NASCAR WCUP: Evernham's Dodges make bold runs at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich.--Emblazoned with Dodge Ram trucks bursting through the hood of their race cars, Bill Elliott in the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T and Casey Atwood in the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T finished third and tenth for Evernham Motorsports at Michigan International Speedway.

Elliott's Dodge Intrepid R/T grabbed life by the horns in a race shortened by rain. Starting from the outside pole, Elliott led the race on the first lap. He would lead five times for the most laps- 57 out of 162. Elliott was in the second spot when rain brought out the red flag on lap 100. On the restart he moved into the top spot until Sterling Marlin, in the #40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T, took the lead on lap 145. Marlin would stay there until rain ended the race on lap 162, giving Dodge its first win since 1977. Elliott finished in the third spot. It is his best finish of the season. He remains 16th in Winston Cup points.

"I am happy for Sterling," said Elliott. "He deserved it. They ran well all day. We just couldn't do it when it counted."

Mike Ford, crew chief for the No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T said, "That's the best finish of the year and the best finish for Evernham Motorsports. We're eight months old and battling for wins. I don't know of a whole lot of other teams that are brand new that can say that. We wanted to win. We wanted to win badly. We've got a good group of guys here, and Bill has really done a great job for us. You can't say enough about him. We're pleased but when you're that close to winning it makes you try even harder."

Elliott's top five was complimented by teammate Casey Atwood's top 10 run. The driver of the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T started sixth and finished 10th. Atwood stayed in the top five for most of the race. Following the red flag restart, Atwood fought to maintain his position, battling lap traffic to finish 10th. It was the best finish of the year for Atwood who was the top qualifying rookie. He also was the top- finishing rookie, earning him the Raybestos Rookie of the Race award. He is currently 32nd in Winston Cup points.

"To tell you the truth, I'm disappointed as can be," said Atwood. "I do feel good because we got a top 10, but I felt like we had a top five car all day long, and we couldn't clinch it at the end. I made a few mistakes. I felt like the car was a little bit worse that last run. Everybody else picked up a bit, but I think the rain hurt us. That last caution just killed us. I would have liked for it to go green the whole time. We probably could have gotten a top five, but it's a big confidence booster. We had a good run. I always struggle here so it feels good to come here and have a strong run."

As an associate sponsor on the Dodge Intrepid R/Ts of Evernham Motorsports, Tim Bressler, UAW/NTC NASCAR Operations said, "The UAW/National Training Center has a long-term commitment with Evernham Motorsports and we are pleased with the results thus far this season. This weekend's qualifying and race results from Bill and Casey has everyone excited about what's to come in the future."

EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS IN THE NEWS: Ray Evernham, Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood were the focus of a variety of media interviews. Casey was featured on RPM 2Night and Sports Center on Friday as well as Saturday's shows. Elliott and Atwood conducted interviews in the media center after Elliott qualified his No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T on the outside pole and Atwood placed his No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T in the sixth spot. Prior to Friday's qualifying, Atwood did several radio interviews talking about the weekend's race activities including his car's special paint scheme and the new Dodge Ram truck that he was given to drive for the weekend. Elliott sat down with several members of the media for an informal talk about his season and his plans for the remainder of the year. Crew chief for the No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T Mike Ford was interviewed several times throughout the weekend including happy hour and Sunday's race. Both drivers, including Ray Evernham, were interviewed several times prior to and during Sunday's race. <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> DODGE AT MICHIGAN: A number of executives and Dodge Dealers from Daimler Chrysler were on hand this weekend to witness the powerful run by the Dodge Intrepid R/Ts from Evernham Motorsports. Dozens of dealers experienced the various activities that took place throughout the race weekend as well as many VIPs from Michigan headquarters including President/CEO of Chrysler Group Dr. Dieter Zetsche. A select group of executives experienced race activities from a fan's perspective at Camp Dodge, which was set up in the infield of Michigan International Speedway. Members from Evernham Motorsports, including Ray Evernham and Casey Atwood, took part in a barbecue at the camp on Thursday night. In addition to the many Dodge executives, Evernham Motorsports also welcomed several VIPs from Clausing, Pratt Burnerd America, Club Car and Miller Electric. On Saturday Casey Atwood made an appearance in the Pepsi suite during the Busch race and conducted a meet and greet on Sunday with Mountain Dew representatives. Pepsi was the sponsor of Sunday's Winston Cup race.

Text provided by Kristine Curley

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