The 2003 Daytona 500 was the perfect storm for driver Michael Waltrip.
With 95 laps to go in the 200-lap event at Daytona International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson took the green flag as the leader with Waltrip just behind him. Waltrip, however, had a secret weapon — his teammate and superspeedway ace, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
At the time Earnhardt Jr. was a lap down in 38th place, nowhere close to being in a spot to contend for a win. With some help from a mid-race caution after Mike Skinner’s tire went down, though, the game changed.
RELATED: 2002 Daytona 500 race results | Daytona 500 winner history
At that time, lead-lap cars restarted single file in the outside lane and lapped cars lined up at the bottom of the track. Earnhardt Jr. was the first car on the inside row, and once the green dropped, Waltrip followed his Dale Earnhardt Incorporated teammate to the bottom and made the pass on Johnson for the lead.
Later that lap, the defending Daytona 500 champion Ward Burton wrecked coming off of Turn 4 forcing NASCAR to throw the yellow flag. On Lap 109 the rain came, resulting in Michael Waltrip’s second career victory in The Great American Race.
WATCH: Ward Burton takes advantage of Marlin’s penalty for 2002 Daytona 500 win
Relive Waltrip’s win in the rain-shorted Daytona 500 from 2003 in this week’s NASCAR Full Race Replay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-5nQprMLFg