Dodge will run two-day test at LVMS

Wednesday, May 10, 2000 | 9:39 a.m.

Dodge Motorsports' NASCAR Winston Cup development team, headed by veteran crew chief Ray Evernham, will hold a two-day test session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in June.

The test session will mark the new Intrepid's third on-track test since automaker DaimlerChrysler announced its return to NASCAR after a 20-year absence.

Evernham will field a two-car team under the Evernham Motorsports banner beginning with the 2001 Daytona 500. Petty Enterprises and Bill Davis Racing also will field Intrepids next season.

LVMS officials were uncertain which of Dodge's seven drivers would take part in the test, which is scheduled for June 5-6 on the 1.5-mile superspeedway. The test will not be open to the public.

Bill Elliott, the 1988 Winston Cup Series champion, will drive one of Evernham's cars next season and Casey Atwood is believed to be the leading candidate to get behind the wheel in the second car.

Kyle Petty, John Andretti and Adam Petty of Petty Enterprises and Ward Burton and Dave Blaney of Bill Davis Racing also will drive Intrepids in 2001.

Evernham rolled out the Intrepid for its first on-track test last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway and proclaimed the session a success.

"I'm really happy with the car's first shakedown runs," Evernham said. "The car got up to speeds that are competitive with what the Winston Cup cars ran here last year."

Evernham is expected to oversee a test later this month at Michigan Speedway before coming to Las Vegas next month.

The former crew chief for three-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon said he expects the Dodge Intrepid to be competitive right out of the box.

"Realistically, we want to be contending early in the season for top-10 positions (and) absolutely contending for wins by the end of the season," he said.

"If the car can be a competitive top-10 car in the first season, we will have done a good job. I'm not going to say we're going to win in our first year but I'm not going to say we're not."

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at 259-4089 or by e-mail at bh@lasvegassun.com.