RACE DAY REPORT
BASS PRO SHOPS/MBNA 500 - ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2003

PRE-RACE NOTES &
RACE INFORMATION:

With weather conditions expected to be quite different here today - sunny and warm with temperatures reaching into the mid-70s versus foggy and cool conditions yesterday - the goal for today was to have good adjustability.

"We're really fast right now and we hope to hit it right on the mark with the chassis for tomorrow," Rusty told USA Today's Chris Jenkins after the final practice concluded as he was walking back into the garage area after participating in a special photo shoot (the cover photo for the upcoming Dallas Morning News special racing section features brothers in racing - the Wallaces, Waltrips and Labontes - and the photo was shot in the Goodyear Tire compound.) "We'll probably start out with two spring rubbers in the car and go from there."

With Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman's Friday pole win came the first pick of pits for Ryan and his Matt Borland-led team. Of course, they chose the first pit and the Elliott Sadler team pits behind them. Rusty and his Bill Wilburn-led team went with the 22nd pit up pit road. The Bobby Labonte team pits in front and there is a space for NASCAR's finish line camera behind.

The engines were fired at 1:03 p.m. and the cars rolled off pit road at 1:05 p.m. After three parade laps, the green flag flew at 1:11 p.m.

Ryan got a great start and took the lead. He held the point until Labonte charged by on lap 21. At lap 25, Labonte led, with Jimmie Johnson second, Joe Nemechek third, Ryan falling to fourth and Rusty up to fifth.

"It's loose but fast," Rusty radioed in on lap 30 as he was up to fourth. "Yeah, we're listening to a lot of the other teams and they're all loose, too," Bill shot back.

Ryan's loose condition saw him the first of the leaders to hit pit road for tires and adjustments under green. He came down on lap 48. Rusty was up to third when he pitted on lap 57 for four tires and fuel. The crew had trouble on the fronts and the resulting 19.480-second stop was costly.

When the stops cycled around on lap 60, it was Jeff Gordon leading, with Labonte second, Johnson third, Tony Stewart fourth, Ryan fifth, Jimmy Spencer sixth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh and Rusty back to eighth.

Labonte caught and passed Gordon for the lead on lap 69 and showed that he had the car to beat here today. Rusty also showed strength, as he was able to get back up to fifth at the 100-lap mark.

On lap 102, Ryan radioed, "It's just too much on top of the race track, loose in and tight off." He pitted four laps later to start the second round of green flag stops.

This time, Rusty's stop was a fast 14.335 seconds and that kept him fifth when the stops cycled around on lap 122. There were only 14 cars remaining on the lead lap with the torrid pace that Labonte and Gordon had been setting. Labonte led, with Gordon second, Earnhardt third, Stewart fourth and Rusty fifth. Ryan was back in ninth and holding his own.

The first caution of the race flew on lap 136 for Mark Martin's blown engine, his second in as many weeks. All the 12 cars remaining on the lead lap hit pit road. On the lap 141 restart, the top five remained the same. Ryan was back in 11th.

Brett Bodine spun down the backstretch on lap 146 to bring out the second yellow flag of the race. None of the leaders pitted during the caution. On the lap 155 restart, it was Labonte leading, with Gordon second, Earnhardt third, Johnson fourth, Rusty fifth and Ryan up to sixth.

Rusty and Stewart had some spirited racing the next 15 laps before near tragedy struck Rusty on lap 174. He got high in the turn two area and slapped the outside wall. That brought out the third caution of the race. While Rusty was able to stay on the lead lap, the crew brought the car down pit road three times during the yellow to beat out the fenders and start trying to adjust the tow that was damaged. Meanwhile, Ryan was experiencing problems of his own in the form of a failing power steering system.

Only seven laps after the lap 179 restart, Ken Schrader blew an engine to bring out caution flag No. 4. The quick caution allowed Rusty's crew to complete their repairs to their Dodge. During the yellow, Earnahrdt stayed out and Ryan took on only two tires to restart in the second spot.

Jamie McMurray slapped the wall on lap 208 to bring out the fifth caution of the race. Again the leaders pitted, with Ryan's crew going under the hood to attempt to address the power steering problem.

Gordon took control of the lead after the lap 212 restart and set a blistering pace. At lap 250, he was closing in on putting Ryan and Rusty - running 11th and 12th at the time - down a lap. Gordon got around Ryan and Rusty on lap 264 and Rusty hit pit road the following lap. Ryan pitted on alp 265.

All the leaders had pitted on lap 271 and the cycle saw Gordon back in the lead, with Labonte second, Matt Kenseth third, Johnson fourth and Stewart fifth. Earnhardt was sixth, Dave Blaney seventh, Nemechek eighth, Sadler ninth and Spencer 10th - the only cars remaining on the lead lap. Ryan was 11th and Rusty 12th, running one lap down.

Labonte got around Gordon for the lead on lap 282 and began to stretch it, when Ricky Ruudd's blown engine brought out the sixth yellow of the race on lap 301. That bunched the cars back up again and all the leaders hit pit road. Rusty and Ryan were among the seven cars running one lap down and they hit pit road the next time around.

Labonte won the battle on pit road and held the point for the lap 307 restart, but the very next lap, Jeff Burton got into the fourth turn wall to draw the seventh caution flag of the day. Johnson fell by the wayside with a blown engine during the yellow.

Gordon snuck around Labonte's outside on the lap 313 restart, but his time at the front was short lived. Labonte powered by Gordon on the outside on lap 315 and would never look back. He emerged with a 1.274-second win over Gordon at the finish. Earnhardt finished third, with Kenseth fourth, Stewart fifth, Sadler sixth, Spencer seventh, Blaney eighth and Nemechek ninth. Ryan did a remarkable job in driving to a 10th-place finish (one lap down) with now power steering during the last half of the race. Johnny Benson was 11th, Ricky Craven 12th, Greg Biffle 13th, Sterling Marlin 14th and Rusty 15th, after passing Steve Park on the final lap for the spot.

The point standings after four races show Kenseth with the lead with 618 points. Stewart is second with 569, Michael Waltrip third with 543, Johnson fourth with 519 and Labonte fifth with 510. Ryan is 13th with 445 and Rusty 22nd with 409.

The Winston Cup tour now heads to the historical old Darlington Raceway for next Sunday's spring racing classic at the "Lady in Black."

POST-RACE QUOTES:

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid)
"I just let it get right up there against the wall, and that was pretty much it. I think we could have easily had a top five. The car was strong enough to finish up there I believe, but I just got up there in the marbles and that was it."