Hometown favorite and Texas native Bobby Labonte lead the field to the green flag from the pole position. On the start, however, he faded back through traffic as Elliot Sadler went by him to lead the first lap. Sadler only held the lead for a handful of laps, however, before a charging Bill Elliott maneuvered his Dodge into the top spot on lap 4. The first caution of the afternoon came on lap 12 as Jimmy Spencer came in for an early pit stop after trailing a cloud of smoke around much of the track. Of the top 10, only Kevin Harvick opted to pit, coming down pit road with many of the cars at the back of the pack. When the second caution waved at lap 43 after Steve Park spins across traffic, however, all of the leaders came in for service. Elliot hangs on to the lead through a four-tire stop, but becomes the first car out of the race only laps later when his engine fails, emitting plumes of smoke and bringing out anther yellow flag.
Elliott Sadler inherited the lead when Elliott headed off the track and held on through a long stretch of green flag racing. Jimmie Johnson, having started at the back of the pack after replacing an engine during practice, flew through traffic, taking advantage of the long trouble-free run to work his way from 38th to 5th in the first 80 laps. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon was closing the gap on Sadler, and made a smooth pass for the lead on lap 91. Sadler didn't give up easily, though, and the pair battled back and forth for the top spot for several laps as they put several cars a lap down.
The first set of green flag pit stops began on lap 100, with most of the leaders coming down pit road together. Sadler regained the lead in the pits and pulled away from the pack as the race ran on. A second set of green flag pits shuffled the leaders once again, and Matt Kenseth claimed the lead. Sadler dropped back through the field and spun on lap 169, heading into the garage after leading 91 laps. As the yellow flag waved, Ward Burton, Dale Jarrett and Joe Nemechek collided at the entrance to pit road.
On the restart, Gordon passed Kenseth to take the lead. Behind him, B. Labonte and Rusty Wallace made contact racing for position, but did not bring out a caution. The leaders began to head to pit road again under green. Just a few laps later, though, the #20 of Tony Stewart and the #7 of Jimmy Spencer bumped, sending Spencer spinning into the wall. Stewart recovered, but Spencer's car was badly damaged and made a long pit stop before returning to the track. The mid pit cycle caution shook up the field, catching many of the leaders a lap down and catapulting 2002 rookie of the year Ryan Newman into the lead. Another quick caution on the restart allowed Gordon and Kenseth to get their lap back from the leader. Three more cautions in quick succession allowed Newman to hold the lead for more yellow flag laps than green and sent pole sitter Labonte into the pits with heavy damage.
On the last of the three cautions, the leaders all come down pit road, where flawless stops and pit strategy promise to make or break the leaders' race. Newman opts for only two tires as the rest of the field take four, and leaves pit road still in the lead. On the restart, though, it appear four tires may have been the smarter choice as Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Newman and drives away from the pack. Back in the pack, Jeff Gordon had battled back into the top five, and was fighting to take the third spot away from Jerry Nadeau.
As the laps wound down and the race stayed green, Earnhardt found himself battling his car as well as a rapidly closing Ryan Newman, and lost the lead with less than 15 laps to go. Newman pulled easily away to the checkered flag as Earnhardt fought to hold off Jeff Gordon to hang on to second position. The pair came through turns 3 and 4 side by side, but Earnhardt was able to edge ahead as they came to the line, to claim a second place finish that propelled him into third in the point standings. Newman, one of the drivers dubbed NASCAR's 'young guns', became both the season and the track's 7th different winner, and climbed 7 places in the points standings, just 242 points behind early leader Matt Kenseth.
Unofficial Results
- Ryan Newman
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeff Gordon
- Jerry Nadeau
- Mark Martin
- Matt Kenseth
- Jeff Green
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kurt Busch
- Jamie McMurray
Unofficial Standings
- Matt Kenseth
- Kurt Busch -155
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -166
- Michael Waltrip -192
- Jimmie Johnson -205
- Jeff Gordon -226
- Tony Stewart -241
- Ryan Newman -242
- Ricky Craven -250
- Kevin Harvick -288
