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NASCAR WCUP: Crew Chief Club at the Pepsi 400

30 June 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Event: Pepsi 400
When: Sat., July 1 at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS
Where: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)

* Together, Jimmy Makar, Larry McReynolds, Todd Parrott, Robin Pemberton, Tommy Baldwin, Jimmy Elledge, Ryan Pemberton and Greg Zipadelli have led their drivers to 84 wins, 470 top-five finishes, 772 top-10 finishes and 91 poles prior to this Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

* Parrott and driver Dale Jarrett are the defending winners of the Pepsi 400. Jarrett finished the race in two hours, 21 minutes and 50 seconds at an average speed of 169.213 mph.

* In the 1999 running of the Pepsi 400 six members of the Crew Chief Club finished in the top-ten.

* Founding Crew Chief Club member Makar earned a pole in the 1998 Pepsi 400 with Bobby Labonte.

* In last year's Pepsi 400, the Crew Chief Club finished in the following order:

           Parrott/Jarrett            Start: 12th Finish: 1st       Status: Running

           McReynolds/Skinner         Start: 8th Finish: 4th        Status:  Running

           Makar/B. Labonte           Start: 9th Finish: 5th        Status:  Running

           Zipadelli/Stewart          Start: 6th Finish: 6th        Status:Running

           Baldwin/W. Burton          Start: 25th Finish: 7th       Status:  Running

           Ry. Pemberton/Irvan        Start: 32nd Finish: 9th       Status:  Running

           Ro. Pemberton/R. Wallace   Start: 5th Finish: 11th       Status:  Running

            Elledge/K. Wallace        Start: 28th Finish: 15th      Status:  Running

* Todd Parrott will be signing autographs on Fri., June 30 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon at the Coleman Senior located at the display area near vendor row.

HOW DO YOU SET YOUR RACE CAR UP FOR 400 MILES UNDER THE LIGHTS AT DAYTONA?

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 then 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. In addition, the lights make you see the other cars around you differently."

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."

Text provided by Heather McConnell

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.