By Zane Miller
First round
(8) #18 Bobby Labonte v. (1) #17 Matt Kenseth
(7) #97 Kurt Busch v. (2) #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(6) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (3) #29 Kevin Harvick
(5) #12 Ryan Newman v. (4) #48 Jimmie Johnson
With the postseason beginning at Dover, Ryan Newman took the race win to pull off the Monster Mile sweep after winning the season’s first race at the track back in June. Fellow sophomore racer Jimmie Johnson finished eighth with Matt Kenseth following in ninth, which was good enough to outdo Bobby Labonte who had a rough day after an early accident to eventually finish multiple laps down in 31st. The battle between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch was over before the end of the race, as Busch fell out early due to an engine failure and Earnhardt Jr. crashed out just 15 laps later. The most compelling series was the one between Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, as both drivers finished inside the top five. After leading the most laps in the event, Harvick ended up in fourth, with Gordon unable to get by in fifth.
The eight drivers would be thrown into the fire at Talladega, with Johnson as the first one to get burned in the Yellowhammer State. After surviving a scary spin through the infield and back up the track with no damage, his engine would expire shortly after, leaving him in 34th. Newman got a solid fourth to move on to the semifinal. Busch made a valiant effort to get by Earnhardt Jr., but would finish sixth as the superspeedway ace earned his fourth straight Talladega victory. Meanwhile, Johnson was not the only one to be foiled by a blown engine, as Kenseth’s motor also went just one lap later. This allowed Labonte to force an elimination race at Kansas Speedway with an 11th-place result. The tight contest between Gordon and Harvick carried over from Dover, this time with Gordon getting the upper hand with a fifth-place finish to Harvick’s seventh.
At Kansas, Labonte did not have a great run, finishing 17th after starting inside the top five. However, this was still enough to pull off the upset over Kenseth, who was collected in an early crash and lost a significant number of laps in the garage to wind up a disappointing 36th with his title hopes now over. Staying true to form, Gordon and Harvick duked it out for one of the closest playoff series in Cup history, which ultimately went Gordon’s way as he came in fifth with Harvick right on his tail in sixth.
Semifinal
(8) #18 Bobby Labonte v. (2) #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(6) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (5) #12 Ryan Newman
Lowe’s Motor Speedway would be the start of the semifinals, with Newman taking home a strong runner-up finish against a fifth-place run from Gordon. Similarly, both Earnhardt Jr. and Labonte would finish inside the top-10 after running well throughout the night, but ultimately it would be Labonte grabbing the early win in sixth as Earnhardt Jr. settled for a ninth-place result.
Despite leading the Cup Series in wins in 2003, Newman’s challenge at a championship would come to an end at Martinsville. Despite having an impressive fifth-place finish at the treacherous short track, Gordon would score his fifth career Martinsville win in dominating fashion, leading 313 laps in the process. However, Labonte’s path to the finals would not be so easy, as he suffered a blown engine just past the halfway point. Now with no pressure, Earnhardt Jr. maintained a top-five spot after leading 61 laps to eventually finish fourth.
The final spot in the 2003 championship bout would be determined at Atlanta Motor Speedway, albeit a day later than intended due to rain, with Labonte and Earnhardt Jr. starting just a few inches apart from each other at the front of the grid. Earnhardt Jr. was the first to grab the top spot in the race, leading 32 laps early. However, Labonte took the lead for the first time on lap 200 and remained at the top of the scoring pylon until being overtaken by Gordon with 49 laps to go. Still, Labonte managed to cross the start-finish line in fifth, only one spot ahead of Earnhardt Jr. to have his shot at a third Cup Series title.
Final
(8) #18 Bobby Labonte v. (6) #24 Jeff Gordon
Despite having less than ideal regular seasons, Gordon and Labonte would commence their finals duel at the Phoenix International Raceway. Looking to make up for his infamous gaffe that cost him the 2001 championship, Gordon claimed a solid seventh-place finish, while Labonte was saddled with 36th after being involved in a four-car collision with less than 100 laps to go.
In what would be the final playoff race held at Rockingham, Labonte was determined to keep it from becoming the site of the trophy presentation. Running a special silver paint scheme to commemorate his two previous titles, Labonte nabbed an eighth-place finish, while Gordon struggled at The Rock as he finished three laps down in 22nd. With that, Labonte would be returning to the site of his 1999 championship with both momentum and good fortune on his side.
Tension was in the mid-November air at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as both Labonte and Gordon started inside the top five. Despite taking the green flag on the outside front row, Labonte was unable to lead a lap for most of the event, while Gordon got by to lead a few laps early on. Halfway through the race, Gordon was still holding on to the fifth spot, while Labonte was mired around 15th. However, Labonte slowly began working his way back into the top 10 by lap 200 when the caution came out. A quick stop by the #18 pit crew enabled Labonte to move into sixth, one spot ahead of Gordon. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native was able to keep Gordon in the rearview mirror, until the race’s final caution occurred late to set up an eight-lap dash to the finish. Undaunted, Labonte held serve in second, while Gordon could only get up to sixth on the restart. While it seemed that Labonte had it in the bag, a scary moment did take place on the final lap. Bill Elliott, who had been leading the race for the past 50 laps, suddenly blew a tire right in front of the #18. Fortunately, Labonte was able to pass the wounded car of Elliott without incident and cap off his third championship with what would be his final Cup Series race win.
Bobby Labonte’s stats for 2003 included two victories, 12 top-fives and 17 top-10s, taking eighth in points to real-life champion Matt Kenseth.
2003 Cup Series standings in real life: https://scorum.com/en-us/nascar/@zmiller82/2003-nascar-cup-series-season-recap
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