NASCAR WCUP: Casey Atwood looks to keep running in front at 'The Rock'

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (October 31, 2001) - With his first place start in last
week's Dura Lube 400 at Phoenix International Raceway, Casey Atwood became
the youngest pole winner in the modern era of NASCAR.  The rookie driver of
the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T just turned 21 in late August, but his
young age certainly didn't affect his performance last weekend.

Atwood's Dodge looked dominating throughout last weekend's race before tire
troubles forced the No. 19 car in for an extra pit stop.  Atwood got back
out on the lead lap and fought for a respectable 14th place finish by the
end of the day.  Not only was he the top-qualifying rookie, but also he was
the top-finishing rookie in the race for the fifth time this season.

If the No. 19 team of Evernham Motorsports can get another strong setup on
Atwood's Dodge this week in Rockingham, Atwood should have the experience to
put it to good use.  Sunday will mark the rookie's eighth appearance at the
track, including six Busch Grand National starts in which Atwood has one top
five and two 10 finishes over three years.  In last February's Kmart/Dura
Lube 400, Atwood moved up from his 24th place start to finish 18th in his
first Winston Cup run at the track.

Casey Atwood, driver of the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T

How do you feel in the second half of the season, returning to tracks for a
second time?
"I feel like I'm going to be better at some of these tracks. Going to them
the first time, you really don't know what to expect with the car or track.
Now that I've been to most of the tracks, we'll go back with more experience
and probably run a little better. We did okay at Rockingham earlier, I think
we can be better this weekend. We're coming off of a great week in Phoenix
and that should help our confidence going in.

Have you maintained a consistent driving style since the beginning of the
year?
"I've been a pretty smart driver all year, and that's the only way you can
gain respect. You run up there and show them you're not going to do anything
stupid and just make them where they're not scared to race with you. I feel
like I've been doing that for a while. I want to be one of those drivers
that people like to race with and don't mind being around and you can have a
good race with them.

You made an impressive run last week.  How did that feel?
I was real happy with our performance last week in Phoenix. I was happy for
Dodge and all our sponsors and Evernham Motorsports.  We got the pole and
then it looked like we were going to finish the race in the top three.
Everything started off really well and we thought we're going to close it
out really well, but it was just bad luck again.