By Mark Aumann, Turner Sports Interactive
February 8, 2003
12:03 PM EST (1703 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- No. 4 turned out to be better than No. 3 by one. Again.
With Dale Earnhardt's black No. 3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo filling up his rear-view mirror on the final lap, Sterling Marlin cooly held his ground to win the 37th annual Daytona 500, becoming the first driver to win back-to-back since Cale Yarborough.
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Marlin's secret? He knew he had the better car.
"Any time you beat Dale Earnhardt in one of those late-race deals, it's real special," Marlin said. "But if Earnhardt or anybody else had been in my car, they would have won. That's how good it was."
Unlike the previous year, when Marlin gambled and won on fuel mileage, he emerged victorious this time thanks to track position -- and sheer horsepower.
Even on old tires, he was able to fend off the charging Earnhardt, who went from 14th to second on fresh tires following the final restart with 10 laps to go.
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Marlin's crew chief, Tony Glover, kept Marlin on the track -- a call that proved to be correct, since there were 21 cars on the lead lap at the finish.
"On that last caution, I asked Tony what he wanted me to do," Marlin said. "He told me to stay out there because there were so many cars on the lead lap, it might be hard to get back up there."
Earnhardt quickly moved past everyone but Marlin, locking onto the leader's back bumper by lap 197. Needing help to get around Marlin on the final lap, Earnhardt looked for third-place Mark Martin. But Martin's car was on worn tires and he couldn't provide the needed push.
And once again, Earnhardt, a frequent visitor to Daytona's Victory Lane in nearly every other race he had entered, couldn't find the key that unlocked the secret to winning the 500.
"I needed some help, but nobody could help you if they couldn't stay with you in the corners," Earnhardt said. "Sterling deserved to win. He was better.
"I'm not supposed to win the damn thing, I don't reckon."
The Fords of Martin, Ted Musgrave and Dale Jarrett rounded out the top five.
Marlin dominated the second half of the race, leading 57 consecutive laps at one point. He led 105 laps total to Earnhardt's 23.
Jeff Gordon, who led 61 laps, might have been able to make it a three-car showdown at the finish. But on a pit stop, the jack dropped prematurely, caving in the sheet metal around the left front tire. The car never handled the rest of the day, leaving Gordon a lap down in 22nd.
Rusty Wallace, involved in crashes the two previous 500s, tore up another car. This time, he and Bobby Hamilton tangled on lap 158 while slowing down for a separate caution flag. Wallace, who had won 18 races in two seasons but never better than seventh in the 500, wound up 34th.
Ward Burton finished 15th in his first Daytona 500, followed by Ricky Craven in 16th. Joe Nemechek's debut wasn't as sterling, as he wound up 42nd after a crash on lap 8.
This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.
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