BILL ELLIOTT AWESOME
AT THE ROCK
Rockingham, NC: Bill Elliott holds off Jimmie Johnson to win the Pop Secret 400. This was Bill's first win since August 2002 when he won the Brickyard 400. Car owner, Ray Evernham, had a great day as Bill's teammate, Jeremy Mayfield led 80 laps and finished 3rd.
Bill had qualified 3rd, but had to start at the back of the field after he blew the engine on his #9 Dodge Dealers Dodge. He steadily moved to the front and finally took the lead on lap 186. From that point, Bill held onto the top spot managing to keep Jimmie Johnson behind him and take the victory.
When Jimmie Johnson worked his way to the lead on lap 175, it looked as though he had the car that would take the win. But Bill Elliott was determined and took the lead away. Still Jimmie outmaneuvered Bill on a restart that left only 7 cars on the lead lap. As Bill tried to get around cars fighting to remain at the tail end of the lead lap, the #48 Lowes Chevrolet slid underneath to retake the lead. But 65 laps later, Bill passed him once again. Jimmie was unable to get by Bill and finished 2nd.
Matt Kenseth had the biggest day of his career. By finishing the race 4th, Matt clenched the 2003 Winston Cup Championship. His car had not been great at the start of the race, but he managed to stay out of trouble and slowly crept forward. He had 2 close calls that could have changed the outcome of the day for him.
The first incident occurred when Tony Stewart bumped Matt in the rear as the field checked up on lap 84. The #17 DeWalt Ford bobbled, luckily to the left and straightened out. Had he bobbled to the right, he would have met the wall. Tony quickly apologized, being familiar with Matt's position and not wanting to cause a problem for the inevitable champion.
The 2nd incident happened just as Matt was heading onto pit road on lap 242. His teammate, Mark Martin, blew his engine and the caution flag was thrown. Matt had crossed the "commitment line" at pit road, but quickly pulled back onto the track. He was penalized by NASCAR to the end of the lead lap, but due to other cars that had already pitted under the green flag, this left Matt in 9th place. From there Matt worked his way forward to 4th place gaining enough points to secure the final Winston Cup Championship.
The day started as many prior days had for Ryan Newman. For the 11th time this year, he had put the #12 Alltel Dodge on the pole. He led the race for the first 48 laps before Ward Burton passed him in the #0 Netzero Pontiac.
Ryan had drifted back, but his crew made adjustments and he was once again headed to the front when he met up with Jeff Gordon. Jeff was not feeling overly generous and would not move to let Ryan pass. As Ryan tried to get by on the outside, Jeff squeezed up and Ryan nicked the wall. He moved back down and he and Jeff were trading paint and rubbing fenders. Ryan got just ahead of Jeff and Jeff bumped the left rear of Ryan, sending him into a spin. NASCAR was not happy with Jeff's retaliation. They black flagged Jeff and held him in the pits for one lap for aggressive driving. The #24 DuPont Chevrolet never made it back onto the lead lap, but Ryan was able to get a "Lucky Dog" pass. He finished 5th.
Tony Raines had a good race. By staying out of wrecks, he was able to bring the #74 Staff America Chevrolet in 6th. Despite a spin on lap 101, Jeff Burton finished nicely at 7th in the #99 Citgo Ford. Dale Earnhardt Jr had his best race at The Rock. He finished 8th in the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet. Tony Stewart was also the recipient of the "Lucky Dog" pass. He brought the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet in 9th. Sterling Marlin rounded out the top 10 in the #40 Coors Light Dodge.
Our hearts went out to Ken Schrader who was having a wonderful day in the #49 BAM Racing Dodge. He
had been running in the top 10 all day. Unfortunately, he was put into the wall with under 20 laps
remaining when Ryan Newman forced a 3 wide situation.
Article by S. Kipple
11/10/03
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