Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Dodge teams still have need for speed

Friday, Feb. 9, 2001 | 11:37 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

When Ray Evernham left last month's private test for Dodge's NASCAR Winston Cup teams at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the two-car team owner was pleased with the overall progress of the upstart program.

But the former three-time Winston Cup championship crew chief didn't leave Las Vegas with the type of speed he was hoping drivers Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood would achieve.

With qualifying for the Daytona 500 set to begin Saturday, Evernham remains disappointed about his team's lack of speed -- but he isn't exactly despondent.

"I would be lying if I told you I wasn't (disappointed)," Evernham said. "I've got to be realistic about things; I'm just that type of a person. My problem is I've just never been able to accept the average; no matter what we've done, it has just not been good enough.

"In a way, that's a good thing. In another way, I can't go jump off the hotel at Daytona if we're just not fast enough. We've come a long way, I've got a good program, it has been a big job and as long as it keeps going forward every day, which it is, then I've just got to accept it."

Saturday's Bud Pole Qualifying determines only the first two starting positions for the 500 while next week's twin 125-mile qualifying races set the remainder of the field. After a 15-year absence, Dodge makes its re-entry into Winston Cup racing at the Feb. 18 Daytona 500.

Even if Evernham's Dodges fail to make the field through qualifying, the veteran Elliott would make the race on a past champion provisional. But Evernham doesn't want to talk about provisionals.

"We don't want to use that (provisional) route," he said. "It would be very big for me to get both of my cars in on speed. I don't want to have to rely on provisionals. Yes, Bill does have a provisional as a (former) champion."

Although the fastest Dodge was considerably slower (by nearly 7 mph) than any of the other manufacturers after testing at Daytona last month, the Dodges did not have the advantage of working in the draft with other Dodges.

That, according to a Dodge official, skews the speed charts from Daytona's winter testing.

"We all understand that if any group of Dodges had got together, they would have gone faster," said Lou Patane, Dodge's vice president of motor sports operations. "That's obviously a by-product of that situation. It was most important for us when we got there to work on our individual setups for that race.

"Even though most of the teams, other than Ray's, have been there before as organized organizations, they had not been there with Dodge or the Dodge engines and the Dodge configuration of body. They needed to be able to work through the multiple possible combinations of what they were going to throw at it on race day and in qualifying.

"We felt collectively that it was better for us to be able to allow the teams to have that extra few hours -- rather than to do a group draft -- to continue on their individual setups for the weekend. We think that paid benefits to us. We all know multi-car event racing is going to increase the speed."

And that, Evernham said, is what is motivating both of his teams going into the Super Bowl of stock-car racing.

"No matter what happens here, I've got guys here working and going down there -- whether they're five miles an hour slower or five miles an hour faster -- I've got guys in the shop that believe they're going down there to win the Daytona 500.

"That's what it's going to take. Whether or not they're going to win it, who knows? The point is they believe they can. Sooner or later, they're going to start to win."

Waltrip, who drives the NAPA Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt in the Winston Cup Series, will be making his first Winston West start since he won at Pikes Peak in July, 1997. Las Vegas-based Orleans Racing, which fields cars for Brendan Gaughan and Herschel McGriff in the Winston West Series, will prepare Waltrip's car.

Any driver finishing in the top three in both the NAPA Auto Parts 300 and the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Winston Cup race on March 4 at LVMS will win a three-night stay in The Venetian's penthouse suite and the driver's spouse or significant other will receive a $20,000 shopping spree in the Grand Canal Shoppes, courtesy of The Venetian hotel-casino. ...

Mike McLaughlin, who has 222 starts and five wins in his Busch Series career, was hired this week to drive the No. 20 Pontiac for Joe Gibbs Racing this season in the Busch Series.

Las Vegas resident Jimmy Vasser completed a successful three-day test last week with Patrick Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway, logging more than 200 laps and setting the fast time of 26.7 seconds (202.247 mph).

"It was a good, solid, blue-collar, workmanlike test," Vasser said. "We weren't trying to set any track records and we still ended up with the fastest time.

"I think with the improvements we made and the information we gathered, we have developed a very solid 1.5-mile oval platform."

"I am really excited to get back into the car again," Unser said. "I have been snowmobiling all winter so I have had a good off-season, but it was long enough."

Unser picked up a couple of teammates during the winter, with Didier Andre and Casey Mears joining Galles Racing.

"We have a great package (G Force chassis and Oldsmobile Aurora engine) this year, and it feels good to have a full season driving the Indy Racing cars under my belt," Unser said.

"The team has made some changes with Didier (Andre) and Casey (Mears) coming on board, and we feel that we are going to be in an even better position to win more races this year. I just can't wait to get on the track and get going again."

Russell joined Gary Scelzi (Top Fuel, 1997) and K.C. Spurlock (Funny Car, 1990) as the only NHRA pro drivers to win in their first professional attempt.

"This is a pretty incredible accomplishment," said Russell, who took over for the retired Joe Amato. "For this to happen to me, it's a dream come true."

Amato, who retired after the 2000 season as the sport's winningest Top Fuel driver with five championships and 52 victories, was equally excited.

"This is almost as much fun as driving," Amato said. "Anytime you can debut a new driver and new crew chief and get the points lead, that's pretty good stuff.

"This is a great start for this team; it's way beyond my expectations."

Gaughan, who qualified sixth for the race, was challenging eventual race winner Ken Schrader for the lead late in the race when Gaughan's right-front tire blew out going into Turn 3 and his car hit the wall.

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