|
 |
  |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Making a splash Dodge a topic of conversation at Daytona
Updated: Monday January 01, 2001 1:42 PM
By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com ATLANTA -- The season-opening Daytona 500 is more than a month away, but the teams are already heading to Daytona International Speedway for winter testing. All eyes figure to be on Dodge's Winston Cup operation, headed by NASCAR guru Ray Evernham. Dodge is returning to the sport after nearly a 30-year hiatus with a fleet of 10 Intrepids. It's a big move for Dodge and for Evernham, who is looking to spread his wings after winning 47 races and three Winston Cups as Jeff Gordon's crew chief. Evernham recruited veteran Bill Elliott (buying his former team, as well) and wonderboy-in-waiting Casey Atwood for his race team, and Dodge's four other teams (the company calls it a "one-team approach") could also make some noise.
"Ray's assembled a real kick-butt team of people," said veteran driver Rusty Wallace. "When they get to the Daytona 500, I look for that Dodge to really fly. After that, I don't know how they're going to handle the unrestricted tracks. But Daytona, I think they're going to be really prepared for that. They've had a good year of developing and testing." Another manufacturer in the game is good for the sport, too. "It's another competitive team to race against," said Jimmy Makar, crew chief for Cup champion Bobby Labonte. "Ray Evernham has been away for a year, and everyone on this circuit regards Ray as one of the best in the business. "But growing pains? They haven't run a competitive lap yet. There are still lot of questions. Is the motor program going to be able to have the durability along with motor power it's going to take? Aerodynamically, there are a lot of questions still out there. They've tested well, but we need to get through the first few races and then we'll know."
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
