Dodge test called a success at Talladega

Thursday, Oct. 19, 2000 | 10:01 a.m.

Not all the news concerning DaimlerChrysler's return to NASCAR Winston Cup racing in 2001 emanated from Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon.

While officials from UAW-DaimlerChrysler were announcing their sponsorship of the 2001 Winston Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dodge racing moved one step closer to getting its Intrepid R/T ready for the 2001 Daytona 500.

Four drivers tested the new Intrepid at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Monday and Tuesday and veteran crew chief Ray Evernham, who is heading Dodge's return to NASCAR after a 15-year absence, proclaimed the test a success.

"We went out to set a baseline for the performance of our race car," Evernham told the Birmingham News. "We are happy with what we've seen so far.

"We have a good start on building a great speedway car. Everything is just so new -- with a new body and a new engine -- that we are really just learning."

Dodge already has received approval of the car's design from NASCAR and now is working on finding the maximum horsepower out of the engine.

"We're seeing what the engine wants, learning what it takes to get the engine to speed and keep it there," Evernham said. "It's like a new animal: You watch it for a little while to get an understanding of just how you should treat it."

Bill Elliott, Buckshot Jones, Sterling Marlin and Stacy Compton took part in the two-day test on the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Evernham has another test scheduled for Nov. 6-8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, representatives of the United Auto Workers and DaimlerChrysler were at the Showcase Mall on the Strip Wednesday to formally announce their sponsorship of next year's Winston Cup race at LVMS.

Nate Gooden, vice president and director of UAW-DaimlerChrysler, said news of this week's Dodge test and the race sponsorship has employees of the automaker looking forward to the 2001 season.

"Our members are truly excited about it," Gooden said. "They said (Winston Cup racing) is something we should have been involved in a long time ago.

"We are hoping we can have success right away with the Dodge Intrepid. You hear people talk about GM and Ford but they never talk about DaimlerChrysler. Well, we're going to take that little red car and try to run right by them."

The UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 will be held March 4, 2001, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race, which has drawn nearly 130,000 fans each of the past two years, will be the third round of the 36-race NASCAR Winston Cup Series.