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IROC: True Value IROC News from Talladega

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
April 17, 2001

Talladega, AL - The True Value IROC team concluded their first day of testing Monday at Talladega Superspeedway in preparation for round two of the 2001, 25th anniversary season. Veteran test drivers Dave Marcis, Dick Trickle, Jim Sauter and Andy Hillenburg were on hand to put the Pontiac Firebirds through initial test runs.

Dave Marcis said, "We worked a bit today with the roof pieces, the NASCAR air deflector. What we have on the IROC cars is the equivalent to what we have on the Winston Cup cars and we all agree that the cars are extremely comfortable. They draft really well, so if you fall behind you can draft back up again."

Dick Trickle said, "The cars are driving like baby buggies and we'll have to remind the drivers they're still in race cars going 180 MPH.

Andy Hillenburg said, "To give you an example of how much fun it is to drive these cars, Jay Signore told us to go out and just run a few laps, well, we ran an entire race and didn't come in until Dave (Marcis) ran out of gas."

IROC President, Jay Signore said, "Talladega is one of our favorite tracks. We've had some great races here over the years and always look forward to the next one. For our 25th anniversary we are paying tribute to all of our past champions. We have four dedicated test cars, and at each of the four races we have those four cars lettered with the names of past champions. We have 16 champions total, so it works out perfectly. For Talladega we have the 1975 champion Bobby Unser, 1984 champion Cale Yarborough, 1989 champion Terry Labonte and 1993 champion Davey Allison." He continued,

At Daytona, IROC paid tribute to 1974 champion Mark Donohue, 1979 champion Mario Andretti, 1980 champion Bobby Allison and the 2000 reigning champion Dale Earnhardt. In tribute to Dale Earnhardt, IROC will run eleven cars for the remainder of the season. Jay Signore said, "Dale Earnhardt was a great champion and we feel it is a fitting tribute to run one man shy."

The True Value IROC Talladega race takes place this Saturday, April 21 at 2:30 p.m., following the NASCAR Busch series race.

2001 TRUE VALUE INTERNATIONAL RACE OF CHAMPION DRIVERS

  • NAME: REPRESENTING:
  • Kenny Brack CART FedEx Series
  • Jeff Burton NASCAR Winston Cup Series
  • Eddie Cheever Jr. Indy Racing Northern Light Series
  • Mark Dismore Indy Racing Northern Light Series
  • Scott Goodyear Indy Racing Northern Light Series
  • Jeff Green Busch Grand National Series
  • Dale Jarrett NASCAR Winston Cup Series
  • Bobby Labonte NASCAR Winston Cup Series
  • Buddy Lazier Indy Racing Northern Light Series
  • Ricky Rudd NASCAR Winston Cup Series
  • Tony Stewart NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Text provided by George Signore

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.