Virginia Is For Lovers 200 - Official Results
Tony Stewart in Victory Lane
Tony Stewart in Victory Lane
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Stewart Loves Richmond; Wins Virginia is for Lovers 200 For Second Time

NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Tony Stewart broke out of tight battle with Ted Musgrave with 16 laps remaining Thursday night to successfully defend his Virginia is for Lovers 200 title at Richmond International Raceway. Stewart, driving the Monaco Coach/Diamond Rio Chevrolet, won for the second time in three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts to become the 2003 season's 10th different winner. Stewart, who pitted early and lay back until moving to second place at lap 96, led three times for 32 laps. He averaged 91.062 mph for the 150-mile distance, beating Robert Pressley by .426 seconds - about two truck lengths. Pressley was second in the Harris Trucking/ Melling Engine Parts Dodge for the second consecutive race, edging inside Musgrave's Mopar Performance Dodge for the spot on lap 198 of 200. Jon Wood finished fourth with Dennis Setzer fifth as 14 of the race's 23 finishers - the latter figure a Richmond low - completed 200 laps. The wildest slide of the night came at the checkered flag as eighth-place Bobby Hamilton made contact with seventh running Brendan Gaughan, sending Gaughan's Orleans Dodge into the outside wall. Gaughan, however, retook the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship lead by five points over Travis Kvapil, who started first in a lineup set by the series rule book because of rain. Kvapil's IWX Motor Freight Chevrolet finished ninth. The lead swap was the fifth in as many races, matching the 2001 series record.
03-01-2005 | Race 17 - Richmond Int'l Raceway - September 4, 2003

F S # Driver Sponsor / Owner Truck Laps Money Status
1 27 33 Tony Stewart Monaco Coaches/Diamond Rio Chevrolet 200 $35,600 Running
2 17 59 Robert Pressley Harris Trucking/Melling Parts Dodge 200 $26,375 Running
3 3 1 Ted Musgrave Mopar Performance Dodge 200 $17,925 Running
4 6 50 Jon Wood Graham for President Ford 200 $12,425 Running
5 4 46 Dennis Setzer Acxiom / Computer Assoc Chevrolet 200 $10,500 Running
6 5 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Motel & RV Park Ford 200 $9,650 Running
7 2 62 Brendan Gaughan The Orleans Hotel Dodge 200 $8,975 Running
8 7 4 Bobby Hamilton Square D Dodge 200 $8,950 Running
9 1 16 Travis Kvapil IWX Motor Freight Chevrolet 200 $8,900 Running
10 28 9 Johnny Sauter Fasscore / Vokal Clothing Ford 200 $9,250 Running
11 12 18 Chad Chaffin Dickies Dodge 200 $8,800 Running
12 22 07 Mark McFarland Progeny Solutions Chevrolet 200 $8,665 Running
13 36 80 Bryan Reffner Emerson Chevrolet 200 $6,365 Running
14 13 88 Matt Crafton Menards/Enzyme Magic Chevrolet 200 $8,565 Running
15 15 15 Ryan Hemphill Vokal Clothing/Fasscore Dodge 198 $8,965 Running
16 10 29 Terry Cook Power Stroke Diesel/Oil Mate Ford 197 $8,190 Running
17 35 97 Jason York Royal Transport Chevrolet 197 $5,790 Running
18 18 72 Randy MacDonald Bone Suckin' Sauce Chevrolet 196 $7,990 Engine
19 16 08 Jody Lavender Hartsville Community Bank Chevrolet 196 $8,940 Engine
20 31 78 Charlie Bradberry Bradberry Racing Chevrolet 196 $5,740 Engine
21 19 53 Tim Sauter Pipe Eyes/Keller Motorsports Ford 195 $7,865 Engine
22 33 70 Andy Ponstein Bailey Excavating Ford 195 $5,590 Engine
23 21 5 Jerry Hill EPH Tools & Machining Dodge 193 $7,815 Engine
24 32 95 Wayne Edwards NRG Cases / Hitech Ford 192 $5,540 Engine
25 9 99 Carl Edwards Superchips Ford 186 $6,515 Crash
26 24 31 Tina Gordon Microtel Inn & Suites Chevrolet 179 $6,490 Crash
27 34 7 Tyler Walker Mopar Performance Dodge 165 $5,465 Crash
28 30 87 Conrad Burr Wendy's / National Peening Chevrolet 157 $5,440 Crash
29 8 2 Jimmy Spencer Team ASE / Carquest Dodge 154 $5,390 Crash
30 14 8 Bill Lester Strauss Auto Parts / The Club Dodge 143 $6,365 Crash
31 29 01 Lance Hooper Fans Motorsports Ford 108 $5,315 Rear End
32 11 75 David Starr Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet 105 $5,315 Engine
33 25 52 Ken Schrader Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet 96 $5,290 Electrical
34 26 93 Roland Isaacs Troxell-MacDonald Racing Chevrolet 25 $5,265 Brakes
35 20 86 Phil Bonifield Speed Motorsports Management Chevrolet 13 $5,240 Clutch
36 23 23 Jamie Aube Motor State Perf./Red Line Oil Chevrolet 10 $5,215 Brakes

Failed to Qualify: (1): Brian Sockwell (#51)

Time of Race: 1 hour, 38 minutes, 50 seconds Average
Speed: 91.062 mph
Margin of Victory: .426 second

Bud Pole Award: None awarded. Field set by NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rulebook due to inclement weather.

Clevite Engine Parts Award:
Andy Petree Racing, #33 Monaco Coach Corporation/Diamond Rio Chevrolet

Featherlite Long Haul Award:
Robert Pressley, #59 Harris Trucking/Melling Engine Parts Dodge

Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race Award:
Tony Stewart, #33 Monaco Coach Corporation/Diamond Rio Chevrolet

Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award:
Jody Lavender, #08 Hartsville Community Bank Chevrolet

Waste Management Picking Up Places Award:
Tony Stewart, 33 Monaco Coach Corporation/Diamond Rio Chevrolet (26 places)

Caution Flags: Laps 35-38 (Truck #31 accident, Turn 3); 96-102 (Debris, Turn 1); 144-148 (Truck #59 spin, Turn 2); 151-154 (Truck #18 spin, Turn 2); 156-162 (Truck #2 accident, Turn 1); 167-175 (Truck #7, 87 accident, Turn 3); 179-182 (Truck #4 spin, Turn 4). 7 for 40 laps.

Lap Leaders: Travis Kvapil, pole, Brendan Gaughan 1-4, Ted Musgrave 5-92, Bobby Hamilton 93-102, Tony Stewart 103-111, Hamilton 112-148, Jimmy Spencer 149, Hamilton 150-176, Stewart 177-183, Musgrave 184, Stewart 185-200.

Total Laps Led: Ted Musgrave 89, Bobby Hamilton 74, Tony Stewart 32, Brendan Gaughan 4, Jimmy Spencer 1. 10 changes involving 5 drivers.

Points following this race:
Rank Driver Points -Back
1 Brendan Gaughan 2631  
2 Travis Kvapil 2626 -5
3 Ted Musgrave 2592 -39
4 Dennis Setzer 2520 -111
5 Rick Crawford 2491 -140
6 Jon Wood 2484 -147
7 Bobby Hamilton 2437 -194
8 Carl Edwards 2275 -356
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