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2000 Schedule and Results | 2000 Archive | Bill Elliott Wallpapers
Elliott and Atwood Earn Their Stripes at Darlington
BILL ELLIOTT AND CASEY ATWOOD FINISH FIFTH AND 25TH AT THE MOUNTAIN DEW
SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON, S.C. (September 2, 2001)- The No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T
and the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T from Evernham Motorsports earned
their stripes during the 367-lap Mountain Dew Southern 500. Bill Elliott
drove his Dodge Intrepid R/T to a fifth place finish and Casey Atwood
piloted his Dodge Intrepid R/T to a 25th place finishing spot.
Elliott, whose success at Darlington is legendary, winning the inaugural
Winston Million bonus at the 1985 Southern 500, started in the ninth spot.
Battling a tight handling car that nearly put him a lap down, Elliott fought
back thanks in part to excellent pit stops by the No. 9 crew and a solid pit
strategy from crew chief Mike Ford.
"It's like any other race," said Ford. "We had a little luck going
our way and not losing a lap there early in the race was big. We kept
adjusting on it all day long and we got better and better. Bill got more
comfortable driving it. The pit stops got better there at the end of the
day. That last caution I think there were 17 or 18 laps to go and the first
few guys didn't pit. It was on from there. We had a good car. We had a
shot at better than a top five I thought but the cautions didn't go our way
there at the end."
Elliott's finish moves him to 14th in the points race. He has four
top five finishes this season. He has finished in the top 10 in four of the
last six races and has run every race this season without a DNF.
Emblazoned with a special Mountain Dew paint scheme, Casey Atwood started
the No. 19 Dodge Intrepid R/T in the thirtieth spot. He and the Dew Crew
made adjustments on the No. 19 Dodge Intrepid R/T, battling for track
position during the four-hour race. In only his second start in a Winston
Cup car at Darlington, Atwood finished the day in 25th place. He remains
31st in points and third in the Raybestos Rookie race, 24 points out of
second.
"Both teams worked hard today," said car owner Ray Evernham. "It was really
a tribute to the No. 9 team. Mike Ford and those guys didn't quit. They
keep digging and digging. They got us another top five finish. Bill
Elliott gave 100 percent today. We've just got to keep getting him better
and better cars and maybe we can get him back to victory lane. I'm really
proud of this team."
EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS IN THE NEWS: Evernham Motorsports spent a busy weekend
at the Mountain Dew Southern 500. Ray Evernham, Casey Atwood and members of
the Dew Crew participated in the Dew Crew Call Saturday morning including a
question and answer session with fans. On Sunday morning, a ceremony was
held in the No. 19 pits with the former team owner for the Dew Crew Junior
Johnson and the current owner for the Dew Crew Ray Evernham. Members of the
media were in attendance including TNT, Fox Sports and Winston Cup Scene.
During the ceremony, Junior Johnson presented a plaque to Ray Evernham
symbolizing the "passing of the wrench." Evernham also presented Johnson a
special gift on behalf of the Dew Crew. In addition to the media coverage
from these events, Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood were also featured in the
Florence Morning News prior to the race weekend. Bill Elliott is also
featured in the current issue of Racing Milestones magazine. Evernham also
conducted a variety of interviews throughout the weekend including PRN and
CNNSI.
SPONSOR NEWS: Representatives from Pepsi-Cola Company were on hand
throughout the weekend for the numerous activities held in support of the
Mountain Dew Southern 500. Members of the Dew Crew including Ray Evernham
and Casey Atwood greeted the visiting VIPs and participated in various
events. Mountain Dew also held a photo shoot at the track with Casey in
anticipation of promotions and packaging for the 2002 season. Dodge City
proved a popular destination for Darlington race fans. In its second
appearance at the track, the interactive mobile attraction drew thousands of
interested visitors. Members of the Dew Crew also made an appearance at
the event and even signed autographs for the many fans in attendance.
2000 Schedule and Results | 2000 Archive | Bill Elliott Wallpapers
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