2003 Auto Club 500

2003 Auto Club 500

Race details
Race 10 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Track map of the speedway at Auto Club Speedway AKA California Speedway
Date	April 27, 2003 (2003-April-27)
Official name	Auto Club 500
Location	California Speedway, Fontana, California
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.23 km)
Distance	250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed	140.111 miles per hour (225.487 km/h)
Attendance	120,000
Pole position
Driver	Steve Park	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Most laps led
Driver	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	100
Winner
No. 97	Kurt Busch	Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2003 Auto Club 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on April 27, 2003, at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 250 laps on the 2-mile (3.23 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the tenth race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Steve Park of DEI won the pole. Kurt Busch of Roush Racing won the race. This was also the last race for Jerry Nadeau. His career ended with an injury during practice at Richmond.

Background

The track, California Speedway, was a four-turn superspeedway that was 2 miles (3.2 km) long. The track's turns were banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway was banked at three degrees.

Top 10 results

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	97	Kurt Busch	Roush Racing	Ford
2	18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet
3	2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing	Dodge
4	9	Bill Elliott	Evernham Motorsports	Dodge
5	42	Jamie McMurray	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dodge
6	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet
7	15	Michael Waltrip	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet
8	43	John Andretti	Petty Enterprises	Dodge
9	17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing	Ford
10	40	Sterling Marlin	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dodge