Jeremy Mayfield -- Bristol Preview
JEREMY MAYFIELD NO. 19 DODGE DEALERS INTREPID R/T BRISTOL PREVIEW RACING AT BRISTOL "I like Bristol. It's one of those places that you usually either love or hate. I ran okay there in the spring. We qualified well, so hopefully we'll have a good run again. We'll use a lot of that information plus what we've learned since then. It's always an exciting race. The fans always seem to like it. I like it too. It's not just a fan thing. There's always a lot of excitement around this one and I think the drivers sense that." KEYS TO RUNNING AT BRISTOL "The most important thing you can do at Bristol is stay out of trouble. I'm telling you, if you can be on the lead lap at the end of the race, then you've had a good day." RACE NOTES * This weekend, Evernham Motorsports and the No. 19 Dodge Dealers team will bring the car that Mayfield qualified third and finished 14th earlier this year at Bristol. * Travis Block will join the No. 19 Dew Crew this weekend as the front tire changer.. STATS & FACTS **For a complete 2002 race-by-race statistical report on Jeremy Mayfield, please see the attached document "JM Bio"** <<JM Bio.doc>> * This weekend's race marks Mayfield's 261st career start in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and 16th career visit to Bristol Motor Speedway. He has two top fives, four top-10s and has led two races for a total 297 laps at the track. His first start at the track came in Aug. of 1994, where he started 25th and finished 21st. Mayfield earned his best Darlington finish (third) in last year's Food City 500. In March's race at Bristol, Mayfield started in the third position and finished 14th. * Last weekend at Michigan, Mayfield rolled off from the seventh starting position. The Dew Crew spent the first half of the race adjusting the car, making air pressure and wedge adjustments to get the car to handle for Mayfield. He would fluctuate throughout the field during this time. Mayfield remained on the track after a caution came out on lap 142 and assumed the second position at this time. A caution on lap 164 brought him into the pits for four tires. He would cycle back into the mix of cars that made a variety of pit stop calls including two tires and fuel only. Mayfield finished the day in 16th place. * In the March race at Bristol, Mayfield benefited from an excellent starting spot after finishing third in the qualifying session. It was his best qualifying effort at the half-mile track. His No. 19 Dodge Intrepid R/T was loose at the start. Early adjustments to the trackbar and air pressure made the car manageable and put Mayfield in a position to start making up the ground he lost while handling the loose car. Pit strategy became even more important in the final 100 laps of the race. The No. 19 Dodge Intrepid R/T stayed out with the race leaders with just under 100 laps to go. The move put Mayfield in the top five and with less than 15 laps to go, crew chief Sammy Johns opted to bring Mayfield in for four tires in an attempt to hold off competitors on fresher tires. The move kept Mayfield in the top 15 and he finished the race in 14th place. * After last weekend at Michigan, Mayfield remains in 28th place in the Winston Cup points race, just 48 points out of the next position and 110 points out of 25th place. * Mayfield's second-place run this year at Las Vegas was his best run at the track and his best overall finish since the 2000 Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami where he finished second. The finish also qualified Mayfield for the Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus during the May race in Charlotte. * Coming into the 2002 season, Mayfield had 237 starts, with six poles (two at Talladega and one at Darlington, Dover, Rockingham, and Texas), three wins (two at Pocono, and one at California), 33 top-fives and 58 top-10s. His most recent win came at Pocono in June of 2000.