#40 Coors Original Pocono race report

Contact:  Nealie Hamilton, Chip Ganassi Racing, 704/662-9642,
nhamilton@ganassi.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2002


COORS ORIGINAL DODGE SCORES TOP-5 IN POCONO
Marlin remains first in the Winston Cup championship points race

LONG POND, Pa. (June 9, 2002) - Sterling Marlin drove the No. 40 Coors
Original Dodge Intrepid R/T to a fourth place finish in the Pocono 500 at
Pocono Raceway.  For the thirteenth straight race, Marlin remains the leader
in the NASCAR Winston Cup championship points standings; he has a 136-point
lead over Jimmie Johnson who is currently in second place.  This is Marlin's
13th top-15 finish in 13 races this season.

Due to track conditions, qualifying for the Pocono 500 was cancelled on
Friday.  The field was set per owner's points and the Coors Original Dodge
started the race on the pole.  Marlin lead laps one and two in the race
picking up five bonus points for the Winston Cup championship race.

Early on, the Coors Original Dodge was extremely loose in the center and
tight on the exit.  After leading for the first two laps of the event,
Marlin began to fade back through the field due to the ill-handling car.  He
continued to lose a spot every one to two laps.  The Coors Original pit crew
made adjustments during pit stops and the car began to handle well for
Marlin close to the half-way point of the race.  

After falling back through the field to 20th position, the team opted for a
two-tire pit stop on lap 85 to gain ground.  The Coors Original Dodge moved
from 20th to restarting fourth after the pit stop.  Marlin continued to run
in the top-10 for the remainder of the race and brought home a fourth place
finish.

"It was terrible early, and it took us about half the race to get the car
going," Marlin said.  "It was pretty decent at the end, but we were no match
for the Fords and Chevrolets. We were lucky to get fourth. We were loose
early and then got it too tight. The guys never gave up and kept working on
it. We're glad to finish fourth as bad as it was early. We didn't lose much
speed when we put on two tires. Goodyear has got a great tire, and it never
gave up much. We ran our fastest lap on two tires, and the crew made some
good calls.  

"It felt real good to run in the top-five again. We probably had a
20th-place car early, and we just kept working on it. All the credit goes to
the guys. They never gave up. We had been fading at the end. This was kind
of different for us. We got going pretty good. Those two-tire changes got us
some good track position, and we were running about fifth when we pitted.
Some guys put on two and some didn't. All-in-all it was a good run for us."

Next on the schedule for the No. 40 Coors Original team is the Sirius
Satellite Radio 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 16, 2002.

###

Nealie Hamilton
Media Relations
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
(704) 662-9642 x1130 / office
(704) 500-6068 / cell
nhamilton@ganassi.com