|| *Comments on the 2003 Ford 200:* View the most recent comment <#66> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Brian posted: 10.19.2004 - 1:38 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Brendan Gaughan had the championship.... 2. JJ Lehto posted: 11.02.2004 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Jimmy Smith the owner of Ted Musgrave. His truck happens to ACCIDENTLY take out gaughan. 3. Jake posted: 11.10.2004 - 1:11 am Rate this comment: (1) (3) Felt bad for Brendan, but loved his interview: "We had a Dodge that could win the championship, and Jimmy Smith can my ass!!!" GO BRENDAN!!! He's probably one of the coolest guys in NASCAR. 4. Jake posted: 11.10.2004 - 1:12 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) He said Jimmy Smith can kiss his ass, sorry I forgot that. 5. Brian posted: 02.20.2005 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) Brendan Gaughan had the championship, it was without a doubt his. Jimmy Smith entered 5 trucks that race.... so he can use them as wrecking balls. Luckilly theres racing karma... Musgrave jumps a restart and is penalized and loses the cup..... too bad it went to that kvapil.... 6. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2005 - 3:19 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) Yea, gaughan was screwed big time. So was musgrave. He lost his championship because he jumped a restart. Kvapil sucks. He only had 1 win (that he didnt deserve, he won it because harvick blew a tire on the last lap) The whole year he led only 49 laps... While gaughan had 6 wins, and should've had more. 7. Chicago posted: 06.22.2005 - 11:58 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Kvapil completed all but one lap all year. Unspectacular but consistent; he deserved to win the championship. 8. Mike D posted: 07.26.2005 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) I disagree. The standings were up and down all year. When Gaughan took the lead in the points he held on to it, and built upon it. THEN, when he crashed Musgrave had the title. Remember he technically won it, but was penalized for jumping the restart (piece of **** if you ask me) Kvapil had one win, (which was handed to him) he was up front alot but barely led, he had this championship handed to him. 9. JC posted: 07.31.2005 - 4:29 am Rate this comment: (7) (0) Travis finished no worse than 18th all season. Finished outside the top 10 only 3 times. Completed all but one lap. But because he didn't do it your way he didn't deserve the championship. It was "handed" to him. Why don't they just make a rule that says that they give the championship and wins to the guy that should have won. 10. Mike D posted: 08.29.2005 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) OK, I hear you all, he was the most consistent, no doubt about that. However, in my opinion, he still had it handed to him. When Gaughan crashed Musgrave had the title. He only lost it because he was penalized. Yes, this is part of consistency, since Kvapil didnt make a mistake, but if 2 situations did not happen Kvapil would not have won the title. Giving me the feeling he did not deserve it. Just for the record his one win of the year WAS handed to him. You mut agree on that. Harvick dominated and blew a tire on the last lap. 11. Thomas posted: 02.01.2006 - 8:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (9) It was handed to Kvapil, and Musgrave got screwed because NASCAR hates it when Chevrolet doesn't win, so NASCAR contrived it so they would. Gaughan really should have won, but got crashed by Marty Houston, not on purpose though. 12. Steve posted: 02.06.2006 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) The win at Bristol was, in a way, handed to Travis Kvapil, but he was closing on Harvick significantly at the end. But the championship, he earned for sure. Remember on the first lap of the race, he and Terry Cook got together, and Travis all but crashed? His championship bid could have been over like that. What really drives me crazy is when people say, "Oh, so-and-so didn't earn the championship. He only won one race and led 13 laps! THIS guy should have won the title, he won 8,000 races and led 4 billion laps!" Nobody complained when Ned Jarrett won the championship in 1961 with just one win (at Birmingham, Alabama). Benny Parsons won the Winston Cup in 1973 with only one win (at Bristol, just like Travis). Or what about 1996? Two Hendrick drivers, Jeff Gordon (the dominant driver) and Terry Labonte (the consistent veteran) battling for the Winston Cup. Gordon had 10 wins. Labonte had 2. Gordon had 6 finishes that were worse than 30th. Labonte had 6 finishes worse than 20th. Isn't winning the championship supposed to be all about consistency? 13. Darrell posted: 02.24.2006 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One reason why I wanted to see Musgrave win was because he was battling cancer at the time. 14. J. Kircher posted: 04.19.2006 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nice debating, but don't forget that this great race was a mini-version of the 1992 Hooters 500 Cup finale from Atlanta. I didn't see that race live, but I think this race had the most drama out of any that I've seen, maybe not including some Daytona 500's. Brendan Gaughan was doing what he needed to do when Marty Houston (one of the five trucks entered by Jim Smith) collected him in a wreck ending his day and championship. Gaughan was sportsmanlike with the fans taking a bow next to his wrecked machine on the frontstretch. However, in his network interview he vented his frustrations at Smith. With the championship door wide open, Ted Musgrave then did what he had to do as he was a few positions ahead of Travis Kvapil when on a restart with a few laps remaining it was determined that he jumped the restart. I don't think he ever came in for the black flag ( I wouldn't either), so at the end of the race he was penalized to the last truck on the lead lap. I felt bad for Jim Smith, who is one of the Truck Series original owners, as he celebrated at the end of the race thinking they had won the title. Travis Kvapil pulled into the champ's podium and had to wait what seemed like forever as NASCAR reviewed the end of the race and the results. Also strange was that Kvapil was a lameduck driver and was already told he wouldn't be in that seat the next year. Second championship in-a-row for the #16 team. I hope enjoyed this championship which some have questioned. As for the points system, it is based on consistency, as NASCAR went to the new system in the early 1970's to try and get a base of drivers that would compete for the championship instead of just racing a portion of the schedule. Only now with the Chase for the Cup has NASCAR started awarding teams for more victories and even with the extra points for wins, it is still very much a consistency-awarding points system. 15. Darrell posted: 04.29.2006 - 2:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Phil Bonifield finishes 20th in points, despite finishing 4 races that season. 16. mcmurrayfan posted: 06.17.2006 - 4:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) 100th career top 5 in the Trucks for Jack Sprague. Basically, this was Gaughan's championship to lose and he lost it because of getting wrecked. 17. Steve posted: 08.01.2006 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DW's call during this race, "Oh! Brendan is AROUND!!!" is just as memorable to me as B.P.'s, "Oh, no! DAVEY ALLISON is in the crash!" in the 1992 Hooters 500, which this race was very similar to, until Musgrave's black flag. The similarities: more than two drivers with realistic Championship hopes the championship leader avoiding an early accident the championship leader getting taken out in a crash near or at the race's 3/4 mark an underdog from Wisconsin win the title with consistency and a better average finish than any of the other Championship contenders (irrelevant, but interesting to me) Bobby Hamilton, Ted Musgrave, Ken Schrader, Morgan Shepherd, and Mike Wallace were in both races 18. Rusty posted: 09.06.2006 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Incase you forgot David Green won the 1994 Busch Series championship with only 1 win at Bristol, where Mark Martin pitted a lap before the race was over........ consistency wins the title not winning every race. 19. Darrell posted: 09.24.2006 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First NASCAR race for future Indy 500 winner for future Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice. 20. biffle16 posted: 06.23.2007 - 7:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Holy crap!!! Kvapil wins the championship after only leading 49 laps all season!!! Anonymous, how does Kvapil suck? 21. The Real Thomas posted: 07.11.2007 - 6:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Kvapil deserved the championship because he was the most consistent. However, it was taken away from Musgrave unfairly. He was only trying to miss a truck in front of him that was slowed because of a chain-reaction restart where someone at the front of the field slowed, causing everyone else to slow. I guess NASCAR's jackass policy is to simply hit the truck in front of you on a restart if they are going too slow or slam the brakes and let the guy behind pound you in the rear. 22. Steve posted: 09.25.2007 - 6:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) And remember, all of this drama was NOT manipulated by a CHA$E. Quite possibly the greatest race in the history of the series. 23. SK posted: 11.18.2007 - 1:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And it looks like Bryan Reffner's CTS career comes to an end as his #80 Chevrolet broadsides the spinning vehicle of Brendan Gaughan. The former Rookie of the Year and race winner was okay, but in the four seasons since has not returned to the series. 24. Darrell posted: 12.09.2007 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Same with Marty Houston SK. 25. RaceFanX posted: 12.20.2007 - 4:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) P.J. Jones first Truck Series race since 1995. 26. Rad83 posted: 07.30.2008 - 2:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) I was a Gaughan fan for the Truck Series back in '03, and he got totally SCREWED. Musgrave deserved what happened to him. When you drive for Jim Smith, **** happens. That guy shutting down his team at the end of '05 was the best thing to happen to the CTS. 27. Anonymous posted: 12.01.2009 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) kvapil deserved the championship but he didnt earn it he hid the work to put himself in position to win it but freak occurrences gifted him his win and championship 28. The Kid posted: 12.18.2009 - 9:49 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I understand the hatred for Jimmy Smith because he entered several trucks, and because his driver essentially took the championship from Gaughan, but to say that him closing his team's doors was one of the best things for the series is a bit much. You do realize he is one of the founding fathers of the truck series, don't you? 29. Anonymous posted: 02.04.2010 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Buddy Rice (2004 Indy 500 winner) only NASCAR start 30. Anonymous posted: 04.29.2010 - 2:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) This race is perhaps the Truck Race I want to see the most to be on YouTube, I want to see it from start to finish. I started watching NASCAR in 2003, but we had no SPEED until 2004. 31. BMB5150 posted: 08.12.2010 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey Anonymous above me, your wish is my command. Uploading this race now. 32. luigistarted06 posted: 08.26.2010 - 12:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I only see 4 trucks listed as Jimmy Smith being owner, but I could've sworn it was more than that even. Anyone want to confirm or deny that? 33. JLPMGHRS posted: 10.31.2010 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe Smith entered six trucks, but only four made the race. 34. Anonymous posted: 11.01.2010 - 7:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 27 truck is the fifth Jim Smith entry, it was just entered under a different name. 35. Anonymous posted: 11.01.2010 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) When Tyler Walker spun in turn 4 on the third lap to bring out the first caution, Dorsey Schroeder said from the booth: "That's one way these Smith trucks could change the outcome of this, if they keep wrecking in the middle of everybody." Nice prediction, Dorsey. 36. Daniel posted: 05.21.2012 - 2:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 36: #51 Jason Hedlesky, #93 Derrike Cope, #95 Wayne Edwards Out using fastest 36: #72 Randy MacDonald, #86 Phil Bonifield, #88 Buddy Rice 37. SG224 posted: 11.04.2012 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Here are the extra trucks entered in the race. Jim Smith/Ultra Motorsports (5 Teams) 1 - Ted Musgrve - FT 2 - Andy Houston - FT Team (Driver was part time) 7 - Tyler Walker - Ford 200 Only 10 - Marty Houston - Ford 200 27 - P.J Jones - Ford 200 Michael Gaughan/Orleans Racing 61 - Scott Lynch - Ford 200 62 - Brendan Gaughan - FT Steven Coulter/Xpress Motorsports 11 - Jack Sprauge - Ford 200 16 - Travis Kvapil - FT Duke Thorson/ThorSport Racing 88 - Buddy Rice - FT (Crafton drove the car the sesason) 98 - Matt Crafton - Ford 200 only It wasnt just Ultra Motorsports doing this, though they had 3 more Trucks than the other teams. 38. Jim E $mith posted: 11.06.2012 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I remember Jimmy Smith, how cool of an owner to hire Spencer and win a lot. Kahne also got a lot wins with him 39. Robert Nelson posted: 11.08.2012 - 2:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings using the 2003 Formula One points system (10-6-4-3-2-1-). 1. Brendan Gaughan 92 2. Ted Musgrave 86 3. Carl Edwards 70 4. Dennis Setzer 69 5. Travis Kvapil 64 6. Jon Wood 49 7. Bobby Hamilton 46 8. Rick Carwford 45 9. Jason Leffler 29 10. David Starr 24 11. Robert Pressley 18 12. Kevin Harvick 16 13. Jimmy Spencer 11 =14. Andy Houston 10 =14. Tony Stewart 10 16. Chad Chaffin 8 17. Jack Sprague 4 =18. Mike Wallace 1 =18. Jeremy Mayfield 1 =18. Ken Schrader 1 =18. Eric Jones 1 =18. Matt Crafton 1 40. 83andJoe posted: 04.18.2013 - 5:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #27 owner: Jim Smith 41. Anonymous posted: 04.28.2013 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Buddy Rice in this race for some reason 42. b4il3y posted: 03.26.2014 - 4:10 am Rate this comment: (1) (7) Brendan Gaughan is your 2003 champ. I dont care what the standings really say. Today, this would have been penalized like it should have and he would've won his championship. I agree with him, Jim Smith.. nice job. And where are you now? Not in nascar :) 43. We need more Onion posted: 08.21.2014 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) And which penalty would have made Gaughan beat KVAPIL exactly? There is a way to make him finish in front of Musgrave, but you know, Kvapil and Setzer would still be there. Although I agree with you on Gaughan deserving this championship the most, you really should think before you hit publish... 44. 88&4Fan posted: 07.31.2015 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) I think really the worst part of this race was when Jim Smith was jumping up and down screaming "This is the greatest day of my life!" as if he thought he had actually won something. He knew what he did and pretended like he had actually earned the championships. Thankfully karma got him and Musgrave was penalized. 45. Anthony posted: 05.10.2016 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Hey look, its a 4 way championship decider, no chase needed for that. 46. JRacingFast posted: 11.18.2016 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Watching the truck race tonight and it's hard to believe that in this season we didn't need a chase and how epic this race and battle was between these four drivers on this day Ooh and PS. "Jimmy Smith can kiss my ass ð???ð???ð??? 47. Gabriel posted: 05.01.2018 - 12:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Thankfully there was Karma for Jimmy Smith's jackass move on Brendan Gaughan. Musgrave gets a restart penalty on the green white checkered and loses the championship. 48. Mr.Victory posted: 05.01.2018 - 7:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) This race shows one way in NASCAR to play your dirty hands, only to lose the match. 49. Josh Drake posted: 07.28.2018 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Copy-pasted from the Jim Smith comment section First of all, there is no credible sources that says there was an intent to wreck anybody. There was an intent to hold other championship contenders up, but not an intent to wreck. Secondly, every other team in the hunt for the title were pulling the exact same strategy; Jack Sprague was trying to slow down for his teammate Travis Kvapil, and Gaughan's team also fielded an extra car as well, so to single Jim Smith out is kind of unfair. The way each team raced for the championship was overly cynical and it should have never been allowed, but there was no intent to wreck each other. NOTE: And before any of you downvote this, understand that this is not an attempt to prove Smith innocent. Every owner who was competing for the title should be ashamed of themselves for how they competed in this championship. 50. Anthony posted: 11.17.2018 - 5:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) NASCAR tried to manufacture fake battles with the Chase, but they still can't beat this one 51. Me. posted: 12.21.2018 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) The whining Musgrave did after he jumped the start, combined with his unnecessary wrecking of Kelly Bires a few years later, caused me to lose all respect for the guy. I'm glad he never won in Cup. 52. Wil posted: 12.21.2018 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't understand people who think Jim Smith entered another truck to go after Gaughan. For one, wrecking race cars is like throwing $100k+ of cash into a blazing fire, which owners don't love doing. Second, Marty Houston just lost it and collected Brendan which sucks, but Marty Houston doesn't have the talent to spin out on purpose and spin the truck precisely into Brendan's quarter panel. It was a crappy situation and Brendan should've been angry, but can't blame Jim Smith. 53. GoPM21 posted: 12.21.2018 - 9:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @52 Please tell me how many other times Jim Smith entered five trucks in a race that year. 54. Wil posted: 12.21.2018 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @52 Teams sometimes do wacky things in the last event of the year, like in all sports. All I know is Kyle Busch doesn't have the skill to intentionally lose his car and spin down the track EXACTLY into a specific car's quarter panel, let alone Marty Houston. Just a crappy, unfortunate situation, but everyone wants to marry Brendan so they put all the blame on Jim Smith. All I know is Kvapil had no business winning this title. 55. Mannoroth posted: 12.22.2018 - 7:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) 52. You seriously think that Jim Smith running 5 trucks in this race along with the fact that Marty Houston driving for him did wreck Brendan Gaughan is just a coincidence? Man... It's like saying that Clint Bowyer didn't spin intentionally at Richmond in 2013 just because he made it look like a regular spin. It's obvious as hell - Jim Smith was a jealous prick who couldn't handle the fact that Brendan Gaughan was winning more races than his Ted Musgrave and just wanted to make sure he won't see the checkered flag. You think it's absolutely normal to field way more trucks than usual for the last race of the season? Plus, Marty Houston made it look like a regular accident, but it's a really stupid coincidence that it was Gaughan that was taken out by one of the Smith's trucks. Marty Houston was a professional driver just like any other, so he doesn't have a problem to make it look like an accident... 56. Fuzzy posted: 11.30.2019 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race marks the most recent time someone attempted to get a #69 car or truck into the field in a NASCAR Cup/Xfinity/Truck Series event. Frank Kimmel succeeded in doing that, but could not finish the race as his engine expired on lap 117. 57. ShinyMew151 posted: 01.04.2020 - 11:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only time so far Crafton has been in a Thorsport truck with a number besides 88 58. Mile501 posted: 01.04.2020 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @57 - Apparently Crafton drove the #98 in this race in order to make sure Buddy Rice qualified in his one-off NASCAR start. It proved to be a good decision. He needed the points from the #88 because he would not have made the race based on his qualifying speed. 59. Stonex posted: 01.06.2020 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Standings with the modern playoff format: 1. Jon Wood (4029) 2. Ted Musgrave (4024) 3. Carl Edwards (4010) 4. Brendan Gaughan (4008) 5. Dennis Setzer (2317) 6. Travis Kvapil (2275) 7. Bobby Hamilton (2270) 8. Rick Crawford (2260) 60. rm posted: 02.26.2020 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) First race for the Trucks on the newly-reconfigured layout that added a lot of banking; Homestead now resembled the classic Atlanta layout instead of an oversized horse track. Ted Musgrave qualified 10th for the fourth time in 2003, which is notable because that was the furthest back he ever started all year! In a year where there was so much parity at the top, it's impressive that he never qualified outside of the top ten all year. To the rear - 62 - engine change Free passes: First caution - none Second caution - 61 Fifth caution - none No lucky dogs were mentioned for the third/fourth as the focus during the cautions turned to Brendan Gaughan's unbelievable turn of misfortune. If anyone out there honestly, legitimately believes that Jim Smith put a hit out on Brendan Gaughan's truck...I can't help you there. 61. SweetRich posted: 02.26.2020 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators for the race were Rick Allen, Darrell Waltrip, Phil Parsons and Dorsey Schroeder. The pit road reporters were Ray Dunlap and Barry Dodson. 62. Corey posted: 08.19.2020 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess I never realized Rick Allen had been calling races that early in the 2000's. I always figured he came into the NASCAR scene around 2010 or so. 63. Mile501 posted: 11.30.2020 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To fill in the missing free pass data: 3rd caution - #21 4th caution - #29 (Source: From watching and closely analyzing the video from the race. Unfortunately, the announcers did not specifically state who got the free pass during these cautions, but after analyzing the video and the running order, I am confident that this information is correct.) 64. Mile501 posted: 11.30.2020 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Webmaster - I apologize; I mistyped a number in my last post. I meant #27 instead of #21. Correct free pass data: 3rd caution - #27 (P.J. Jones) 4th caution - #29 (Terry Cook) 65. Danny posted: 01.12.2021 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That race reminded us that one call can change everything. Lets just say when they made the crowd fans at home understandably were not too happy about that. 66. Chad posted: 04.08.2021 - 6:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brendan Gaughan after crashing out: "Jimmy Smith can kiss my ass" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: