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EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
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Back in front Veteran Elliott takes Dodge into Daytona 500 pole
By John Donovan, CNNSI.com DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It's an all new red world at Daytona. The Dodges -- after 18 years away -- are back. In a big, big way. Old-hand Bill Elliott barreled his way to the Daytona 500 pole Saturday -- his first pole in almost four years and his first one for the Daytona 500 in 14 years -- whipping around the 2.5-mile tri-oval at Daytona International Speedway in 49.029 seconds, or 183.565 mph. "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" did it in a Dodge Intrepid R/T, capping off a remarkable comeback for the manufacturer that decided to get back into Winston Cup racing a little more than 500 days ago. Elliott's Dodge won't be alone up front when the green flag drops on the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, either. He'll be joined by the No. 92 Kodiak Dodge driven by Stacy Compton, who moved into the other spot in the front row after qualifying with a lap of 49.266, or 182.682 mph. Compton climbed into the second spot when Jerry Nadeau's Chevrolet was disqualified after running a lap of 182.673. Officials found an unapproved shock absorber and spring shackle in a post-qualifying tear down. In all, Dodges finished in four of the top 10 spots. Ward Burton and Sterling Martin ran the sixth- and seventh-fastest times in Dodges. "It is pretty unbelievable what has transpired in the last couple weeks," Elliott said. "I think everyone just finally got everything together." There were a lot of claims that the Dodge teams were sandbagging their approach to Daytona. They had run only so-so in practices, at least until Friday at the speedway. Even then, Elliott managed only the 20th-best time in the morning practice, and had improved his times only marginally since. Dodge officials also openly wondered in the past few weeks whether they were ready for the Great American Race. Turns out that, yeah, they were ready. And then some. "I left it at the beach. Let's get that straight," Elliott said when someone asked him about sandbagging. "You knew they weren't sandbagging," Compton said of the Ray Evernham team, which includes Elliott and rookie Casey Atwood (who ran a 180.730 lap Saturday). "They were just ... looking." Fact is, most drivers figured the Dodge entries would be in the mix for the Daytona 500. Dodge has sunk millions into its return, and all along the Dodge people and the race teams have talked about how hard they've worked. "It's just smart business on their part," defending Daytona 500 champ Dale Jarrett said of the publicly cautious Dodge approach. Jarrett's No. 88 UPS Ford ran a lap of 182.622 mph on Saturday, giving him the third-fastest time after Nadeau's disqualification. "You don't know what to expect, but they've done their homework." Saturday's qualifying means Dodges will be on the front row for the Daytona 500, but the rest of the lineup still is unsettled. That will be solidified Thursday in the twin Gatorade 125s. Positions 3-30 will be determined by that race, with the remainder of the 43-car field being filled out by qualifying times and provisional spots. Another round of qualifying will be held Monday. Whatever happens the rest of the week, though, whatever happens next Sunday in the big race, Saturday's Daytona 500 qualifying proved the Dodges are back. And they may be the cars to beat. The pole-sitter has won the last two times in the Daytona 500, Jarrett last year and Jeff Gordon in '99. "Bill Elliott can certainly get it done. He knows how to get around this place and he knows how to draft," Compton said. "That's going to help. But a good car also helps a tremendous amount." Thanks to Dodge, Awesome Bill has his awesome ride.
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