The 2003 Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods was the 30th stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 5, 2003, before a crowd of 80,000 in Kansas City, Kansas, at Kansas Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 267 laps to complete. At race's end, a cunning pit strategy for Penske Racing South driver Ryan Newman would propel him to his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his eighth win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield of Evernham Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2003 Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods program cover. | |||
| Date | October 5, 2003 | ||
| Official name | 3rd Annual Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods | ||
| Location | Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km) | ||
| Average speed | 121.63 miles per hour (195.74 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 80,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 29.938 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | |
| Laps | 115 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. It was built in 2001 and hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The NTT IndyCar Series also raced there until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by the International Speedway Corporation.
Entry list
editPractice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, October 3, at 11:20 AM CST, and would last for 2 hours.[2] Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.102 and an average speed of 179.390 miles per hour (288.700 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.102 | 179.390 |
| 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 30.171 | 178.980 |
| 3 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 30.177 | 178.944 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session was held on Saturday, October 4, at 9:30 AM CST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.821 and an average speed of 175.205 miles per hour (281.965 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.821 | 175.205 |
| 2 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 30.831 | 175.148 |
| 3 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 30.842 | 175.086 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third and final practice
editThe third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, October 4, at 11:10 AM CST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Ryan Newman of Penske Racing South would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.814 and an average speed of 175.245 miles per hour (282.029 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 30.814 | 175.245 |
| 2 | 35 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford | 30.920 | 174.644 |
| 3 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 31.212 | 173.010 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, October 3, at 1:05 PM CST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[2] Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[6]
Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 29.938 and an average speed of 180.373 miles per hour (290.282 km/h).[7]
Two drivers would fail to qualify: Larry Foyt and Johnny Sauter.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
edit| Fin[8] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 267 | 28 | running | 180 | $191,000 |
| 2 | 8 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 267 | 115 | running | 180 | $203,623 |
| 3 | 16 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 267 | 37 | running | 170 | $127,175 |
| 4 | 14 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 160 | $155,578 |
| 5 | 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 155 | $127,753 |
| 6 | 24 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 150 | $115,053 |
| 7 | 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 20 | running | 151 | $96,525 |
| 8 | 15 | 42 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 142 | $77,175 |
| 9 | 5 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Dodge | 267 | 23 | running | 143 | $108,592 |
| 10 | 19 | 21 | Ricky Rudd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 134 | $99,125 |
| 11 | 23 | 54 | Todd Bodine | BelCar Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 130 | $89,425 |
| 12 | 22 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 127 | $70,825 |
| 13 | 33 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 124 | $108,692 |
| 14 | 18 | 35 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 121 | $65,150 |
| 15 | 27 | 7 | Jimmy Spencer | Ultra Motorsports | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 118 | $83,200 |
| 16 | 34 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 115 | $94,406 |
| 17 | 4 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 2 | running | 117 | $109,633 |
| 18 | 3 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 267 | 9 | running | 114 | $110,267 |
| 19 | 40 | 1 | John Andretti | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 106 | $89,237 |
| 20 | 38 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | running | 103 | $103,483 |
| 21 | 39 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 100 | $99,706 |
| 22 | 17 | 30 | Steve Park | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | running | 97 | $74,850 |
| 23 | 36 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 94 | $74,550 |
| 24 | 12 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 267 | 0 | running | 91 | $85,625 |
| 25 | 25 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | running | 88 | $91,512 |
| 26 | 35 | 74 | Tony Raines | BACE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | running | 85 | $65,625 |
| 27 | 9 | 43 | Jeff Green | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 266 | 0 | running | 82 | $101,203 |
| 28 | 43 | 49 | Ken Schrader | BAM Racing | Dodge | 266 | 0 | running | 79 | $64,725 |
| 29 | 2 | 01 | Mike Skinner | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 265 | 1 | running | 81 | $70,414 |
| 30 | 6 | 0 | Jason Leffler | Haas CNC Racing | Pontiac | 265 | 5 | running | 78 | $62,285 |
| 31 | 26 | 23 | Kenny Wallace | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 264 | 0 | running | 70 | $61,575 |
| 32 | 42 | 09 | Mike Wallace | Phoenix Racing | Dodge | 264 | 0 | running | 67 | $61,375 |
| 33 | 13 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 263 | 25 | engine | 69 | $107,853 |
| 34 | 29 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 263 | 0 | out of gas | 61 | $104,975 |
| 35 | 20 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 248 | 0 | crash | 58 | $87,525 |
| 36 | 37 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 220 | 0 | running | 55 | $68,575 |
| 37 | 30 | 25 | Joe Nemechek | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 211 | 0 | running | 52 | $60,375 |
| 38 | 41 | 37 | Derrike Cope | Quest Motor Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | engine | 49 | $60,175 |
| 39 | 31 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | crash | 46 | $77,985 |
| 40 | 21 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 181 | 2 | engine | 48 | $79,785 |
| 41 | 32 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Pontiac | 174 | 0 | engine | 40 | $67,590 |
| 42 | 10 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 104 | 0 | crash | 37 | $93,645 |
| 43 | 28 | 77 | Dave Blaney | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 80 | 0 | crash | 34 | $67,457 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 44 | 14 | Larry Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Dodge | ||||||
| 45 | 4 | Johnny Sauter | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Pontiac | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Massero, Mike. "Why stop if you don't need to?". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Kansas Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Kansas Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-03-06. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Kansas Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-03-06. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Kansas Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2005-03-10. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2003 Provisional Land Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
- ^ "Johnson grabs 2nd pole of 2003". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "2003 Banquet 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-07.