 |
|
Silly Season | Forum | Photo Gallery | Newsletter | In the Pits
2000 Schedule and Results | 2000 Archive | Bill Elliott Wallpapers
Elliott and Atwood Bow Out Early at Kansas Speedway
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (September 30, 2001)- What looked like a promising weekend
for the Dodge Intrepid R/Ts of Evernham Motorsports ended in disappointment
as the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge and the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge exited
early from the inaugural Winston Cup race at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway.
Bill Elliott started from the third spot and looked to have a car to contend
with until engine trouble on lap 134 took him out of the race. Elliott took
the lead on lap 23 for a total of 33 laps. It is the seventh time this year
that Elliott has led a race and the first time in 32 races that Elliott has
not finished a race. He would end the day in 40th place, dropping a spot in
the points race. He currently sits in 14th, 182 points out of 10th.
"It just quit running," said Elliott. "That's the best race car I've had
all year. It's just a shame. We'll get 'em next week. My car was hooked up
pretty good. Most of those guys had a hard time getting in. It was kind of
edgy getting into turn one side by side and that's what made it difficult.
The track was good. It's a great place to race, and I had a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, I'm not going to see the end of it, and that's the hard part
of this business. A lot of cautions and a lot of things going on, and you'll
have that at some racetracks. Unfortunately, it's here today."
Casey Atwood experienced trouble in turn one on the first lap of the race.
Atwood would be forced to leave the race finishing the day in 43rd after
starting in fifth place. He also had strong runs in practice and qualified
fifth in his No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T. He drops a spot in the
points, moving to 31st, 267 points out of 25th.
"The top really wasn't working, so everybody was scrambling trying to get to
the bottom," Atwood said. "When you have split seconds like that to make a
decision about something, sometimes things happen that you wish you hadn't
done."
EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS IN THE NEWS: The performance of the Dodge Dealers
Intrepid R/Ts kept Evernham Motorsports in the news throughout the inaugural
Winston Cup weekend at Kansas Speedway. Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood were
interviewed by various media outlets during, prior to and after practice and
qualifying. Elliott conducted interviews in the media center after he put
his No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T in the third starting spot in the
inaugural Winston Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Elliott was also a live
guest on Sunday's edition of NASCAR This Morning on Fox Sports Net. Atwood
also was busy this weekend. He participated in a press conference on
Thursday after posting fast practice times and returned on Friday for
interviews regarding the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. Both Atwood
and Ray Evernham talked live with Tim Grunhard during the former Kansas City
Chiefs' radio show. Atwood also was busy away from the track. The rookie
visited Kauffman Stadium, thanks to partner Mountain Dew, to throw out the
first pitch at the Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals
and Chicago White Sox. Local media, as well as Fox Sports Net and Winston
Cup Scene, covered the event. RPM 2Night also mentioned Atwood's first
pitch during their live talk with Atwood prior to the event. Atwood and
Evernham also visited with The Kansas City Star for a feature story on
Atwood's steady progression as a rookie driver.
SPONSOR NEWS: The expansion of Winston Cup racing to Kansas City presented
many exposure opportunities for the partners of Evernham Motorsports. The
local Dodge Dealers were the title sponsor of the Dodge Kansas City Pit Stop
held at the beautifully restored Union Station in downtown Kansas City. As
thousands visited the interactive, mobile display unit this weekend, Casey
Atwood made a visit on Saturday to sign autographs. Bill Elliott and Casey
Atwood also visited with Dodge VIPs on Sunday morning at Kansas Speedway's
hospitality village. They signed autographs and visited with the various
guests who were on hand to enjoy the first weekend of Winston Cup action in
Kansas City. The UAW-National Training Center also had several
representatives in attendance throughout the weekend and took in all the
action at the 1.5-mile speedway. Representatives and guests from Mountain
Dew experienced two of Kansas City's premiere sports facilities. Several
took in the sights and sounds of Kansas Speedway as well as Kauffman
Stadium, where Atwood threw out the first pitch at the Kansas City Royals
Major League Baseball game. While at the beautiful baseball facility,
Atwood made a visit to the Pepsi suite where he visited with and signed
autographs for the invited guests and company representatives.
2000 Schedule and Results | 2000 Archive | Bill Elliott Wallpapers
Silly Season | Forum | Photo Gallery | Newsletter | In the Pits ©Copyright 2001 Race 2 Win |