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Nascar's Biggest Disappointments
Add yours to the list!
1. Dale Jarrett
Series: Winston Cup
He finished 26th in the points standings and had more crew chiefs (three) than top-fives (one). You might expect such a season from someone else, but not Jarrett. He had won at least two races and had finished ninth or better in the points for seven consecutive seasons. In six of those seven years, Jarrett finished in the top five in the points.
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But then came 2003. Brad Parrott started the year as Jarrett's crew chief, and the pair won the second race of the season. That would be the last top-five.
There'd be plenty of problems, though: nine DNFs, five by wrecks, three by blown engines and one by a busted transmission. He led only 49 laps all season, 25 of them at Kansas before dropping out with engine failure.
Parrott lasted eight races before being replaced by Garth Finley. In May, Shawn Parker came on board, and he finished out the season. But Parker won't be back in 2004; Mike Ford moved from Bill Elliott's team to try to get Jarrett turned around.
2. Lack of a points race
Series: Winston Cup
Blame Matt Kenseth. He was simply too good all season. While contenders like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon occasionally stubbed their toes, Kenseth stayed steady.
Matt Kenseth took over Winston Cup racing in 2003. Credit: Autostock
While that was good for Kenseth, it was bad for any championship battle. Sure, Harvick made a run, but he never got closer than 240 points before Kenseth clinched.
Despite fantastic points battles in both the Busch Series and the Craftsman Truck Series - which use the same scoring system as Winston Cup -- NASCAR is considering altering the way the champion is determined. A 10-race "playoff" could be in the works for 2004 as NASCAR hopes to spice up the points battle.
The one in 2003 certainly lacked flavor.
3. Brian Vickers at Texas
Series: Busch Series
Instead of a win, Brian Vickers was left with a damaged car at Texas. Credit: Autostock
He got screwed, plain and simple. Vickers was a long way from being the Busch Series champion and was looking for his first career victory. He had the dominant car during the O'Reilly 300, but on a late restart, Vickers was black-flagged.
Vickers had swerved to the left to avoid hitting Chad Blount, who had a problem and didn't get up to speed at the green flag. Technically, Vickers hadn't passed Blount, but NASCAR ruled Vickers was in the "act of passing" and penalized him.
Vickers was sent to the rear and later was swept up in a multi-car accident. Instead of celebrating his first victory, Vickers went home with a wrecked race car. What a shame.
4. The Southern 500 is moved
Series: Winston Cup
The stands at Darlington Raceway will be empty this Labor Day weekend. Credit: Autostock
NASCAR will tell the fans that tradition is still an important part of stock car racing. But the fans in Darlington, S.C. will tell you otherwise. As part of the ongoing schedule realignment, the sport's oldest superspeedway race won't be on its traditional Labor Day weekend date in 2004, NASCAR announced this year.
Since 1950, NASCAR fans marked their calendars with the Southern 500. Labor Day in the South meant a race at tough old Darlington Raceway, a track that separates the great from the good and the good from the bad.
But next year, Darlington Raceway will be empty on Labor Day weekend. Instead, NASCAR will race at California Speedway, an International Speedway Corp. track that gets a second date. The race was taken from North Carolina Speedway, but the date was taken from Darlington. Some folks will tell you it was stolen.
So much for tradition.
5. Sterling Marlin
Series: Winston Cup
Sterling Marlin had little to smile about in 2003. Credit: Autostock
Do you remember when Marlin led the Winston Cup points standings for 25 consecutive weeks? That was last year, right? Marlin's run at his first championship ended with a accident that caused a neck injury, but he was fully healed for the 2004 season.
Well, at least Marlin's body was healed. His team, apparently, was hurting.
Marlin never got close enough to sniff the points battle, finishing 18th in the final standings. After 20 top-five finishes the previous two seasons, Marlin had a grand total of zero in 2003.
Meanwhile, Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray -- a rookie, for goodness sakes -- had five top-fives and finished 13th in points.
6. Bill Elliott at Homestead
Series: Winston Cup
Bill Elliott nearly ended his full-time racing career on a winning note at Homestead. Credit: Autostock
He was less than a lap away from ending the season with back-to-back victories. After winning at North Carolina Speedway and dominating at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Elliott was in control on the final lap.
But a tire went down, and so did Elliott's chances at victory. Two consecutive victories would have made for a great story, especially since Elliott announced he was retiring as a full-time driver. Instead, he was left shaking his head.
7. Petty Enterprises
Series: Winston Cup
The Pettys seemed to be on the way back. The struggles of 2001 seemed to be behind them, and the team looked to build on a solid, if unspectacular 2002.
But something went all wrong in 2003. Kyle Petty ended up 37th in points with nary a top-10. John Andretti started the year in the famed No. 43 but was ousted in favor of Christian Fittipaldi.
But Fittipaldi, a Petty project, wasn't ready for Winston Cup, and Jeff Green finished the season. The No. 43, made famous by Richard Petty, finished 41st in the car owners' standings.
Ugh.
8. Brendan Gaughan and Ted Musgrave at Homestead
Series: Craftsman Truck
It's a toss-up as to which driver should be more upset after the Truck Series finale. Gaughan led the series in victories and was in the points lead until he got caught up in a multi-car crash triggered by another driver.
Musgrave, meanwhile, was hit with the same penalty that Vickers got at Texas. With Gaughan on the sidelines, Musgrave had positioned himself as the champion until NASCAR ruled he, too, was in the "act of passing" on a late restart. NASCAR moved him to the end of the lead lap, and Musgrave fell 17 points shy of the championship.
9. Rain-shortened Daytona 500
Series: Winston Cup
Michael Waltrip was forced to celebrate his 2003 Daytona 500 victory indoors. Credit: Autostock
It's the biggest race of the season, but many fans were left shaking their heads -- and their fists -- after NASCAR called the Daytona 500 a little past the halfway point.
There really wasn't much NASCAR could do besides follow its own rules and precedence, but watching winner Michael Waltrip sitting on his pit box wasn't the way fans wanted the race to end. Talk about anti-climactic.
Sure, Waltrip had the dominant car, leading 68 laps. Fans, though, didn't come to watch the Daytona 272.5.
10. Busch vs. Spencer wasn't televised
Series: Winston Cup
Kurt Busch tried to flatten Jimmy Spencer's fender. Busch then ran out of gas, supposedly, in front of Spencer's hauler in the garage. Spencer punches Busch. Busch walks away.
And hardly anyone saw it. Wouldn't it have been nice to see and hear the whole episode? Parts of the confrontation were caught on in-car audio, but a blow-by-blow scene would have been a lot more fun.
Well, probably not for Busch.
Add yours to the list!
1. Dale Jarrett
Series: Winston Cup
He finished 26th in the points standings and had more crew chiefs (three) than top-fives (one). You might expect such a season from someone else, but not Jarrett. He had won at least two races and had finished ninth or better in the points for seven consecutive seasons. In six of those seven years, Jarrett finished in the top five in the points.
MORE TOP 10s
• Best paint schemes
• Worst paint schemes
• Best races
• Surprises
• Celebrations
• Quotes
But then came 2003. Brad Parrott started the year as Jarrett's crew chief, and the pair won the second race of the season. That would be the last top-five.
There'd be plenty of problems, though: nine DNFs, five by wrecks, three by blown engines and one by a busted transmission. He led only 49 laps all season, 25 of them at Kansas before dropping out with engine failure.
Parrott lasted eight races before being replaced by Garth Finley. In May, Shawn Parker came on board, and he finished out the season. But Parker won't be back in 2004; Mike Ford moved from Bill Elliott's team to try to get Jarrett turned around.
2. Lack of a points race
Series: Winston Cup
Blame Matt Kenseth. He was simply too good all season. While contenders like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon occasionally stubbed their toes, Kenseth stayed steady.
Matt Kenseth took over Winston Cup racing in 2003. Credit: Autostock
While that was good for Kenseth, it was bad for any championship battle. Sure, Harvick made a run, but he never got closer than 240 points before Kenseth clinched.
Despite fantastic points battles in both the Busch Series and the Craftsman Truck Series - which use the same scoring system as Winston Cup -- NASCAR is considering altering the way the champion is determined. A 10-race "playoff" could be in the works for 2004 as NASCAR hopes to spice up the points battle.
The one in 2003 certainly lacked flavor.
3. Brian Vickers at Texas
Series: Busch Series
Instead of a win, Brian Vickers was left with a damaged car at Texas. Credit: Autostock
He got screwed, plain and simple. Vickers was a long way from being the Busch Series champion and was looking for his first career victory. He had the dominant car during the O'Reilly 300, but on a late restart, Vickers was black-flagged.
Vickers had swerved to the left to avoid hitting Chad Blount, who had a problem and didn't get up to speed at the green flag. Technically, Vickers hadn't passed Blount, but NASCAR ruled Vickers was in the "act of passing" and penalized him.
Vickers was sent to the rear and later was swept up in a multi-car accident. Instead of celebrating his first victory, Vickers went home with a wrecked race car. What a shame.
4. The Southern 500 is moved
Series: Winston Cup
The stands at Darlington Raceway will be empty this Labor Day weekend. Credit: Autostock
NASCAR will tell the fans that tradition is still an important part of stock car racing. But the fans in Darlington, S.C. will tell you otherwise. As part of the ongoing schedule realignment, the sport's oldest superspeedway race won't be on its traditional Labor Day weekend date in 2004, NASCAR announced this year.
Since 1950, NASCAR fans marked their calendars with the Southern 500. Labor Day in the South meant a race at tough old Darlington Raceway, a track that separates the great from the good and the good from the bad.
But next year, Darlington Raceway will be empty on Labor Day weekend. Instead, NASCAR will race at California Speedway, an International Speedway Corp. track that gets a second date. The race was taken from North Carolina Speedway, but the date was taken from Darlington. Some folks will tell you it was stolen.
So much for tradition.
5. Sterling Marlin
Series: Winston Cup
Sterling Marlin had little to smile about in 2003. Credit: Autostock
Do you remember when Marlin led the Winston Cup points standings for 25 consecutive weeks? That was last year, right? Marlin's run at his first championship ended with a accident that caused a neck injury, but he was fully healed for the 2004 season.
Well, at least Marlin's body was healed. His team, apparently, was hurting.
Marlin never got close enough to sniff the points battle, finishing 18th in the final standings. After 20 top-five finishes the previous two seasons, Marlin had a grand total of zero in 2003.
Meanwhile, Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray -- a rookie, for goodness sakes -- had five top-fives and finished 13th in points.
6. Bill Elliott at Homestead
Series: Winston Cup
Bill Elliott nearly ended his full-time racing career on a winning note at Homestead. Credit: Autostock
He was less than a lap away from ending the season with back-to-back victories. After winning at North Carolina Speedway and dominating at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Elliott was in control on the final lap.
But a tire went down, and so did Elliott's chances at victory. Two consecutive victories would have made for a great story, especially since Elliott announced he was retiring as a full-time driver. Instead, he was left shaking his head.
7. Petty Enterprises
Series: Winston Cup
The Pettys seemed to be on the way back. The struggles of 2001 seemed to be behind them, and the team looked to build on a solid, if unspectacular 2002.
But something went all wrong in 2003. Kyle Petty ended up 37th in points with nary a top-10. John Andretti started the year in the famed No. 43 but was ousted in favor of Christian Fittipaldi.
But Fittipaldi, a Petty project, wasn't ready for Winston Cup, and Jeff Green finished the season. The No. 43, made famous by Richard Petty, finished 41st in the car owners' standings.
Ugh.
8. Brendan Gaughan and Ted Musgrave at Homestead
Series: Craftsman Truck
It's a toss-up as to which driver should be more upset after the Truck Series finale. Gaughan led the series in victories and was in the points lead until he got caught up in a multi-car crash triggered by another driver.
Musgrave, meanwhile, was hit with the same penalty that Vickers got at Texas. With Gaughan on the sidelines, Musgrave had positioned himself as the champion until NASCAR ruled he, too, was in the "act of passing" on a late restart. NASCAR moved him to the end of the lead lap, and Musgrave fell 17 points shy of the championship.
9. Rain-shortened Daytona 500
Series: Winston Cup
Michael Waltrip was forced to celebrate his 2003 Daytona 500 victory indoors. Credit: Autostock
It's the biggest race of the season, but many fans were left shaking their heads -- and their fists -- after NASCAR called the Daytona 500 a little past the halfway point.
There really wasn't much NASCAR could do besides follow its own rules and precedence, but watching winner Michael Waltrip sitting on his pit box wasn't the way fans wanted the race to end. Talk about anti-climactic.
Sure, Waltrip had the dominant car, leading 68 laps. Fans, though, didn't come to watch the Daytona 272.5.
10. Busch vs. Spencer wasn't televised
Series: Winston Cup
Kurt Busch tried to flatten Jimmy Spencer's fender. Busch then ran out of gas, supposedly, in front of Spencer's hauler in the garage. Spencer punches Busch. Busch walks away.
And hardly anyone saw it. Wouldn't it have been nice to see and hear the whole episode? Parts of the confrontation were caught on in-car audio, but a blow-by-blow scene would have been a lot more fun.
Well, probably not for Busch.
