No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Race Facts
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Driver: Jeremy Mayfield
Team Director: Kenny Francis
Team Owner: Ray Evernham
CHASSIS INFO: The No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge that Mayfield is driving at Las Vegas is the same car that started 40th and finished 28th in the 2003 fall Michigan race.
QUOTES
RACING AT LAS VEGAS
“I’m really excited about this race, especially with how well our test went there in January. I think we’ll find out a lot about how the new aero and tire rules will play out this weekend. I’ve had some good runs here in the past and I feel confident I’ll have another one this weekend.”
ODDS TO WIN
“I think we’ve got a great shot to win, but there so many intangibles that have to play out that it makes winning difficult to predict. You can be dominating the race but run over a piece of debris and destroy your car. We just try to put ourselves in a position to win or get a top-10 finish.”
ON PREVIOUS RACE AT ROCKINGHAM
“Rockingham was kind of a heartbreaker because we had high hopes going into the race. We had an overheating problem early on that we had to remedy. After that, I thought we had the fastest car out there. I would have liked to have made it a three-way photo finish with Kasey and Matt, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
STATS & FACTS
CAREER AT LAS VEGAS
· Jeremy Mayfield has started in all six NASCAR Cup Series events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From the inaugural Las Vegas 400 in 1998 to last year’s UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Mayfield has earned two top-five finishes, two top-10 finishes and has led 39 laps at the racetrack. In his first visit to LVMS, he finished fifth, moving up 27 spots from his 32nd place starting position.
LAS VEGAS TEST
· The No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team conducted a two day test-session at LVMS in January. Both Evernham Motorsports drivers, Mayfield and rookie Kasey Kahne, unofficially ran a lap of 31.42 seconds, 171.851 miles per hour, in their Dodges at the 1.5-mile oval. The speeds were the fastest of the 23 NASCAR Nextel Cup and 15 Busch Series teams participating.
LAS VEGAS BESTS
· Mayfield’s best finish at Las Vegas was also his best finish of 2002, when he moved from the 18th starting spot to finish second in only his third race in the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge. His best starting position came in 1999 when he qualified seventh in the Las Vegas 400. He finished the race 17th that year.
MOST RECENT RUN AT L.V.M.S.
· In March of 2003, Mayfield reported tight conditions of his No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge to team director Kenny Francis after starting the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 in 13th place. Francis called for air pressure and trackbar adjustments to get the car in optimal driving condition throughout the day. The No. 19 Dodge Squad worked fast and furiously to get Mayfield the service he needed to bring his car around in the closing laps of the race, and Mayfield battled to a 21st place finish.
LAST WEEKEND…
· Last weekend at Rockingham, Mayfield started sixth and quickly moved up to the fourth position. He radioed to his Dew Crew that his Dodge was running a little hot. Fortunately, a caution came out on lap 38 and the Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team pitted twice to make handling adjustments as well as help the overheating problem. Mayfield’s Dodge responded by posting some of the quickest laps on the day. However, two pit road speeding penalties later in the race forced Mayfield to fight through lapped traffic on his way back to the front of the pack. He picked up several positions in the closing laps to finish 11th on the day.
ADDING UP THE POINTS
· After his 11th place finish at Rockingham, Mayfield moved up seven spots in the Nextel Cup points race to sit in 18th place. Mayfield is tied with Bobby Labonte for the 17th championship ranking, however he loses the tie-breaker to Labonte based upon Labonte’s high-finish of 11th, which he scored one week before Mayfield’s top-run. After two races, Mayfield remains just 22 points out of the top-10.
