NASCAR WCUP: Crew Chief Club at the Pepsi 400
2 July 1999
Event: Pepsi 400 When: Sat., July 3 at 8 p.m. EDT on CBSWhere: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Together, Jimmy Makar, Larry McReynolds, Todd Parrott and Robin Pemberton have led their drivers to 70 wins, 380 top-five finishes, 602 top-10 finishes and 70 poles prior to this Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Makar and driver Bobby Labonte are the defending pole winners of the Pepsi 400. Labonte toured the 2.5-mile oval in 46.485 seconds at an average speed of 193.611 mph.
Despite not having a win in the Pepsi 400, the members of the Crew Chief Club have nine top-five finishes throughout their careers in the July event.
In last year's Pepsi 400, the Crew Chief Club finished in the following order:
Makar/Labonte Start: 1st Finish: 2nd
Status: Running
McReynolds/Skinner Start: 9th Finish: 3rd
Status: Running
Pemberton/Wallace Start: 7th Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Parrott/Jarrett Start: 3rd Finish: 23rd
Status: Running
All four members of the Crew Chief Club will be signing autographs on Sat., July 3, from 10 - 11 a.m. EDT. Jimmy Makar and Larry McReynolds will be on the Chevrolet souvenir trailer, while Todd Parrott and Robin Pemberton will be on the Ford souvenir trailer. Crew Chief Club souvenirs are available on both merchandise trailers. Fans can also log-on to the Crew Chief Club at their official website, www.crewchiefclub.com.
HOW DO YOU SET YOUR RACE CAR UP FOR 400 MILES UNDER THE LIGHTS AT DAYTONA?
Jimmy Makar - Interstate Batteries Pontiac of Bobby Labonte - "I don't know how much running under the lights is going to change our setup. It's still going to be pretty hot. The race track's surface is going to be a little bit cooler since the sun won't be beating directly on it. I think it will be a bit slicker than it was back in February. I don't anticipate a lot of changes. We'll probably just make the car a little tighter than we were back in February. The car we'll run at Daytona is a car we debuted at Talladega back in April and we feel pretty good about it."
Larry McReynolds - Lowe's Home Improvement Chevrolet of Mike Skinner - "Even though we're running under the lights, Daytona is not going to change. It's still going to get slick and you need to focus on getting your car to handle throughout the entire 160 laps. Normally, the best handling car will win the race down there. We normally work really hard on qualifying, and we'll use our notes from the 500 as a starting point. We should be able to fine-tune things from there."
Todd Parrott - Ford Quality Care Service/Ford Credit Ford of Dale Jarrett - "You need to have a car that's a little tighter than what you had back in February. Bottom line - you've got to have a good race car. Running at night - the temperatures will be cooler. The lights make you see the other cars around you differently. We're looking forward to running this race in July."
Robin Pemberton - Miller Lite Ford of Rusty Wallace - "Basically, we'll try to get the car to run as low as it can for qualifying. By getting it low to the ground, you get the lowest drag possible. It's up to the engine guys to get the horsepower out of the engine. Those are the two key ingredients."
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