#99-Michael Waltrip won the pole at Richmond got Friday night’s Hardee’s 250 with a speed of 125.523mph (7:30pm/et, FX). It is Waltrip’s fifth pole at Richmond and first of the 2003 season. #57-Jason Keller will start second, followed by #59-Stacy Compton, #48-Shane Hmiel, and #2-Ron Hornaday. New Jersey’s #81-Martin Truex will start 6th in Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Chance 2 car. Drivers had to wait through a more than 3-hour delay because of moisture seepage coming up through the track. The first two drivers who tried to qualify – Jason Rudd and Dion Ciccarelli – both wrecked. Track officials then discovered water seeping through cracks in the track. After trying to get the water drained off by cutting grooves into the track, NASCAR made the decision to resume qualifying at approximately 8:00pm/et. Some drivers still complained about the track’s condition. “Some drivers said there were wet spots. We made the decision to go ahead and qualify based on talking to many of the drivers,” said NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter. “We felt it was OK.” The biggest problem areas were in entrance to Turn 1 and the exit to Turn 2. Hunter said heavy rain Wednesday night contributed to the problem and said NASCAR would monitor the situation overnight.(ThatsRacin.com)
Kind of a shame what happend to #84-Dion Ciccarelli and #01-Jason Rudd who crashed their cars when water seepage on the track caused them to wreck their cars and miss the race.
See qualifying results/lineup at ThatsRacin.com, BGNRacing.com or NASCAR.com.(5-2-2003)
