NASCAR WCUP: Chassis Notes, Richmond Internatinal Raceway

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

September 8, 2001

[The following are facts and figures regarding the cars Pontiac teams will be running during this weekend's Winston Cup event at Richmond International Raceway.]

No. 10

Valvoline Grand Prix driver Johnny Benson broke back into the top 10 in the Winston Cup point standings after last weekend's 14th place finish at Darlington. Benson, who finished sixth here in the Pontiac Excitement 400 back in May, is behind the wheel of the same chassis he drove at New Hampshire back in July.

No. 14

Conseco Pontiac driver Ron Hornaday ran solidly around the top 10 with this chassis at Chicagoland before an engine failure dropped him to 40th in the final standings. Hornaday is looking to improve on the 31st place finish he posted here at Richmond during the spring event in May.

No. 18

Bobby Labonte gets his 10th shot at the Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus this weekend with the same chassis he drove to a seventh place finish at New Hampshire on July 22. Labonte, who is coming off last week's third place finish in the Southern 500, finished 10th here in May during the Pontiac Excitement 400.

No. 20

Four of Tony Stewart's 12 Winston Cup victories have come behind the wheel of this chassis, including both of his wins here at Richmond. The driver of the Home Depot Grand Prix comes to RIR this weekend looking for his third straight short track win, after triumphs here in the Pontiac Excitement 400 and at Bristol two weeks ago. Stewart, who finished fourth last week at Darlington, enters this weekend's event just 20 points out of third in the Winston Cup point standings. This car has also visited victory lane at Martinsville (fall 2000) and Homestead (fall '99).

No. 27

Duke's Mayonnaise Pontiac driver Rick Mast is wheeling a brand new chassis that he tested here at Richmond two weeks ago. According to crew chief Barry Dodson, the two-day test was very successful and has the team hopeful they can improve on what was a competitive run here in the spring.

No. 36

M&M's Grand Prix driver Ken Schrader scored a 10th place finish with this chassis at Texas, then the team tore it apart and turned it into a short track machine. The new version was tested at Lakeland earlier this week and according to crew chief Newt Moore, it performed very well despite track temperatures that topped the 130-degree mark.

Text provided by Al Larsen

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