DAYTONA NOTEBOOK: Evernham optimistic after so-so start
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Ray Evernham, architect of the Dodge re-entry
into NASCAR's top stock car division, wasn't discouraged by so-so results on
the first day of practice for the Daytona 500. "We've got a good package and
we'll be all right tomorrow," Evernham said, referring to the first round of
qualifying for the Feb. 18 race. The former crew chief, who guided Jeff
Gordon to 47 race victories and three Winston Cup championships, left
Hendrick Motorsports late in the 1999 season to oversee the development of
Dodge's new car and engine and -- at the same time -- build his own two-car
team. His drivers at Evernham Motorsports -- former series champion Bill
Elliott and 20-year-old rookie Casey Atwood -- were 25th and 37th among the
50 drivers who made it onto Daytona International Speedway's 2.5-mile oval
Friday.
Evernham said his goal in Saturday's time trials, which will lock in only
the top two spots, is for Elliott to qualify in the top 15 and Atwood in the
top 25. The hardest part of his new role as team owner is directing while
keeping hands off his new Dodge Intrepids. "For the No. 19 car (Atwood's),
we're putting in our qualifying engine, getting the front end a little
smoother and working on the weight," Evernham said. "In my new role, it's
hard not to get involved in the actual work. I'm trying to give the guys
some ideas on what to expect and be a mentor, but a team owner is not the
same person as the crew chief."
HAPPY, HAPPY: There were a lot of smiles on the faces of Dodge folks Friday
after three of its new Intrepids ran among the top nine in practice. "We're
ecstatic that we're in the hunt," said Bob Wildberger, senior manager of
NASCAR operations for Dodge Motorsports. "Now it's up to the teams. They
know they've got the equipment they can work with." Although they only had
preseason testing to go on, Wildberger said he isn't surprised by the early
Dodge results. "It's hard to say who is going to end up on top, but I've got
a lot of faith in these guys," he said.
Lou Patane, soon-to-retire vice president of Dodge Motorsports operations
and Mopar Performance Parts, said, "We've got some in the front of the
field, some in the middle and some down deeper. From an engineering
perspective, we've done a reasonably good job for providing the teams the
resources to be competitive. What you saw on the track today was what each
team did to implement those resources."
NEW RIDES: Four of the top eight drivers in Friday's practice are with new
teams. Robby Gordon, driving for Morgan-McClure Racing, and Michael Waltrip,
driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., were the two fastest drivers, while new
teammates Ricky Craven and Andy Houston, were seventh and eighth in their
first official appearances for Cal Wells PPI Motorsports. "Today, we kind of
established our expectations for tomorrow and they're pretty high," Craven
said. "But we won't know until tomorrow morning's practice who the real
contenders are because there are always two or three teams that emerge. Then
there may be one or two surprises during qualifying, so you hope to be one
of those 10 cars that have a shot."
SPARK PLUGS: The Daytona 500 qualifying record, set in the days before
engine restrictions, is 210.364 mph by Elliott in 1987. Last year's pole,
with a carburetor restrictor plate, was 191.091 by Dale Jarrett, who went on
to win the race. ... Since 1972 -- the modern era of Winston Cup racing,
Dodge has four Daytona victories, the last by Richard Petty in the July 1977
race. ... Chevrolet has won seven of the last 12 Winston Cup races in
Daytona, with Ford taking the other five. Pontiac's last Daytona win was by
Petty in the July 1984 event.
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