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2000 Schedule and Results | 2000 Archive | Bill Elliott Wallpapers
The Dodges of Evernham Motorsports Spend an Evening Under the Lights at Richmond
RICHMOND, VA. (September 8, 2001)-- Bill Elliott, in the No. 9 Dodge
Dealers Intrepid R/T, finished 17th, and Casey Atwood drove his No. 19 Dodge
Dealers Intrepid R/T to a 27th place finish in Saturday's Winston Cup race
at Richmond International Raceway.
Elliott spent the evening picking his way through the field after starting
37th. The No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T was running in the top 15 past the
midway point of the race until an incident on lap 362. Elliott was forced
to come in for repairs to the right front, but the No. 9 crew worked quickly
to repair the damage, keeping the car on the lead lap.
Elliott finished 17th, earning 112 points. He gains another position in the
Winston Cup points race and currently sits in 13th place. He is one of two
drivers who has completed every race this season without a DNF.
"I just kind of survived," said Elliott. "Somebody checked up there at the
end, and I hit Dave Blaney in the back hard. It was just one of them deals.
We weren't that good tonight, but we weren't that bad, either. We'll try
again next week."
Atwood, who was the highest qualifying rookie, started in the seventh spot
and kept his Dodge Intrepid R/T running in the top 10 for the first half of
the race. A problem with the clutch during a pit stop on lap 167 put the
No. 19 three laps down. Atwood would spend the rest of the evening trying
to make up ground, eventually working his way to a 27th place finishing
spot.
Atwood currently sits 31st in points and remains third in the
Raybestos Rookie of the Year race, 25 points out of second place.
"We really didn't have a bad car," said Atwood. "We hung out in the top 10
there for awhile. The clutch just went out on us. It had been going down on
me and then it went out on that pit stop and it fell off on the jack and
stalled and it wouldn't crank back up. Just a bunch of stuff happened at
one time and we got some laps down. We think we learned a lot. The track
was a lot different this time then it was the last time. Maybe we can come
back here and have another good run."
"It was a rough night," said team owner Ray Evernham. "Bill did a great
job. He and Mike (Ford) coming from the back got tangled up in somebody
else's crash and Casey, we just had mechanical problems. The clutch went out
on the pit stop and fell off the jack and cost us three laps. On Casey's
part, it's new team blues and on Bill's part it's just bad luck. You just
have to make the best you can out of it and keep going forward."
EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS IN THE NEWS: The drivers from Evernham Motorsports
started out the race weekend helping the media prepare for next season.
Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood participated in a commercial for Daytona
International Speedway. The commercial will air in promotion of the season
kickoff events at Daytona. Both drivers were also interviewed throughout
the weekend by the race's radio and television broadcasters. Atwood also
talked with ESPN and was a live guest on Fox Sports Net's pre race show on
Saturday morning. Prior to the race weekend activities Atwood was featured
on a Richmond sports talk radio station. Elliott conducted an interview
with The Kansas City Star in preparation for a special section, which will
run prior to the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway. NASCAR Online also
talked with Bill about his early days in racing.
SPONSOR NEWS: Casey Atwood and Ray Evernham spent some time prior to
Saturday night's race visiting with sponsors. Atwood and Evernham met and
signed autographs with representatives from MAC Tools in their hospitality
suite. They also greeted VIPs from Mountain Dew at the No. 19 hauler prior
to pre race activities. The Richmond race also marked Dodge's 200th day in
its return to Winston Cup racing. Bob Urse, president of the South Atlantic
Dodge Dealers Advertising Association and owner of Urse Dodge in Fairmont,
West Virginia, was in attendance for race day activities.
"There's a lot of excitement about Dodge in NASCAR Winston Cup,"
said Urse. "Customers come in and say they are glad Dodge is finally back.
One guy drove his Ford in and said if Bill Elliott was driving a Dodge, so
was he and he traded for a Dodge Dakota on the spot. The recent wins have
accelerated that excitement. We've had a lot of folks come to the
dealership because they are interested in Dodge. We're buying a lot of
Dodge merchandise- hats, shirts and diecasts- for the showroom and the sales
have been phenomenal."
2000 Schedule and Results | 2000 Archive | Bill Elliott Wallpapers
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