NASCAR WCUP: Dodge drivers hope 'luck of the Irish' pays off at Darlington
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
March 18, 2001DARLINGTON, S.C.,- Dodge hopes the luck of the Irish delivers them a pot of gold on St. Patrick's Day during qualifying for the 2001 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. Getting all 10 Dodge Intrepid R/T race cars into the show would make Dodge Motorsports leap like leprechauns, but capturing the Bud Pole would give them a reason to toast with green beer.
Dodge Points to Early Success -- Four races into the 2001 season, two Dodge Intrepid R/T driver,s Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott, are in the top 10 in the points battle, with Marlin at 4th and Elliott at 6th.
Elliott Tops the Charts at Darlington - Bill Elliott says Darlington is his kind of track. He leads all active drivers with five Bud Poles at Darlington and is tied with Jeff Gordon for the most victories (five) among active drivers. He also leads active drivers in top fives (19), top 10s (30) and best average finish (8.9). His last pole at Darlington came at the 1994 TranSouth 500.
Dodge Shows It's Time - In its first season in NASCAR Winston Cup in nearly 20 years, Dodge has collected one Bud Pole, three top five starts, two top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes. It also has led some 219 laps in the first four races.
Dodge Dominated Darlington in the 1960s and 1970s - The Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 marks the 30th spring race since Buddy Baker's 1971 Rebel 400 victory, one of Dodge's three wins at the track. Buddy Baker also won the 1970 Southern 500 while Buck Baker took home the 1964 Southern 500 title. Dodge won seven poles at the track in its heyday with drivers such as Richard Petty, Speedy Thompson, LeeRoy Yarbrough, David Pearson and Charlie Glotzbach.
Dodge Drivers Hope Track Record Leads to Success - Of the 10 Dodge drivers, Bill Elliott holds the most victories at Darlington, with five, followed by Ward Burton, the defending champ (1) and Sterling Marlin (1).
Rookies Look for Tips at Track to Tough to Tame - Both Casey Atwood and Jason Leffler will be showing their green on St. Patrick's Day. Both are new to Darlington Raceway in Winston Cup cars, since neither had a chance to test at the track. Atwood did compete here four times in a Busch car.
Text provided by Debby Robinson
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit
The Racing Photo Museum and the
Visions of Speed Art Gallery.