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The Callahan Racing Page

December 25, 1997

ARCA Series Stock Car Testing


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dan Pardus, of Daytona Beach, Fla., posted the fastest speed on the final of three days of ARCA Series testing Monday at Daytona International Speedway.

Pardus, driving the No. 42 Gardner Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo, was clocked at 48.8 seconds, for an average speed of 184.426 mph.

Pardus, a graduate of the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series, was impressive in his ARCA debut at Daytona last February, turning in a ninth-place finish. The ARCA Series' season-opening Daytona ARCA 200, to be held in conjunction with the all new Bud Shootout At Daytona, is scheduled for Feb. 8.

"The car feels pretty good," said Pardus. "We're trying to get things dialed in right now. This is a brand new car, so it's a new deal for us. We worked all of Friday night just to get the car ready.

"But, we came out on Saturday and ran the car only about 15 laps and we were one of the fastest cars here. We're pretty excited about that, and we think there is still a lot we can do to the car. Last year I was just looking for a good top-10 finish, this year I think we have the potential to win the ARCA 200. I've got a little more experience under my belt and I really enjoy superspeedway racing. I'm excited and all of my guys from Daytona that have been behind me for all these years, they're really excited about this year's Speedweeks.

"If we get through the ARCA race and everything goes good, we may shoot to try to make the field for the Daytona 500. We need a local guy in there, since Marvin Panch and Fireball and all the boys from years ago, there really hasn't been anybody from Daytona that has run in the past few years."

Pre-season testing continues Jan. 3 when NASCAR Winston Cup General Motors teams begin a three-day test in preparation for the Bud Shootout At Daytona and the Feb. 15 Daytona 500.

A section of the Oldfield Grandstand is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the test sessions at no charge with access through DAYTONA USA, "The Ultimate Motorsports Attraction." Guided Speedway Tours are also available from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a nominal fee.

                  	ARCA SERIES TEST SPEEDS -- Dec. 22*
No  Driver/Car                  Speed          No  Driver/Car
 Speed
42  Dan Pardus/Chevrolet	184.426 mph    32  Mark Stahl/Ford           178.571
66  Mark Thompson/Ford		184.335	       53  Bob Kelly/Chevrolet	     178.218
80  Andy Hillenburg/Ford	183.673	        3  Kirk Shelmerdine/Chevrolet176.471
11  Glen Morgan/Chevrolet	180.723	       82  Neil Cunningham/Ford      171.756
18   Josh Baltes/Chevrolet	179.283	       70  Billy Meazell/Chevrolet
166.052

* Electronic times taken randomly throughout the day.

Members of the media who like to attend any pre-season test session should submit a request by fax to (904) 947-6798 to the attention of the credential office.

Cumulative Speed Chart
ARCA Series Test (Dec. 20-22) 
Daytona International Speedway

No. Driver/Car Speed 52 Bill Baird/Chevrolet 188.285 mph 59 Mark Gibson/Ford 186.335 7 Chad Coleman/Ford 185.950 55 Russell Landrum/Ford 185.567 66 Mark Thompson/Ford 185.185 42 Dan Pardus/Chevrolet 184.426 80 Andy Hillenburg/Ford 184.049 15 Dale Kreider/Chevrolet 183.299 11 Glen Morgan/Chevrolet 182.186 5 Bobby Gerhart/Chevrolet 181.452 31 Randall Ritter/Chevrolet 181.087 53 Bob Kelly/Chevrolet 180.723 18 Josh Baltes/Chevrolet 180.361 32 Mark Stahl/Ford 180.361 74 Gary Laton/Chevrolet 179.283 3 Kirk Shelmerdine/Chevrolet 178.218 65 Sammy Potashnick/Chevrolet 177.165 44 Greg Usher/Chevrolet 175.781 08 John Kinder/Chevrolet 174.419 93 Wayne Larson/Chevrolet 174.419 67 Rob Julian/Chevrolet 172.084 82 Neil Cunningham/Ford 171.756 70 Billy Meazell/Chevrolet 166.052


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