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NASCAR WCUP: Dodge Teams Hit the Pavement at Daytona

17 January 2001

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Daytona Beach, FL - With 32 days left of the 500 day countdown to Dodges return to NASCAR Winston Cup Racing, 10 Dodge Intrepid R/Ts were hard at work on Tuesday testing at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the Daytona 500. Today was the first time all five teams, ten cars were on the track at the same time, including the newest Dodge driver, Jason Leffler, who will drive for Chip Ganassi.

"It is a tremendous milestone", said Lou Patane, Vice President, Motorsports Operations. "Even though it is an emotional moment, it won't be as emotional as the first lap of the Daytona 500. That is when all the hard work will pay off. As for today's test, it has been a success. We have had all ten cars run all day long with no problems at all. That is pretty good considering we put this program together in less than 500 days, designing and building the Dodge Intrepid R/T and building an engine in less than a year. We could not have done this without the support of our partners, the Dodge Dealers, and all of our engineers and marketing resources at Dodge".

Bill Elliott led the Dodge brigade turning in the fastest lap of the day in the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T.

"It was a good day for us. We are pleased with what we accomplished but we know we have some work to do", said Bill Elliott, driver of the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T. "Tomorrow we will learn a little more and by the Daytona 500 we should be ready to roll."

"It's really important", said Ray Evernham, owner of the No. 9 and No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/Ts. "Everybody is trying to go fast. Right now, one car seems to be pretty good and the rookie car is struggling a little bit. We need to see if we can get it a little bit closer. We've just got to see if we can get them a little bit closer together."

As the newest manufacturer in NASCAR Winston Cup Racing, the Dodge teams spent the first day of the two-day test session trying a number of things to find out exactly what the Dodge Intrepid R/T will have come February 18, 2001.

"We're getting there little by little. I think right now what we've done with the No. 43, No. 44 and No. 45 teams is divide up our program today and compare", said Kyle Petty, driver of the No. 45 Sprint Dodge Intrepid R/T. "Everybody is trying a little bit of stuff then we go back tonight and hopefully we'll come back tomorrow and be a little bit better. This is just the first day. We got another day, and then you come back to race. We're really optimistic where we're at and where we're going to be."

"We need to find out exactly where we're at", said Evernham. "We've got two or three different combinations. Obviously, we've got Bill's team with one combination and I've got my rookie team with another. We just want to find out where we stack up from motor department to aero department to the actual race team itself."

After Tuesday, the speeds and times turned in by the Dodge Intrepids R/Ts were comparable to those turned in by the other manufacturers and that bodes well for Dodge in the 2001 season.

"We're pretty excited. I think Dodge is going to have a great program", said Stacy Compton, who turned in the second fastest time of the day in the No. 92 Dodge Intrepid R/T. " I'm excited about it. We are proud to be here with Dodge. It's good to see those fans down there in turn 4. The car drives really well. The motors seem to be really good. We have not had a chance to work with them a lot. I think when it is all said and done and we come back to qualify, we will be alright."

Text Provided By Molly N. Morter

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