Dan Pardus Posts Fastest Speed on the Final Day of ARCA Series Testing

23 December 1997

by Daytona Public Relations

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

    Pardus, driving the #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. 8th.

    "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.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Practice times for the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series - 12-22
          
Ps No.  Driver              Make  Lap Time M.P.H.
-- ---- ------------------- ----- -------- -------
 1  42  Dan Pardus          Chev  0:48.800 184.426
 2  66  Mark Thompson       Ford  0:48.824 184.335
 3  80  Andy Hillenburg     Ford  0:49.000 183.673
 4  11  Glen Morgan         Chev  0:49.800 180.723
 5  18  Josh Baltes         Chev  0:50.200 179.283
 6  32  Mark Stahl          Ford  0:50.400 178.571
 7  53  Bob Kelly           Chev  0:50.500 178.218
 8   3  Kirk Shelmerdine    Chev  0:51.000 176.471
 9  82  Neil Cunningham     Ford  0:52.400 171.756
10  70  Billy Meazell       Chev  0:54.200 166.052
     
Track Length      :  2.5000 Miles

*Electronic times taken randomly throughout the day
 Mike Snow -- The Auto Channel