As the Winston Cup drivers headed to Virginia, the Busch Series stopped in Nashville for the Pepsi 300. It took racing in a different state than the Winston Cup Series, but finally, in the 8th race of the season, a full time Busch Series driver scored a win. Each of the three Busch Series races at the Tennessee track have ended with first time winner in victory lane, and several hopeful young drivers hoped to continue that tradition.
Randy LaJoie was the quickest of 16 drivers who broke the track's previous qualifying record, and led the field to the green flag. As the cars got up to speed on the 1.33 mile course, he stretched his lead by several car lengths, leading a race for the first time this season. Just 8 laps in to the 225 lap event, Brian Vickers spun down across the infield grass after losing control during a heated battle with Kerry Earnhardt. He recovered and hung on to the tail end of the lead lap, returning to the track in 43rd position.
The first caution of the day came on lap 23 when Chase Montgomery spun into the outside wall in turn 4, his engine smoking as he slid to a halt. Oil from his car caused trouble for Steve Grissom, Chris Bingham, and Brad Baker racing behind him, and all three sustained significant damage. All of the leaders headed to the pits, where Scott Riggs took advantage of a quick, two-tire stop to take the lead from LaJoie, who opted for four fresh tires.
Two tires proved to be the wrong choice, though, and LaJoie shot back into the lead as Riggs faded back into the pack and out of the top 10. As he slipped back, the 20 car of Mike Bliss was charging to the front, coming from starting in the back after an engine change to the 8th spot by lap 50.
Twenty laps of green flag racing gave David Green the time to make his way to the front and challenge LaJoie for the lead. After a long battle, Green too the top spot, only to lose it a few laps later to Bobby Hamilton Jr. Just seconds after Hamilton went to the lead, the yellow flag waved again when Scott Wimmer and Justin Ashburn both spun into the outside wall, taking heavy damage. Kerry Earnhardt, trying to get around the trouble, sustained some light damage, but remained on the track. Once again the leaders stopped, all teams taking four tires, and Hamilton held onto the lead through the stop.
On the restart, Hamilton began to pull away from the pack as the rest of the top five struggled to get around lap traffic, but that lead was short lived. Another caution on lap 73 brought the field back together behind the pace car after Larry Gunselman spun into the wall. None of the leaders pitted, but on the next caution on lap 100, most of the leaders stopped for fuel only as the Busch Series limit on the number of tires available to each team for yellow flag stops became a concern for most of the leaders. A handful of drivers, including Kasey Kahne, Chad Blount, and Johnny Sauter stayed out on the track. Kahne lead on the restart, but Blount passed him easily just laps later.
Pole sitter Randy LaJoie spun hard into the wall on lap 106, bringing out the 5th caution of the race and ending his hopes for a win. Only Kasey Kahne headed for the pits, to replace a flat tire, while the rest of the leaders stayed on the track. Just a few laps into the restart, Kahne hit the outside wall, bringing out another yellow flag. Most of the leaders headed for pit road, where strategy was a big concern. Vickers took two tires, while Blount, David Green and most of the other leaders took four. Hamilton stayed out to regain the race lead, followed by Jason Sauter and Shane Hmiel. Again fresh tires proved to be faster, though, and Brian Vickers passed Hamilton for the lead with 60 laps remaining.
The first round of green flag stops began on lap 185 as a few cars began to stop at a time. Hamilton and Vickers were among the first to stop, only to be caught a lap down by a caution when Jason Keller made contact with the outside barrier. Most of the leaders opted for a quick gas and go stop, and Johnny Sauter took the lead for the restart with only 18 laps to go. Ashton Lewis made a bid for the lead, racing Sauter hard for several laps and giving David Green the chance to close on the leaders. Lewis couldn't make the pass, and as the leaders navigate lap traffic, Green passed him to challenge Sauter. On the final lap, Green finally edged past Sauter to take the checkered flag and become the first Busch Series driver to score a victory in the 2003 season.
Unofficial Results
- David Green
- Johnny Sauter
- Ashton Lewis
- Mike Bliss
- David Reutimann
- Stanton Barrett
- David Stremme
- Chad Blount
- Brian Vickers
- Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Unofficial Standings
- Todd Bodine
- Ron Hornaday -78
- David Green -85
- Mike Bliss -102
- Shane Hmiel -102
- Jason Keller -155
- Jamie McMurray -163
- Johnny Sauter -168
- Scott Riggs -170
- Brian Vickers -210
