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Dodge Marks One-Year Anniversary of Winston Cup Launch with Inaugural Speedway Test at Talladega
"We went out today to set a baseline for the performance of our race car," said Ray Evernham, team owner for Evernham Motorsports and lead developer of the Dodge Intrepid R/T race car. "We are happy with what we've seen so far and we have a good start on building a great speedway car. But everything is so new - with a new body and a new engine - that we are really just learning about the car." Four teams participated in the Dodge Motorsports manufacturer's test, including Evernham Motorsports with driver Bill Elliott, Petty Enterprises with recently named driver Buckshot Jones, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates with driver Sterling Marlin, and Melling Racing with driver Stacy Compton. Elliott and Jones drove a number of test laps in the morning session, and Marlin and Compton planned to join them for the afternoon. This morning, Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises each tested a car with the new Dodge Intrepid R/T body and the new Dodge engine, which is still awaiting NASCAR approval. The cars featured the new aero changes run during the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway as well as restrictor plates. "The car felt good out there," said Bill Elliott, who holds the fastest lap record at the Talladega Superspeedway. "We're really just seeing what the engine likes and learning about the car, but so far it handles great."
"I liked the way the car felt out there, but since I didn't race here yesterday I don't really have a basis for comparison," said Jones. "I'm working on figuring out the car and the new engine. It's a great opportunity. To be able to drive for the Pettys and learn from Kyle Petty, Richard Petty and John Andretti is amazing. It's also great to be part of Dodge coming back in." During the two-day test, Dodge Motorsports is focused on engine power, durability and chassis/aero performance. Dodge is using the Evernham Motorsports' Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T to develop a consistent benchmark for performance, which it will share with the other teams under the one-team approach. "We have performed so far at the level we expected," said Tim Culbertson, Program Manager, Dodge Winston Cup Engineering. "It's the first time we ran the new aero package on the race track, and you learn a lot that you just can't get in the wind tunnel. We're running the 59" spoiler, the same as Pontiac and Ford, with the 1" Gurney strip. We're also using the lateral roof spoiler. Our engineers are working with the teams to try a lot of different things on the cars to see how they react." For Evernham, it is a chance to find out what will really make the new car and engine perform. "We're seeing what the engine wants and learning what it takes to get the engine to speed and keep it there," said Evernham. "It's like a new animal, you watch it for a little while to get an understanding of just how you should treat it."
The Dodge Motorsports team is hopeful that it will hear word from NASCAR on its engine in the next few weeks. "We're anxiously waiting to hear from NASCAR on engine approval," said Bob Wildberger, Senior Manager, Dodge NASCAR Operations. "We were in constant communication with NASCAR throughout the development process. And, our one-team approach is working well. The Dodge team moved very quickly in the development, from finalizing the design in December to finishing castings in February, running the engine on the dyno in late May to our on-track test in June."
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