Dodge drivers Casey Atwood and Sterling Marlin Sirius 400

Friday, June 14, 2002					              Ray Cooper
Dodge notes and quotes.				                            Golin/Harris International
Sirius Satellite Radio 400 Media Day Highlights.                                  803-466-9085
Michigan International Speedway.


     CASEY ATWOOD (No. 7 Sirius Satellite Radio Dodge Intrepid R/T)
     "I think when everything first started, all the Dodge teams were working real hard to get the engine developed and get the body developed and all the wind tunnel time. As far as the Dodge coming out, everybody did work together. Now when you get to the track, and you've got setups in the cars, teams keep that to themselves a lot of times, but everybody did work well getting the Dodge developed.
      "Sterling (Marlin) doesn't need any help here. He does fine, but it is a big weekend for us. We came out and tested because it is such a big weekend for us. We got rained out the first day, but it was pretty much perfect weather the second day and we got a full day of testing. It's exciting to see all the Sirius Satellite Radio banners at the track. Nobody is going to miss it. Hopefully we can have a good race Sunday and come away with a good finish.
     "The main difference in testing and going out there racing is that you'll have 42 cars out there with you. That's a lot different. We thought our car was really good here testing, but we didn't have anybody to compare it off of. The track is always different when you come back on race weekend because you've got rubber on the track and there's going to be a race before our race, but our Dodge was real comfortable and we feel like we're going to have a good run.
     "We've got a group called Soluna on the hood this weekend. We're promoting them, and they'll be at the track putting on a concert. Some exciting stuff is going on this weekend, and we're going to have some fun with it.
     "You've got to have a great car here. I've been here several times, and I've never run good at all. Last August, we finished 10th, and I don't feel like I changed anything. I just feel like I got a car that handled good and had a good crew and we were able to run good with the package we had.. It's a difficult track. The turns are so long, you've got to have your car set up well. I wrecked here the first time I came here because our car was so loose. You're in the corner here longer than you are anywhere else, so you can't be loose.
     "Dad and I started out in go-karts just for fun. We started traveling the country racing in a series called the WKA. I think they have an 8-12 class and a 13-16 class. I got out of that when I was 14 and started racing locally. I started racing stock cars back home and that's as far as we thought we'd ever go. Luckily there was a Busch Series team in Nashville that didn't have a driver at the time. They came down to the speedway in Nashville and asked me to do it. That's all it took. We ran pretty good in the first race and in our sixth race together we qualified on the pole and finished second. That got me going and got my first Busch ride. It takes a lot of luck. You've got to get racing in something and then hope somebody sees you. We had a friend that raced go-karts and I didn't even know anything about them. He started racing and we went and watched him one weekend. I told my dad I'd really like to have one. I was always big into watching racing, but the next week, he bought me one and we were down there racing the next week. Dad was very big into it, too. He's just as excited as I am about it.
     "We did struggle a lot and we've been going through a lot of people. We got Tony Furr to come over and help us and it's really turned around. Ever since he's come we've had top 10 cars. We haven't had the finishes to show for it, but little stuff has been happening. We've been really strong and the team is getting a lot better. I think we can win our first race this year.
     "I got prepared for Winston Cup by running Busch. There's a lot more pressure up here, but you're where you wanted to be since you were a little kid. There's a lot more pressure to do well, but I've got a lot of good people around me who are being real patient. We're just trying to grow together. We know we'll get there. It's just taken us a little longer than we expected it to.
     "I never had a problem (with success). I've been real close to my family and they help me out and try to guide me in the right way. They help me out with business stuff. If it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't be able to do it. Dad comes to every race with me and he takes a lot of pressure off me and I just stay focused on racing. When you get in the race car, you're able to focus 100 percent. My dad hasn't missed a race since I was 10 years old. He's just a father who's real proud of his son. He just likes to watch and help me out with what I need help with. I just bought a house about a month ago. I'm still living with him (father, Terry Atwood) right now. I haven't moved out yet. I stayed close. I'm just right down the street.
     "Normally you have to leave on Thursday to come to the race track and you get home on Sunday night. Normally you get Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at home unless you've got to test or something else. That's part of what goes into Winston Cup racing and you know that when you come in. We get seven tests a year, so normally you can get three days a week at home.
     "We just want to have a good race Sunday. We've been running good, and if we can get a top five Sunday and maybe have a shot to win, it would be a good weekend for us. It didn't take Tony Furr long to make a difference for this team. We've had a top 10 car ever since he's been with us. We had some little problems we need to work out, but it's just taken a little while to get the right chemistry in there. It just depends on how you communicate with each other, and Tony and I hit it off right off the bat. After one practice session we were seeing eye to eye and that's what it takes. He's got to understand what you're saying so he can fix the car. 
    "Sunday is Father's Day, and I haven't thought about that. It would be good to come out of here with a win on Father's Day. My father really helps me take care of the business side. I don't understand a lot of that. He's been in the electrical business 25 years, so he knows about business and he helps me out with it.
   "I think Jeff Gordon set the stage for car owners to start looking at younger drivers. A couple of young drivers have come in and won some races, but I think the veteran drivers have still got a big advantage. You've got to know how to be there all day and make adjustments on the car. Just being there at the end.... I've been there. We had the car to beat a couple of times last year and made rookie mistakes and ended up getting passed in the end. I still think the veterans have a little bigger advantage.
     "I knew Sterling and Bobby Hamilton, but I watched Winston Cup races since I was seven years old. My favorite was Darrell Waltrip, and I never got to race with him because he retired before I got started. I remember my first Busch Series race. I went to Rockingham in '98 and qualified 14th. Mark Martin was starting right behind me. It's pretty cool getting to race a guy you'd watched all your life."

     STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Original Dodge Intrepid R/T)
     "We've got a good group of guys coming into NASCAR -- Casey, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and the whole bunch. NASCAR is looking good for 12-15 years down the road. When we started, you owned your own car. You raced short tracks Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Back in the 80s when we started, there were probably 8-10 good cars. Now with all the sponsors and owners that have come in the sport, you've got a lot better equipment, better people working on the cars. Like Jimmie Johnson, stepping right into a Hendrick car, that was unheard of 20 years ago, stepping into a top ride and never running a lap in Winston Cup. It's good for the sport and it's just a sign of the times.
     "It's way too early to worry about points. You worry about it, but you've got to finish first. We're still trying to win races. Every race we go to we're going to try to win. If we can't win we're going to pull out a top five and if we can't get a top five, we'll take a top 10. Last week we started on the pole and the car was way off. We fell back to 20 something and we kept working on the car and finally ran fourth. You take days like that when you're way off and survive and come back and get a top five. It showed a lot of character from our guys on the team.
     "I still get it (kidded about getting out of the car under red flag at Daytona). It was a situation where we were damned if you do and damned if you don't. If I hadn't got out, we were just going to call NASCAR's bluff. What are they going to do? Put you in jail? We looked at the fender and if the fender was on the tire real good, it was going to cut the tire down in a lap or two. It was going to take out myself, Ward Burton and maybe two or three of the other guys we were racing with. If we didn't do not nothing they were going to black flag you anyway. It was a deal where I was going to have to go to the back anyway. I just wanted to see how bad it was.
     "At Bristol, Tenn., we used to have 30,000 people there and now it's 140,000. It's amazing to me to see how it's taken off. It's convenient. TV has really brought it to the public's eye. I went to some sub shop a little while ago and some guy you would have thought didn't even know what Winston Cup Racing was recognized me. It's pretty neat to go places where you wouldn't think people knew anything about it and they know a whole lot about it. It's great to be here.
     "I guess it was the first race Dodge had won since 77 and it was really neat for us, especially here at Michigan in all the manufacturers back yard. We had been close all year and we came up here and had a good chance to win the spring race and ran third. We got shuffled on the restart. We came back the second race and we were determined we were going to win the race. It's been a good track for me. We brought the same car back and it was flawless all day.
     "Casey started in go-karts. I had a go-kart but couldn't afford a motor for it, so I had to push it up and down the hills. A lot of young drivers start with go-karts. They start running short tracks, and it's just amazing how fast some of them come up. Jimmie Johnson, I guess he's 27, but he came in off road racing. It's amazing how some of them come in off different types of series and run Winston Cup.
     "I felt like I could always do it if I had the right parts and pieces and equipment and the right people behind you. Chip came in and bought it. He breathed new life into the team and me. It's been a great year and a half for us.
     "When you go week in and week out and know you've got a good shot at winning the race or running in the top five. This is the most fun I've ever had. We hope we can keep it going and get a championship. We've been lucky and dodged a couple of wrecks, but we've got a good race team put together. We've got a great group of guys and Ernie Elliott is doing the motors. They run good week in and week out. We've got a good team. We have good pit stops and good cars. We won Charlotte last fall, and we went back and thought we had a real good shot at winning the race. We drove from 35th to fourth, and I thought we were going to win the race, but as soon as it gets dark, the chassis went away and we finished 11th. The same thing happened at Dover. We started way back and drove all the way to the top five and then the chassis went away again. At least last week we started up front, went to the back, and came back to the front.  I think we figured out what the problem was with the chassis. We just can't overlook something and let it happen to us like that again. Eleventh isn't that bad, but we need a top five.
    "We had a little problem with the chassis and overlooked it, and it bit us two weeks in a row. We adjusted for it last week and it showed it. If we just keep our nose clean we'll be all right, but we're trying to win races right now. You can't sit still. The guys behind you are too good. They get on a hot streak and all of a sudden you're in second place. We're going to keep racing hard. If it comes to late October and we're still leading, we may have to pull in the reigns, but as competitive as it is, it's going to be tough to keep a big lead.
    "Pontiac has five cars in the field and they've won three races. I don't know where the changes come from. We'll see. They've got the oldest car out there, but Stewart has led a lot of races and Bobby Labonte won Martinsville. They got a break, so we'll see what happens.
     "I feel better now than I've ever felt. I feel great after races. We've just got to concentrate on the cars in Happy Hour and get the cars driving good. We've got to qualify better and not start so far back to get to the front. That'll make it a little easier. If we can do all those things we should be in good shape the rest of the year. Chip brought a lot of magic and organization to the team. Since I've been driving for Chip, we haven't wanted for nothing. Whatever it takes to make that race car go fast, Chip gets it. We've got great race cars and great motors. We haven't wanted anything that we haven't got, so he walks in and puts together a great team with Tony Glover and Andy Graves. He hires Ernie Elliott to do the motors, and I think Ernie is one of the best in the business. Chip will call me once a week and ask if I need anything. If you've got a little p roblem, he'll fix it. I was lucky to have enough money to get to the race track back in the old days.  Now it's just get in the car and drive it and we've got a chance to win races.
     "MIS is a really neat track. I like it. You can run two deep, three deep through the corners. During the race you'll see some guys running at the bottom, in the middle and at the top. It's a first-class facility. We run side-by-side a lot. It's one of the neatest tracks we run on. It's pretty fast. We don't have restrictor plates on. I'm having a good time. I feel as good as I ever felt, and it's hard to walk away when you can still win races. When it quits being fun and you feel like you can't do it anymore, you ought to quit, but I feel like I can at least run five more years. I never even thought about quitting. That's all I've ever done since I was 12 or 13 years old.. It'd be weird not getting out every Sunday morning. It's weird now being at home for two weeks in a row when the season is over. 
     "I was probably 12 years old when I first started coming to Michigan. It took forever to drive up here. They wouldn't let me in the garage area. I had to stand outside the fence in the garage. Finally the main NASCAR official would feel sorry for me and let me come in the garage. He'd say, 'OK, you sit on that workbench and don't move.' At least he'd let me in and I could watch daddy work on the race car and go out and practice. I've been coming to Michigan since 1971."

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