2003 Auto Club 500

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox NASCAR race report

| Type = CUST

| Description = Race 10 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

| Race Name = Auto Club 500

| Details ref =

| Fulldate = {{Start date|2003|04|27}}

| Year = 2003

| Race_No = 10

| Season_No = 36

| Image = Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Speedway.svg

| image-size = 200px

| image-alt =

| Caption = Track map of the speedway at Auto Club Speedway AKA California Speedway

| Official name = Auto Club 500

| Location = California Speedway, Fontana, California

| Course_mi = 2.0

| Course_km = 3.23

| Distance_laps = 250

| Distance_mi = 500

| Distance_km = 804.672

| Weather =

| Avg = {{convert|140.111|mi/h}}

| Attendance = 120,000

| Pole_Driver = Steve Park

| Pole_Team = Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

| Pole_Time =

| Most_Driver = Tony Stewart

| Most_Team = Joe Gibbs Racing

| Most_laps = 100

| Car = 97

| First_Driver = Kurt Busch

| First_Team = Roush Racing

| 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 {{convert|2|mi|km}} long.{{cite web|title=Auto Club Speedway Track Facts|url=http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx|publisher=Auto Club Speedway|accessdate=March 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824155657/http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx|archive-date=2010-08-24|url-status=dead}} 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

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
Pos

! {{Tooltip|No.|Car number}}

! 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

References