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Ray Evernham Names Casey Atwood To Drive Second Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T

25 May 2000

Ray Evernham Names Casey Atwood To Drive Second Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T

    CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 25 Team owner and Dodge development
partner Ray Evernham today announced that 19-year-old Casey Atwood will drive
the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T in 2001.
    "Casey Atwood is an incredibly talented young driver," said Evernham.
"For 19 years of age, he's got a very good understanding and feel for a race
car."
    Like other great young drivers in NASCAR today, Atwood started racing at
an early age and has distinguished himself at every level since then.  He
started racing go-karts at age 10 and won local and state championships in
Tennessee before moving up to Modified and Late-Model stock cars.  He moved to
the Busch Series in 1998 and has already won three poles and two races.  It
was his second Busch Series race that got Evernham's attention.
    "Casey broke on the scene in one of his first-ever NASCAR Busch Series
races," said Evernham.  "He qualified first and almost won the race.  That was
one of the first times he ever drove a Busch Series car and he was only 17
years old at the time.
    "We've followed his progress since then and at a very young age, he's
displayed an incredible amount of talent.  The more time I spend around him
the more I know that his understanding of what a car does will make it easier
for the crew chief to set up the car for him."
    In driving for Evernham Motorsports next season, Atwood will have as a
teammate 1988 Winston Cup Series Champion Bill Elliott.  Atwood and Elliott
will drive bright red Dodge Intrepid R/Ts sponsored by the 3,000 North
American Dodge dealers.  The Dodge dealers are the only primary sponsors to
support two cars in the Winston Cup Series.
    The United Auto Workers (UAW)/DaimlerChrysler National Training Center is
an associate sponsor of the cars.
    "The whole Dodge development team is thrilled about the potential of
having Ray Evernham, Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood working together as part of
the our NASCAR Winston Cup program," said Lou Patane, vice president,
Motorsports Operations and Mopar Performance Parts.  "In less than two full
seasons of Busch Series racing, Casey has shown that he has a lot of talent.
It's stimulating to think what he'll be able to do with support and tutoring
from veterans like Evernham and Elliott."
    "Having Casey Atwood and Bill Elliott on the same team gives us a
wonderful combination of youth and experience," added Evernham.  "Their very
different perspectives will be an asset to the team, and they have the talent
and the drive to push the Dodge Winston Cup program forward very quickly."
    "I've been a big race fan all my life," said Atwood.  "When I was growing
up and watching NASCAR races on television, Bill Elliott was one of the top
drivers and I've always looked up to him.  I'm looking forward to learning
from him."
    Atwood also likes the chemistry with team owner Ray Evernham.
    "He knows how to communicate really well," said Atwood.  "And he knows how
to handle a young driver.  He asks good questions.  If he asks the right
questions, I can give him the answers he needs to set up the car.
    "This is a dream come true," continued Atwood.  "To be successful at the
highest level, you've got to have everything -- you've got to have the right
cars and the right people setting them up.  I've got some guys around me who
definitely can help me out.  I'm really looking forward to it."
    Atwood's learning process will begin in earnest this summer as the Dodge
Dealers Intrepid R/T and other Dodge test cars are tested on racetracks across
the country.  On-track sessions are planned to get the cars ready for next
season and give Atwood a chance to log some "seat time" on tracks he will see
for the first time in a racecar next year.
    Although Atwood wasn't born when Dodge withdrew its factory support from
Winston Cup racing more than two decades ago, he has seen lots of videos of
Richard Petty winning NASCAR races in Dodge equipment.
    "Dodge had a lot of success in Winston Cup racing, and I'm sure they'll
come back just as strong," he said.
    When the driver announcement concluded today at Lowe's Motor Speedway,
Evernham and Atwood had exactly 269 days to get ready for the Dodge return to
Winston Cup racing -- at the Daytona 500 in February.

    "Dodge 500" Countdown to 2001 Daytona 500:
    269 days, 3 hours, 30 minutes