2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400

On March 16th, 2003, light rose over a cloudy Darlington Raceway. The future of the track uncertain, 43 Drivers climbed into their cars for what could possibly have been the 2nd to last race at the historic track. The track had become a NASCAR Tradition with its unique egg-shaped design and narrow racing groove. The track advertised itself as “Too Tough to Tame,” but if the race did not go well, it may be tamed by the rising need for a bigger and better facility for NASCAR to race at. As the green flag dropped on the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, everything was on the line.

The race started with Elliott Sadler and Ryan Newman on the front row. Sadler seemed to have a dominant car in both qualifying and practice and showed it in the first part of the racing, pulling a second lead on 2nd place Jerry Nadeau in the first 6 Laps, before Nadeau spun to bring out the first caution flag of the race. Nadeau collected Jamie McMurray and Championship Leader Matt Kenseth but all 3 were able to continue on in the race. This brought half the field down pit lane, while half stayed out, giving Jimmy Spencer the lead on the restart with Dale Earnhardt Jr. close behind.

Spencer laid the hammer down on the restart, leading the next 5 laps, however, Junior had the better car, forcing his way by Spencer 3 Laps later. Spencer continued his free fall through the pack, while Earnhardt and a recovered Jerry Nadeau led the field. The racing was fast and frantic for the next few laps until the 2nd Caution of the day came out when Jimmie Johnson put Sterling Marlin in the wall, who cut down a tire and hit the wall in Turn 1, where he slid down and collected Bobby Labonte and Kevin Harvick. With many of the thought-to-be contenders knocked out in the first 30 Laps, no one knew what this race would hold.

Dale Jarrett took the lead on the restart, and the racing was still fantastic throughout the field. Drivers were still aggressive even with the incidents that marred the early part of the race. Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt Jr both pulled away from a 20 car train that had formed mid-pack. 2 and 3 wide racing was abundant, but only 3 Laps after the previous caution, Jeff Burton’s Roush Motor expired, bringing out another caution and sending him behind the wall. Earnhardt and Jerry Nadeau led back to the green flag, drivers settled into a green flag run, racing the track rather than the other cars. The track became much slicker as it heated up, and many cars traded paint with the outside wall. Tony Stewart, Jerry Nadeau, and Casey Mears all suffered contact with the concrete walls lining the track before the next caution with 227 Laps to go. Outside Pole Sitter Ryan Newman and Ward Burton had been racing for 29th position going into Turn 1, when Newman cut down across the nose of Burton, spinning both out. The race resumed with 222 Laps to go.

After that caution, a long green-flag run set in, and leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt his car go away from him. In that run, he had gone from leading by several seconds to having to ride in 2nd position, allowing Mark Martin to take the top spot away. The green flag run continued, with Earnhardt and Martin duelling upfront, before the some of the field came down for green-flag pit stops. Martin maintained his 8 tenths of a second advantage on Junior, before pulling away to a gap of 2 seconds. With 164 Laps to go, Mark Martin’s teammate Kurt Busch missed the pit lane entry, forcing him to slide the car on the apron of Turn 4, but not bringing out a caution. With 160 Laps to go, a new contender emerged. Jeff Gordon stormed around Dale Jr. and went to go chase down Martin. Mark soon pitted to get fresh tires, Gordon followed and they came out of the pit stop cycle 1-2. The adjustments made on Gordon’s car, however, were not to his liking, and Gordon dropped back to 4th Position on the run, allowing Elliott Sadler to fall in 2nd, 3.8 Seconds behind Mark Martin, and Dave Blaney to fall in 3rd. With 104 Laps to go, Mark Martin’s lead evaporated. John Andretti’s right rear tire let go, causing him to crash hard on the front straightaway, bringing out the caution and allowing Sadler, Blaney and Gordon all to catch up to Martin.

After a lengthy cleanup, Gordon led Mark Martin and Elliott Sadler to the restart. The trio battled through lap traffic before Gordon pulled away as the sun has shown down on the track, only improving Gordon’s car in relation to the field. A few cars were unexpectedly running well, with Ricky Craven in 5th and Kurt Busch, who had missed pit lane earlier, in 6th. No one seemed to be able to challenge Gordon over the short-sprints, but over long runs, his car seemed to struggle, and he became challenged with 89 Laps left. Mark Martin and Elliott Sadler both battled Gordon for the top spot, but Gordon was able to fend them off until the next caution flag waved. Mark Martin was blocked in his pit stall during what during out to be a deciding pit cycle, taking him from 2nd to 11th. Gordon led as they came to the restart with 63 Laps to go.

The new Top 5 at the restart was a dominant Gordon followed by Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler, Ricky Craven and Dave Blaney. Gordon got a 6 Car Length lead on Busch as they sailed into Turn 1, with Sadler riding right behind Busch, but Busch’s car was better than everyone thought. Busch quickly tracked Gordon down and made his move in Turn 3 with 51 Laps to go. Gordon put his left front fender on Busch’s door, the 2 cars made contact and Gordon kept the lead from Busch. Busch, seeing red, made the same move going into Turn 3 on the next lap. Busch got further along, but Gordon did the same thing, which allowed Elliott Sadler to join the battle. The 3 Cars danced across the Start/Finish line to get 49 Laps to go. Busch looked low on Gordon going into Turn 1, but Sadler drove to the outside of Busch, getting around him and chasing down Gordon going into Turn 2. Sadler drove the car through the corner as hard as he could. Gordon blocked Sadler and Sadler slid up into the wall off Turn 2, bringing Busch back to his bumper. Gordon seemingly could not be passed and started to pull away. Sadler, however, had other plans.

Over the next 30 Laps, Sadler ran down Gordon and with 22 Laps to go, Sadler made his move in Turn 2, driving under Gordon. In the process of doing this, he slowed both cars off Turn 2. Kurt Busch took advantage. Busch drove his car onto the apron, making it 3 Wide under Sadler and Gordon and passed both his rivals with ease. In the next 3 Laps, Gordon fell all the way down to 8th Position, which moved Sadler into 2nd, 1.7 Seconds behind Busch. It looked as if it was Busch’s race to lose, but there were still 25 miles to go.

With 18 Laps remaining, Busch’s car no longer became the fastest car on the racetrack, that honour went to Ricky Craven in the 32 Car, then Dave Blaney in the 77, who was running 2nd and 3rd after dispersing of Sadler with 16 Laps left. Craven’s car came to life, and he started to chase down Kurt Busch for the win. Craven had a 3 Second gap to make up, but he was determined. Lap after Lap, corner after corner, Craven made up tenths of seconds. With 7 Laps left, Kurt Busch radioed in, he had no power steering.

Craven worked as hard as he could to catch Busch and with 3 Laps to go, he was on Busch’s back bumper. Craven’s car was much faster than Busch’s in Turns 3 and 4, and that’s where he capitalized, with 2 Laps to go, Craven made his move going into Turn 1. He pulled up alongside Busch at the Start/Finish line, and they went neck-and-neck into Turn 1. Busch squeezed Craven onto the apron like Gordon had done to him earlier, but Craven was further alongside. Busch took the downforce off Craven’s car, causing him to slide into Turn 1. Craven slid into Busch, putting Busch into the wall and blowing out the TV Microphone with the hit. Busch didn’t like the favour, however, and drove under Craven’s back bumper in Turn 2, getting his car sideways and forcing him up the track. Craven slid, allowing Busch to get back under him and retake the lead, with Craven 3 Car Lengths back. Craven drove hard through Turns 3 and 4 and was back behind Busch out of Turn 4. Craven waited to make his move as both cars darted under the Start/Finish line to take the White Flag. Craven rode behind Busch through Turns 1 and 2, methodically waiting to make a move. Craven hid in the slipstream of Busch as they headed into Turn 3. Busch took the lower, defensive line into Turn 3, while Craven rode right up next to the wall. Busch went up to block mid-corner, and Craven darted for the bottom. Busch went to press the throttle, but his car got sideways, allowing Craven to drive alongside. Coming off the final corner Craven slid into Busch, and they hit hard. Busch drove down into Craven, and Craven drove up into Busch. Tire smoke and debris flew off both cars as they slid towards the finish line. Neither drove off the other’s car and they ground across the neck-n-neck. Both cars flew into Turn 1, where Craven and Busch came to a halt, neither sure who had won the race.

Ricky Craven had won the race over Kurt Busch by 0.002 of a second. At the time, it was the closest finish in the history of top-level motorsport. In 2013, Craven talked about the finish, stating he had no clue who won the race until he looked upon the scoreboard. Craven drove the wrecked race car to victory lane, where he celebrated with his family. Another driver also walked into Victory Lane, it was Kurt Busch. Busch had a reputation of being a hothead, and he walked into Victory Lane alone, Craven walked up to him, but Busch did not want to fight. Busch came into Victory Lane and congratulated Craven on the hard-fought race. Both smiled and talked for a few minutes before Busch had to go to his post-race interview. Both drivers had fought hard, one had come out on top, but both were winners of the day.

It was Craven’s last NASCAR win and Kurt Busch’s narrowest loss. The 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 is still NASCAR’s Closest Finish, but it is tied with the 2011 Aaron’s 499, which also saw a margin of victory of 0.002 of a second, with Jimmie Johnson winning that race over Clint Bowyer. Darlington stayed on NASCAR’s Schedule, where it still remains to this day, and the race has become a fan favourite.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***