Right down to the final lap, of the final race, of a 33-year sponsorship era in NASCAR � the game threw another curveball that proves why race fans can never leave early. Sure football has the occasional blowout game or the 13-10 bore between two teams out of the playoff picture. But the drama in NASCAR is never ending, just ask Bill Elliott. It appeared that the veteran would cruise to a second consecutive victory to close out the 2003 season. But a cut tire on the final lap literally pulled the rug from the #9, giving Bobby LaBonte a gift win.
Before going through the race recap, I give my final driver grades for the season�| #0 | Ward Burton | D | Looks like Ward will be an upgrade for this team. |
| #01 | Joe Nemechek | D+ | Look for Nemechek to drive the #01 for all of �04, while Jerry Nadeau continues his rehab in the support series. |
| #1 | John Andretti | D | Team should improve on 30th place finish in owners standings with John Andretti at the helm. |
| #2 | Rusty Wallace | C | No longer one of the elite drivers. |
| #4 | Kevin LePage | F | Sponsorship in question, McClure�s team hanging by a thread |
| #5 | Terry LaBonte | A- | A top ten finish and a win to boot, not much more can be expected. |
| #6 | Mark Martin | D+ | Four-time season runner-up fell to 16th. |
| #7 | Jimmy Spencer | D+ | Suspension from Bristol really hurt. |
| #8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | B+ | Was in the mix all year, and finally scored a non-plate win at Phoenix. |
| #9 | Bill Elliott | A- | An A+ for the final three months!!!!! |
| #10 | Johnny Benson | D | Scott Riggs replaces Benson for �04 |
| #12 | Ryan Newman | A | Forget the DNF�s, 11 poles and eight wins make Newman NASCAR�s MVP for �03. |
| #14 | Larry Foyt | D- | Foyt finally showed he can race with the big boys with 15th place showing at Homestead, good chance this team will be disbanded. |
| #15 | Michael Waltrip | B+ | Money on the plate tracks, but late season slump hurt. |
| #16 | Greg Biffle | C | Daytona win made his year. |
| #17 | Matt Kenseth | A | Traded wins for consistency, and wins the title. |
| #18 | Bobby LaBonte | B | Final-lap gift at Miami gives Bobby second win of year. |
| #19 | Jeremy Mayfield | B | 12th over better in 10 of final 13 races. |
| #20 | Tony Stewart | B+ | Was money late with finishes of fourth or better in six straight races. |
| #21 | Ricky Rudd | C- | Confrontation with Harvick one of highlights of season. |
| #22 | Scott Wimmer | C- | Expect growing pains with the rookie next year. |
| #23 | Kenny Wallace | D | Driver in limbo for �04. |
| #24 | Jeff Gordon | B+ | Two race winning streak salvages the year. |
| #25 | Brian Vickers | C | Smart money has Vickers winning rookie of the year in �04 |
| #29 | Kevin Harvick | B+ | Not very well liked by rivals, Busch may get last laugh on him. |
| #30 | Steve Park | D- | You�d think Chidress could do better than Johnny Sauter for his �04 driver |
| #31 | Robby Gordon | B | Slumped badly late, but swept the road courses. |
| #32 | Ricky Craven | C- | Slumped badly late, should do better in a Pontiac |
| #38 | Elliott Sadler | D | Not only was his luck terrible, but the Yates Fords were horsepower challenged. |
| #40 | Sterling Marlin | D- | Hard to believe he led the points chase for most of �02 |
| #41 | Casey Mears | D- | Not like Jimmy Spencer set the bar high, but Mears was the worst regular driver this year. |
| #42 | Jamie McMurray | B+ | No wins, but strong second half sealed Rookie of the Year. |
| #43 | Jeff Green | D- | Green a great fit for Petty team late, at least providing stability and respectability. |
| #45 | Kyle Petty | D- | Kyle near the end of the road. |
| #48 | Jimmie Johnson | A | Finishes only 90 points out with three seconds and three thirds. |
| #49 | Ken Schrader | D+ | Gave un-sponsored team respectability. |
| #54 | Todd Bodine | D | Only one top ten, but made the show in all but one race. |
| #74 | Tony Raines | B | Outstanding finish with four straight top twentys. |
| #77 | Dave Blaney | D | Regressed this year, a non-factor. |
| #88 | Dale Jarrett | D- | He either improves drastically in the new Ford, or heads into retirement. |
| #97 | Kurt Busch | B- | Flopped after the Spencer incident, but part of the blames goes to Ford�s aero-disadvantage. |
| #99 | Jeff Burton | C | Another Rosch Ford that had his troubles. |
Bobby LaBonte � For most of the day it appeared the #18 would be hard-pressed to contend � let alone win. LaBonte�s car sustained minor damage in an early incident, and a failed air wrench on a pit stop also kept him back in the field. In the end though, Bobby winds up with an early Christmas present very similar to his win in Atlanta two years earlier when Jerry Nadeau ran out of gas. Was actually down a lap late but was bailed out by the Lucky Dog pass.
Kevin Harvick � And it was the #29 that caused the early incident. According to reports, the team lost radio contact, and Harvick attempted to pass Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch when in fact he wasn�t clear. Newman and Busch�s days were ruined, costing Busch a shot at finishing in the top ten. However Harvick was able to motor on, and eventually place second.
Jimmy Johnson � By far the best in the last six races of the season, finishing third.
Johnny Benson � Ended a horrible year that cost him his job with the #10 by finishing fourth. The highest finish by Pontiac in it�s swan-song race.
Jeff Gordon � Finishes the year with a solid race, rounding out the top five and closing with eight top-tens in nine events.
Jeremy Mayfield � The Evernham drivers could had easily finished one-two, despite having a tire go down, the #19 rallies to place sixth.
Tony Stewart � Completed another strong season finish by placing seventh.
Bill Elliott � Led 189 of the 267 laps, that�s how dominant he was. I forgot to mention that his crew also ended the #17 team�s two year run, by winning the pit-crew challenge in Rockingham. However, his crew chief is leaving for Dale Jarrett�s team.
Jamie McMurray � Cemented Rookie of the year honors with a ninth-place showing along with winning the pole, no easy task with that #12 around.
Sterling Marlin � Rounds out the top ten, a rare high point in a disastrous season.
Todd Bodine � Yet another of the bottom-feeders who ran well, which is often the case in the final event. 11th place equals the #54�s best showing of the year.
Scott Wimmer � 12th place for the #22 car, something for the team to build on for the off-season.
Tony Raines � 13th place completes a strong month for the #74, where does Raines end up in �04???
Terry LaBonte � Busch�s early accident, allows Terry to finish in the top ten for the season by placing 15th.
Larry Foyt � His 16th comes with the caveat that the bottom-feeders finish well in season finales out of necessity. Probably not good enough for Foyt to land a Cup ride for next year.
Kurt Busch � Season ends as it began, with hostilities towards Kevin Harvick. Forget Jimmy Spencer, Harvick/Busch is the #1 rivalry to watch for next year.
Ryan Newman � Was taken out along with Busch, which cost the #12 a shot at finishing in the top five for the season.
Matt Kenseth � Team pushed the engine to it�s limits in an attempt to get a race win, and the motor goes after just 28 laps. Final 90-point margin of victory makes points race sound much closer than it actually was.Now for the final rankings of the season. Again, Kenseth is the champion � but Newman is the MVP.
1.(6) Newman, 2. (2) Johnson (+3), 3.(9) Elliott (+3), 4. (4) J. Gordon (-2), 5. (7) Stewart (-2), 6. (5) Harvick (-2), 7. (3) Dale Jr. (+1), 8. (1) Kenseth (-1), 9. (19) Mayfield (+1), 10. (8) B. LaBonte (-1), 11. (13) McMurray (+1), 12. (10) T. LaBonte (-3), 13. (11) Busch (-2), 14. (12) J. Burton, 15. (14) R. Wallace, 16. (15) Waltrip (+2), 17. (17) Martin, 18. (20) Biffle (+1), 19. (16) R. Gordon (-3), 20. (33) Raines (NR)
Dripped out: SpencerAll season we asked race fans who their most despised driver was. Over a dozen drivers were nominated during the first half of the season, with the top six vote-getters participating in the final vote. Dale Earnhardt Jr. lapped the field during that vote. Surprisingly, Kurt Busch did not make the cut from the first half � you could debate he would had ran away with balloting after the Spencer incident. After a very competitive final vote, it was old reliable � Jeff Gordon who came away with the title in the end. Congratulations to Jeff for somehow providing a hatred for race fans for a decade.