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NASCAR WCUP: The Dodge Report: A Regular Update from the Dodge Garage

23 December 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
A few comments from Ray Evernham, team owner of Evernham Motorsports and lead developer of the Dodge Intrepid R/T NASCAR Winston Cup racecar:

Ray Evernham's Christmas List

Ray Evernham sent his list in to the man in the North Pole, and while it didn't include the typical PlayStation and Razor scooter topping most lists this year, it did include a few unusual items. What did Ray ask for?

1. 50 more days until the Daytona 500. "We're almost ready, and we've got a little less than 60 days to go, but an additional 50 days would be great. We don't need another 500, because we're ready to go racing, but 50 days would be good."

2. 20,000 more square feet in the race shop. "We've just opened a great new shop in Statesville, but I'd like to have a lot more space for our program. We've got three different shops now - an engine shop, a fab shop and the Statesville shop, but it would be great to have one big facility."

3. Five minutes for everyone on the Dodge program to stop, take a breath and look at all they have accomplished in 440 days. "Everyone has been working so hard and so fast, no one realizes how much they have done. If they could all just stop for five minutes to think about the last 440 days, they would be proud of themselves for building this program from the ground up."

4. Good health for Mr. France. "Our good wishes go out to Bill France Jr. and his family this holiday season. We wish him good health and happiness in the year ahead."

5. Good luck to Mike Helton and George Pyne. "Mike and George will be terrific leaders for NASCAR in the coming years, and we wish them all the best as they take on new leadership responsibilities."

6. Happy Holidays to the Dodge Motorsports family, the five Dodge teams, our Dodge drivers and the new legions of Dodge fans. "This has been an amazing year, and the year ahead will be unlike any in motorsports. We wish all of our Dodge friends, fans and family the best in 2001. Next year is going to be a great year."

7. A return to competition. "We want to be back at the track, competing every weekend. We've all missed the thrill, the agony, the excitement of racing and we are ready to be back. It's time."

8. A win at the Daytona 500 in my stocking. "I don't want to be greedy, but if Santa wanted to leave a little something extra in my stocking, I'd like a win at Daytona. I'd promise to be good the rest of the year if he delivered."

This Day in Dodge History - Fifty years ago, Dodge was completing its first season in NASCAR. The first race for Dodge was on May 30, 1950, at the Canfield Motor Speedway in Canfield, Ohio. That day, driver Carl Wilkerson finished 25th out of 29 qualifiers.

Text Provided By Marlene Iandolo

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