Someone once said that to truly enjoy life, you must experience a full range of emotions. The 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup season certainly gave us that. Excitement, fear, happiness and anger were all prevalent feelings in what was a triumphant year for some and a disappointment for others.

The season got off to a quirky start. The Daytona 500 -- an event promoted as NASCAR's Super Bowl -- was cut short by rain. Just 109 laps of 200 were completed. Fans, some who traveled thousands of miles, exited the track vocally demonstrating their disapproval. Even some drivers questioned the decision to abbreviate the event. Michael Waltrip, who won "The Great American Race" for the second time, wasn't among the critics.

In 2002 Matt Kenseth tallied a series high five victories. So, when he won at Las Vegas in the third week it seemed he was picking up where he left off the year before. Surprisingly, though, the win was Kenseth's only triumph of the season, however it did set up an amazing run which culminated in his clinching his first Winston Cup title for himself and owner Jack Roush on Nov. 9 at Rockingham.

While Bill Elliott's last lap disaster -- blowing a tire while leading with a half circuit remaining -- two weeks ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway was dramatic, it wasn't the best finish of the season. That distinction goes to Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch's fender banging finish in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington. Craven edged Busch by .002 seconds, the closest finish in NASCAR history.

"Fight of the Year" is not one of the superlatives recognized at the annual awards banquet, but maybe it should be. This year's nominees would include Kevin Harvick and Ricky Rudd for their post-race fracas in Richmond. The tension-filled moment was laced with expletives but no punches were thrown. That's why the winner of this inglorious award would have to be Jimmy Spencer, who punched Busch following the seasons' second Michigan race. Spencer was fined and suspended for the following event, which Busch ended up winning at Bristol Motor Speedway.

There were scary moments this year. An eerie quietness enveloped the Winston Cup garage in May when Jerry Nadeau was airlifted out of Richmond after sustaining serious head, lung and rib injuries during practice. He continues to recover but his status as a driver remains uncertain.

Also, 2003 was the season of the sweep. Four drivers -- Ryan Newman (Dover), Jimmie Johnson (NHIS), Kurt Busch (Bristol) and Jeff Gordon (Martinsville) -- won both events at tracks that the series visited twice.

Robby Gordon swept the road course races, winning in Watkins Glen and Sonoma. His victory at Infineon Raceway created one of the year's biggest controversies when he passed his teammate Harvick coming to the yellow. Later in the season that move -- which was previously legal but discouraged by the 'gentleman's agreement' -- was made illegal when NASCAR banned racing back to the caution.

The transition from 'generation then' to 'generation now' was completed. Five of the top six finishers in this year's final standings have four or less full years of Winston cup experience. Conversely Rusty Wallace (who hadn't finished outside the top-10 since 1992) and Dale Jarrett (who had a string of seven consecutive top-10s), will be absent from the Winston Cup awards ceremony this year.

There were surprises. Sophomore sensation Ryan Newman rattled off a series-high eight victories and won 11 Bud poles; nobody expected Greg Biffle's restrictor plate upset at Daytona in July; and Terry Labonte snapped a 156-race winless streak with his victory in the Southern 500.

There were also disappointments. Last year's runner-up, Mark Martin, ended the season winless, 17th in the standings. Sterling Marlin, who led the championship chase last year for 25 consecutive weeks, didn't record a top-five finish all season.

But without question the driver who went through the most tumultuous year was Jarrett. The 1999 champ had three different crew chiefs, posted eight DNFs, and finished with a career low 26th place finish in the standings. The team made another crew chief change this week, replacing Shawn Parker with Mike Ford.

The 2001 and 2002 champs mixed flashes of brilliance with moments of futility. Jeff Gordon had three wins but the wheels came off on his championship hopes when he suffered a late summer meltdown. Meanwhile, Tony Stewart's attempt to repeat as champion fell flat after stumbling miserably during the spring when he recorded three consecutive finishes of 40th or worse at California, Richmond and Charlotte. Gordon and Stewart both recovered to finish among the top-10.

Finally, if for no other reason, this year's Winston Cup season will be remembered for this: It was the last one. In February, RJ Reynolds and its Winston brand -- the title sponsor of NASCAR's premier series since 1971 -- shocked the racing world by announcing their departure from NASCAR racing.

In 2004 the Winston Cup will become the NEXTEL Cup. But while the trophy will change, the excitement and emotion will not.

Mike Massaro covers NASCAR for ESPN and ESPN.com.