The 2003 Ford 300 was the 34th and final race of the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series and the 9th iteration of this event. The race was held at Homestead–Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The race had six drivers contend for the Busch Series championship. Greg Biffle won the pole while Jamie McMurray led the most laps but it was Kasey Kahne taking home his first ever win of his whole NASCAR career. In the championship battle, Brian Vickers won the championship, his first and only in the Busch Series at the age of 20 years old becoming the youngest driver to ever win the Busch Series Championship until Chase Elliott broke the record in 2014 at the age of 18.
Background
Homestead–Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the IndyCar Series, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, and the Championship Cup Series.
From 2002 to 2019, Homestead–Miami Speedway had hosted the final race of the season in all three of NASCAR's series as Ford Championship Weekend: the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The races currently have the names Dixie Vodka 400, Contender Boats 250, and Baptist Health 200, respectively.
Championship battle
The race had six drivers contend for the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series championship with those six being Ron Hornaday Jr., Brian Vickers, Scott Riggs, Bobby Hamilton Jr., David Green, and Jason Keller. All were looking for their first Busch Series title except for Green who was the 1994 Busch Series champion. The points lead had also changed a total of 17 times over the 33 races including the points lead changing 7 times over the last 8 races.
Brian Vickers was the points leader coming into the race looking to become the youngest Busch Series champion in its history at 20 years old. David Green was 22 points behind in 2nd and was looking to become the 6th driver in Busch Series history to win multiple championships alongside drivers Jack Ingram, Sam Ard, Larry Pearson, Randy LaJoie, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ron Hornaday was 39 points back in 3rd and was looking for his first Busch Series title after he had won two Craftsman Truck Series titles in 1996 and 1998. Jason Keller was 70 points back in 4th and was looking for his first Busch Series title after he finished in the top 5 in points over the last 5 seasons with points finishes of 2nd in 2000, 3rd in 2001, and 2nd in 2002. Scott Riggs was 85 points back in 5th and coming into the last race at Rockingham, he was the points leader. But Riggs hit the wall during the race and ended up not finishing the race which took him from first all the way back to 5th in the standings. During the season, the championship battle looked like it was gonna have 5 drivers contend until Bobby Hamilton Jr. came in, who was 369 points out of the lead after the 24th race at Bristol, had built up enough consistency including two wins in the final 10 races at Memphis and Phoenix to be able to contend for the championship. Hamilton Jr. was 89 points back in 6th and was looking to shock everyone and win the championship.
Championship standings entering the race
Brian Vickers, 4507 points
David Green, –22
Ron Hornaday Jr., –39
Jason Keller, –70
Scott Riggs, –85
Bobby Hamilton Jr., –89
Scott Wimmer, –494
Johnny Sauter, –536
Kasey Kahne, –583
Stacy Compton, –714
Bold indicates drivers mathematically eligible for the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series championship
Entry List
(R) denotes rookie driver
(CC#) denotes championship contender and where they rank in the standings
Qualifying
Greg Biffle won the pole for the last race of the year with a time of 30.437 and a speed of 177.416 mph.
Starting Grid
* - Ron Hornaday and Martin Truex Jr. both had to start at the rear of the field with Hornaday having a backup car and Truex having an engine change.