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Trackside forecast The '03 Winston Cup champion will be a repeat winnerPosted: Tuesday December 31, 2002 2:48 PM
All eyes will be on Daytona in February, but there is one other race that month -- the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway -- that will count just as much toward the points championship. It's easy to get caught up in all the pomp and circumstance of SpeedWeeks, but Daytona is not the end-all for the Winston Cup season. In fact, it's just the beginning. February: Rusty Wallace breaks his winless drought to claim his first Daytona 500 behind the wheel of a Dodge. In fact, Sterling Marlin will be the runner-up for a Ram-tough 1-2 finish -- and despite the "common template," Chevy, Ford and Pontiac teams will howl. March: The busiest month of the season's first half (five races, just like August) will sort out the field. Some of the names we won't be seeing at the top of the leaderboard: Terry Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield and anyone named Bodine. However, Dave Blaney continues streaking around the learning curve. And keep an eye on Richard Childress' stable; Kevin Harvick is out to prove he belongs in the big leagues. April: The first off weekend beckons as Easter falls on the 20th. It's a good thing, too; the three races -- Talladega, Martinsville and Fontana -- are hikes. For the guys driving the haulers, here's the mileage:
May: And what goes left, must come right: Richmond follows Fontana (2,575 miles). The good news is that Mother's Day provides the second break in four weeks. By now, the wheat and chaff have been separated. Wallace will have fallen back to the pack, and Kurt Busch will be the points leader heading to The Winston. June: This is when more small-budget teams will begin staying home, pinching pennies for later races at Daytona and Indianapolis. Jeff Gordon turns up the heat on his quest for a fifth championship. He begins by winning at Dover and Pocono. Bill Elliott will end The Kid's streak at Michigan, but Gordon bounces back at Sonoma -- and takes the points lead. July: For the record, it's 16 races down, 20 to go -- in 20 weeks -- starting at Daytona. Proving that his rookie season was no fluke, Jimmie Johnson kick starts the second half of the season by holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the line. It will be Junior's third top-5 showing with a restrictor-plate, and he also moves into the top five in points. August: Already having conquered one of his demons (Daytona), Wallace finally wins at The Brickyard in a to-the-stripe duel with Gordon and Tony Stewart. The win vaults Wallace back into the points lead, while Jamie McMurray enters the top 10. Wallace's good fortunes continue at Watkins Glen and Michigan -- top-10 finishes, but no wins -- while Gordon reclaims the points lead after a win at Bristol and a top-5 at Darlington. September: Dale Jarrett, overlooked for most of the season, begins a late-season surge, posting a win at Richmond and top-10s at New Hampshire, Dover and Talladega. However, it's Little E who gets back on the beam with a victory at 'Dega. Teammate Michael Waltrip also posts a top-5; after all, it is a restrictor-plate race, which seems to be Mikey's forté. October: Clinging to the points lead, Gordon will begin the season-ending seven-race stretch with a win at Kansas, followed by six consecutive top-15 finishes. However, Wallace and Stewart will remain in the chase with Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin rounding out the top five. Martin's strong second half mirrors teammate Jeff Burton's, helping take the sting out of Matt Kenseth's struggles. Still, Jack Roush laments the team's early season inconsistencies. November: Ricky Rudd tosses a wrench into the mix by winning at Phoenix. His victory, combined with poor showings by Martin and Busch, allow Marlin and Ryan Newman to join the top-5 fray. Wallace wins at North Carolina to set up a season-ending dash for the cash between himself, Stewart and Gordon at Miami. And in the end, well ... we'll just have to go trackside as Eli Gold brings the field out of Turn 4 and into our living rooms. B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for CNNSI.com.
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