Dodge Motorsports Weekend Preview
> <<...OLE_Obj...>> > > Weekend Preview > > Contact: Dave Elshoff, > 248-512-2690 > Ray Cooper, 803-466-9085 > > Dodge, Mopar Open Up the 2002 Race Year > NASCAR and NHRA Series Teams Ready to Run in High Gear > > DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2002) - Dodge teams are gearing up for > season-opening events in NHRA and NASCAR Winston Cup this week, with the > NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series taking the green flag for the first time in > 2002 next week at Daytona International Speedway. Here is the weekend > lineup for Dodge and Mopar-backed cars and trucks: > <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> > > DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2002) - Dodge teams are gearing up for > season-opening events in NHRA and NASCAR Winston Cup this week, with the > NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series taking the green flag for the first time in > 2002 next week at Daytona International Speedway. Here is the weekend > lineup for Dodge and Mopar-backed cars and trucks: > * Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 7-10 - The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series hosts the 42nd annual K&N Filters Winternationals at Historic Pomona Raceway in Pomona, Calif. Qualifying coverage begins at 4:30 p.m., Saturday on ESPN and at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2. Coverage continues Sunday at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. > * Saturday, Feb. 9 - The NASCAR Winston Cup Series Bud Pole Day will > lock in the front row of qualifiers for the 44th annual Daytona 500. * Sunday, Feb. 10 - The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will host the Budweiser Shootout qualifying race for the Daytona 500. Television coverage will air on TNT at 2 p.m. Radio broadcast will air on MRN starting at 12:30 p.m. * Thursday, Feb. 14 - The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will host the Gatorade 125s at Daytona International Speedway. Television coverage will begin on TNT at 1 p.m., and radio broadcast will start at 12 p.m. on MRN. > * Friday, February 15 - The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will host > the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway. > Television coverage will begin at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN. * Sunday, February 17 - The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will kickoff the 2002 season with the 44th annual Daytona 500. Television coverage will begin at 12:30 p.m. on NBC; radio broadcast will air on MRN starting at 12:30 p.m. > NASCAR Winston Cup Series > > NASCAR's Super Bowl, the 44th annual Daytona 500, will get the green flag > on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 12:30 p.m. Bill Elliott drove his No. 9 Dodge > Dealers Intrepid R/T to the pole position for last year's Daytona 500 with > a lap of 183.565 mph as Dodge drivers won pole positions in all four > restrictor-plate races in 2001. > > Elliott holds the qualifying record at Daytona with a lap of 210.364 mph > for the 1987 Daytona 500. Elliott also won the Budweiser Shootout and > Daytona 500 that year. > > Other Dodge factory-backed teams competing for one of the two starting > spots up for grabs in first-round time trials on Saturday are: Casey > Atwood in the No. 7 Sirius Satellite Radio Dodge Intrepid R/T; Jeremy > Mayfield, in his first season for car owner Ray Evernham in the No. 19 > Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T; and Bill Davis Racing teammates Ward Burton > and Hut Stricklin. Burton won a race for Dodge last season and will return > in the No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Intrepid R/T, while Stricklin will pilot > the No. 23 Hills Bros Coffee Dodge Intrepid R/T. > > Also, Sterling Marlin will return behind the wheel of the No. 40 Coors > Light Dodge Intrepid R/T for car owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. > Marlin led the way for Dodge in 2001 with two victories and a third-place > finish in the NASCAR Winston Cup Standings. He will be joined by teammate > Jimmy Spencer, another Dodge newcomer, in the No. 41 Target Dodge Intrepid > R/T. > > The Petty Enterprises trifecta of Kyle Petty, John Andretti and Buckshot > Jones returns to round out the Dodge 2002 lineup. Petty will once again > drive the No. 45 Sprint Dodge Intrepid R/T, while Andretti will pilot the > familiar Petty Blue No. 43 Cheerios Dodge Intrepid R/T and Jones will > drive the No. 44 Georgia Pacific Dodge Intrepid R/T. > > Four Dodge drivers, who won poles last season, will compete in the > Budweiser Shootout on Sunday. Elliott, Marlin, Atwood and Spencer will > line up for the Budweiser Shootout at 2:15 p.m. The 70-lap event will > carry a $900,000 purse and the winner gets $200,000. > > The starting positions for the Budweiser Shootout are drawn at random. > > The 2002 Budweiser Shootout will consist of 70 laps of green-flag racing. > The field will revert back to the last completed lap if the yellow flag is > displayed. If the yellow flag is displayed after the leader has received > the white flag, all cars will be scored as they receive the yellow flag > for the first time. > > Teams will be required to make a pit stop on any green-flag lap and must > at least change the right-side tires. Pit stops made during caution laps > will not count toward this requirement. In the event of a red flag, crews > will be permitted to work on the cars, however, all work must be performed > on pit road or Garage Area only. When the race is resumed, all cars must > immediately be ready to return to competition. > > > NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series > > Dodge trucks will compete for starting spots in the Florida Dodge Dealers > 250 on Feb. 15 with qualifying for all positions on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at > 3:30 p.m. > > Plenty of new faces will compete for Dodge in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck > Series this season. Robert Pressley will drive the No. 18 Dodge Dealers > Dodge Ram of Bobby Hamilton Racing and will be joined by teammate Bill > Lester in the No. 8 Dodge Dealers Dodge Ram. > > Jason Leffler will drive the No. 2 ASE Carquest Dodge for Ultra > Motorsports. Leffler competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series last season > and won a pole at Kansas. He's a three-time USAC Midget Champion and the > 1998 Silver Crown Champ. > > Leffler's teammate Ted Musgrave, first runner-up in the NCTS Championship > last year, will return to his No. 1 Mopar Performance Parts Dodge Ram as a > favorite for the 2002 NCTS championship with new crew chief Gene Nead. > Another returning Dodge driver, Carlos Contreras, will pilot the No. 43 > Hot Wheels in his third full-season with Dodge. > > Donnie Neuenberger will drive the No. 81 IHOP Dodge after seven seasons in > the NASCAR Dash Series, and Brendon Gaughan, a two-time Winston West > champion, will drive the No. 62 NAPA Dodge. > > > NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series > > NHRA kicks off its 2002 campaign with the Pomona Winter Nationals at > Pomona, Calif., on Thursday. Dodge will debut its 2002 Stratus R/T in > that series, while the 2002 Dodge Intrepid R/T hits the 2.5-mile track at > Daytona for first-round qualifying at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday. > > In the Winter Nationals at Pomona, Dean Skuza will return in the Mopar > Parts Dodge Stratus R/T, and the 35-year-old driver from Brecksville, > Ohio, is optimistic about the upcoming season. > > "The Stratus R/T is much more stable than last year's Avenger, and I think > that will help us challenge John Force for this year's title," Skuza said. > > Skuza had a career best elapsed time of 4.795 last season and finished > ninth in the point standings. > > Drivers Mark Osborne and Darrell Alderman will return for Nickens Brothers > Racing in the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T in the NHRA Pro Stock Division. > Alderman, 53, is a three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champ from Morehead, > Ky. He had the second most victories in a season in '91 with 59, and he > reached three finals last year. > > Osborne, a 43-year-old Virginia native, is the fastest pro stocker of all > time at 204.35 mph. He set that mark last year at Maple Grove Raceway in > Redding, Pa. He also holds the second fastest ET in NHRA history at 6.754 > seconds. > > Larry Morgan, an owner-driver from Newark, Ohio, returns in his Dodge > Motorsports Neon R/T. Morgan has eight national event victories with a top > speed of 202.92 mph and a best ET of 6.812 seconds. > > A new team will also represent Dodge in the Pro Stock Division with > owner-driver Bart Price and driver Greg Stansfield. > > > World of Outlaws > > The World of Outlaws Series begins on Feb. 22 and Mark Kinser will return > in his No. 5M Mopar Parts Maxim. Kinser finished second in the WoO points > last season. > > ### >