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NASCAR WCUP: Pardus Happy with Test Session

13 May 1999

CONCORD, N.C.-- After a rain-interrupted two-day General Motors test session last week at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Dan Pardus is excited about his chances in the May 22 Winston Open and the May 30 Coca-Cola 600, both held at the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Rain on the first day of the test session limited the Winston Cup teams to only about 30 minutes of track time. On the second day, Pardus, interim crew chief Jay Born and general manager Lake Speed worked on the team's primary car for the Coca-Coca 600.

Pardus turned a lap of 176.771 mph in the No. 50 Midwest Transit Chevrolet owned by Hal Hicks and Mike Witters, which was 25th fastest on the speed chart.

``By the end of the second day, the last two runs were our best runs,'' Pardus said. ``We learned a little bit with the race car and it took me a little while to get adjusted to the race track. I've never been in a good Winston Cup car at Charlotte. They drive a little bit different than the ARCA cars. By the time we left, we felt pretty good about the car.

``I wish we'd had the second day to make the car better. I feel if we had the second day, we could've improved our time. I really believed we had something. I'm looking forward to go back there next week for the Winston Open.''

Pardus says the team only made about 10 laps in the test session with the backup Chevrolet Monte Carlo that they plan to run in The Winston Open. The Winston Open will be the one of possibly three races for Pardus on May 22. If Pardus pulls off the upset and wins the Winston Open, he will advance to The Winston, an all-star race featuring Winston Cup's top drivers. Pardus also plans to compete in the ARCA race prior to the Winston Open in the No. 42 Jim and Judie Motorsports Chevrolet.

``The Open is going to help us out,'' said Pardus, who will be sporting a special red, white and blue paint scheme in the 50-lap race. ``It's going to get me familiar with the race track and I'll learn a little bit more with the setup. Between the ARCA race and the Winston Open, I'll get my share of track time. When we come back for the following week for the 600, we should have a competitive piece.''

Pardus says he expects the primary car for the Coca-Cola 600 to pick up some speed when the team puts a Hendrick Motorsports qualifying engine in the car.

``When we go back, we're going to have some good pluses,'' Pardus said. ``We had a practice motor in the car. We really didn't have our good motors in the car. Hendrick's qualifying stuff will be a lot better. We'll also have qualifying gearing in the car, that should pick us up some too. With the track time I'll get from the ARCA race and the Winston Open, we should have a good set-up for the Coca-Cola 600.''

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