryan chose not to pit. Tony came off pit road 8th. He battled his way back to 2nd, but lost that position to Jeremy Mayfield. He then chose to pit on lap 366. His tires had gone bad causing the rear of the car to dance. He needed fresh tires to finish the race. After coming off pit road 12th with the new tires and a strong car, Tony powered his way back up to end the race 3rd.
On lap 48, the #29 Goodwrench Chevrolet took the lead away from Ryan Newman. Although he couldn't stay out front, Kevin Harvick remained in the top 5 throughout the day. Keeping us entertained with mini battles between Jeff Gordon, Jr, Tony Stewart and Bill Elliott, Kevin hung in to come in 4th.
Some of the best racing of the day was done by Jeff Gordon in the #24 DuPont Chevrolet. He first took the lead on lap 171. Over the course of the race, he dueled with Jr, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, never falling out of the top 10. Many of the battles were filled with nose to tail, fender rubbing excitement. Jeff finished 5th.
The worst wreck of the day came on lap 364. Jr had flirted with the top 5 cars all day. He led briefly on lap 181 and struggled to stay in front. Then, when a caution came out on lap 326, Jr decided to take only 2 tires. This proved to be a costly error. The car became terribly loose and Jr started falling back at a rapid pace. As he was getting re4ady to be lapped by race leader Ryan Newman, the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet went high into the marbles and spun into the outside wall in turn 2. The car slid down the track into the inside wall. Jr was knocked unconscious for a few minutes. After being taken to the infield care unit, he was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital for observation. He was later released having experienced a slight concussion.
Joe Nemechek also had a bad wreck. Early in the race, his tire blew and he went hard into the wall in turn 1. Fortunately, Joe was not injured. However, a lengthy caution period ensued due to the damage inflicted on the wall where Nemo's car hit.
Remaining top 10 drivers included Jamie McMurray 6th in the #42 Havoline Dodge, Gregg Biffle 7th in
the #16 Grainger Ford, Jimmie Johnson 8th in the #48 Lowes Chevrolet, Matt Kenseth 9th in the #17 DeWalt
Ford and Rusty Wallace 10th in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge.
Article by S. Kipple
9/21/03
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