Dodge Motorsports Weekend Preview
ATLANTA (March 7, 2002) - Sterling Marlin delivered an odds-defying winning punch by capturing last Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Riding a streak of six top-10 finishes dating back to the final three races of 2001, Marlin and the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T team will enter Sunday's MBNA America 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a secret weapon that could produce back-to-back victories for the 44-year-old Tennessee native. Led by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team manager Tony Glover and crew chief Lee McCall, Marlin will race chassis No. 115 at Atlanta. If history repeats itself, chassis 115 could be enough to pad Marlin's 75-point lead in the NASCAR Winston Cup Standings. Marlin's miracle chassis debuted last season with a third-place finish at Michigan in June. On the return trip to Michigan on Aug. 19, 2001, Marlin became a part of Dodge's racing heritage by winning the rain-shortened Pepsi 400 with chassis 115. The same Intrepid finished second in the Brickyard 400 and the NAPA 500 at Atlanta, fifth at Kansas and Homestead and won the fall race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In six starts, chassis No. 115 has an average finish of 2.33 with two victories, two runner-up finishes, a third and a fifth. "I guess it's fair to say that it's my favorite car," Marlin said. "Hopefully we can take up where we left off last year with it. "We finally had some luck on our side last week in Las Vegas. I guess Vegas is a good place to have a little luck. Somebody told me that the 40 car had 9-1 odds in the casinos. Maybe we made some people a little money. "Some folks thought we were lucky to finish third in the standings last year, and we might have been, but you've got to have luck on your side to contend for the title. "We've got a lot of racing left, and it's way too early to start talking about points. Still, I'd rather be ahead by 75 points than behind by 75. We came out of Vegas leading the points last season, but we didn't stay there long. Hopefully, we can keep this top-10 streak going for awhile and give 'em a run for their money for the championship this year." The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will take this weekend off, but the Pennzoil World of Outlaws will compete at Hollywood Hills Speedway in San Felipe Pueblo, N.M., on Saturday and Sunday. <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> Here is the weekend lineup for Dodge- and Mopar-backed cars and trucks: * Friday, March 8 - NASCAR Winston Cup MBNA America 500 Qualifying, 3:05 p.m. EST. TV-FX tape delayed 8 p.m., Live radio, PRN. * Saturday, March 9 - MBNA America 500 Happy Hour 11:15-noon eastern. TV-FX. * Saturday, March 9-10, - Pennzoil World of Outlaws at Hollywood Hills Speedway in San Felipe Pueblo, NM. Radio broadcast on SCN Radio begins at 10:00 p.m. EST Saturday and Sunday. Broadcast can be heard via internet at http://www.sprintcarnet.com * Sunday, March 10 - NASCAR Winston Cup Series MBNA America 500. FOX pre-race 12:30 p.m., live at 1 p.m. PRN radio, live 1 p.m. PENNZOIL WORLD OF OUTLAWS Mark Kinser, driver of the No. 5M Mopar-Powered Maxim, will enter Friday's action at Hollywood Hills Speedway in San Felipe Pueblo, N.M., ranked second in the WoO Standings after the first three races. Steve Kinser leads the way with 519 points, while Mark Kinser has 494. Mark Kinser led from flag-to-flag last week at Las Vegas in a 25-lap preliminary race. He finished third in the Feature "A" event. Both Kinsers have three top five finishes in three starts this season. "We've been notorious for our slow starts," Kinser said last week in Las Vegas. "Hopefully our win in the preliminary will get us rolling a little quicker this season. Momentum means a lot, and I think we've got some going right now." Mark Kinser finished second in last year's World of Outlaw standings although he won the most races. NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES Sunday's 500-mile race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be the first major test for NASCAR's new one-engine rule this season. Bill Elliott, a five-time winner in 50 starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, will enter Sunday's fourth race of the season ranked sixth in the Series Standings. Elliott has finished 11th, 11th and eighth in the first three races this season. He finished 16th and 14th at Atlanta last year. "We have already been doing things a little different because of the one-engine rule, and I think you see it in a lot of teams," Elliott said. "They don't run as much as they have in the past (in practice because of the one-engine rule). Until we get a better feel of what this rule is all about, the last two races has not been a real test of this new rule. "You've got a 500-mile race, it's a high rpm race track and that's going to really tell the tale if a motor and its components are going to live. "I just drive and let those guys worry about their own stuff. If they say, 'OK, you've run too much,' then I quit. Mike Ford (crew chief) and I establish what we want to try to change and get ready to start the race. "In this business, whatever curve NASCAR throws at us, we're going to have to respond to it and figure out how to do it. There isn't any rule change that doesn't cost some money. You're trying to figure out how to get all the power you can out of a motor, then you've got to get durability out of it, also." Elliott's older brother, Ernie Elliott, builds motors for the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Dodge teams. Bill Elliott tipped his hat to his older brother's engine-building expertise. "When my brother Ernie is focused, I think there's none better in the motor department," Bill Elliott said. "He has a deal where he can just focus on his motors. That's been very good for him. He's in a very good position. He's got a good guy, Tony (Santanicola), up there in Charlotte. With where he's at and what he can do, I'm very happy for him."