2003 Coca-Cola 600

The 2003 Coca-Cola 600, the 44th running of the race, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 25, 2003, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. The race was the twelfth of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The race was scheduled for 400 laps but was shortened to 276 laps because of rain. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his first win of the season, and also at Charlotte. Matt Kenseth finished second and Bobby Labonte finished third.

2003 Coca-Cola 600
Race details
Race 12 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Layout of Lowe's Motor Speedway
Date May 25, 2003 (2003-05-25)
Location Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 276 laps, 414 mi (666.268 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Average speed 126.198 mph (203.096 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Penske Racing
Most laps led
Driver Matt Kenseth Roush Racing
Laps 82
Winner
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds

Failed to qualify: Hermie Sadler (No. 02), Brett Bodine (No. 11), Derrike Cope (No. 37)

On the day of the race, 0.55 inches of precipitation were recorded around the speedway.[1]

Background

Lowe's Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Lowe's Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and The Winston, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

Top 10 results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 3748Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet276180
2 1817Matt KensethRoush RacingFord276180
3 1118Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet276170
4 147Jimmy SpencerUltra MotorsportsDodge276160
5 112Ryan NewmanPenske RacingDodge276160
6 915Michael WaltripDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet276150
7 3640Sterling MarlinChip Ganassi RacingDodge276146
8 424Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet276142
9 2388Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord275138
10 4122Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingDodge275134

Race statistics

  • Time of race: 3:16:50
  • Average Speed: 126.198 miles per hour (203.096 km/h)
  • Pole Speed: 185.312
  • Cautions: 8 for 46 laps
  • Margin of Victory: under caution
  • Lead changes: 16
  • Percent of race run under caution: 16.7%
  • Average green flag run: 39.9 laps

References

  1. "Charlotte NASCAR Climatology" (PDF). SERCC. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
Previous race:
2003 Pontiac Excitement 400
Winston Cup Series
2003 season
Next race:
2003 MBNA Armed Forces Family 400
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