No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Race Facts
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 - Darlington Raceway
Driver: Jeremy Mayfield
Team Director: Kenny Francis
Team Owner: Ray Evernham
JEREMY MAYFIELD QUOTES
ON FINISHING SECOND AT ATLANTA LAST SUNDAY
“The team did an outstanding job last Sunday. We freed the car up all day long and it just took off about midway through the race. The crew did a great job getting me out of the pits and it really helped with some track position.
“The guys are really pumped up right now. They work so hard every week and to finally get the result we’ve been looking for is very gratifying. We’ve had some decent runs over the last few weeks, but it wasn’t what we wanted. It feels good to be in the thick of things.”
EARNING YOUR STRIPES
“Darlington definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. It forces you to run up high because of the banking, thus the famed Darlington stripe. It’s real big in turns one and two, but tight in three and four. The track surface is very abrasive, so tire wear is always a big issue. It’s kind of a strange track, but I’ve always liked it.”
GETTING AROUND DARLINGTON
“I’ve had some good runs at Darlington. It’s a track that you either come to love or hate. Cale Yarborough taught me a few things about Darlington back when I drove for him. In order to get a good finish, you have to race the racetrack rather than your competitors. Usually, if you can stay out of trouble and keep your car in one piece, then you’ll come away with a solid finish.”
STATS & FACTS
CAREER AT DARLINGTON
· This weekend’s race marks Mayfield’s 20th career visit to Darlington Raceway. Mayfield has five top-five and six top-10 finishes at the racetrack with one pole. He has led seven Darlington races for a total of 320 laps.
DARLINGTON BESTS
· Mayfield earned his best finish at Darlington by moving up nine spots from his 11th place starting position to finish second in the spring race of 1999. Mayfield earned his best start at Darlington in the 2000 spring race when he started from the pole but finished 41st due to an accident.
MAYFIELD REACHED MILESTONE AT DARLINGTON
· Mayfield’s first laps ever led in a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race came at Darlington in March of 1995 when he led once for 18 laps in the Transouth Financial 400. He started 35th and finished 31st in the event.
MOST RECENT RUN AT DARLINGTON
· In last fall’s Mountain Dew Southern 500, Mayfield and the Dew Crew showed their hard work after Mayfield hit the wall during his qualifying run. The Dew Crew salvaged the No. 19 Mountain Dew Dodge and was able to prevent bringing out the backup car thus relegating Mayfield to the rear of the field. Instead Mayfield benefited from his strong 15th place qualifying run and was able to wheel the No. 19 Mountain Dew Dodge around a track that caused considerable headaches for several competitors. Cloud cover and worn tires created tight conditions for most of the competition during the course of the day, but Kenny Francis kept Mayfield from falling back in the field with smart calculations on the car’s set up. Trouble on the front of the car during the closing pit stops didn’t deter Mayfield either as he fought his way up through the top-running competitors to finish a hard-fought sixth on a day when temperatures soared on the track.
LAST WEEKEND
· Last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Mayfield and the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team started 16th, led twice for 22 laps and finished second. By gradually freeing up his Dodge all day and having great pit stops, Mayfield scored his highest finish of the 2004 season.
ADDING UP THE POINTS
· After his second place finish last Sunday, Mayfield moved from 14th to seventh in the NASCAR Nextel Series point standings. He trails leader, Matt Kenseth, by just 159 points.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
· This week marks the first time that both Evernham Motorsports teams have ranked within the top-10 of the driver standings together, as Kasey Kahne currently sits in the fourth spot.
