Eel River Racing Reunites Dodson with Number 27

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 1) – Eel River Racing crew chief Barry Dodson will be reunited with the number 27 Pontiac he guided to a NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship with Rusty Wallace in 1989, and he will not have to change his business card to do it.

Team owner Jack Birmingham announced today that Eel River Racing, which had fielded the number 30 Pontiac in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series since mid-summer, will dust off the number 27 decals and put them on its Pontiacs next season instead of the number 30 decals. Eel River acquired the number 30 Pontiac after Birmingham orchestrated the acquisition of Bahari Racing.

Dodson called the shots from the pits during Wallace’s 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship, which included six wins and four pole positions. Wallace drove the number 27 Pontiac for five years, but he is not the only NASCAR legend to sit behind the wheel of a car with the number 27 decals on its side.

Tim Richmond drove Raymond Beadle’s Pontiacs from 1983-85, storming his way to stardom and two wins and 39 top-10 finishes. Rusty Wallace took over for Richmond from 1986-90 en route to 18 wins in 145 starts and the 1989 championship.

“Since we formed Eel River Racing, we have only been interested in forming a championship-caliber Winston Cup team,” Birmingham said. “We have hired people who have been part of championship teams, so why not associate ourselves with a number that has a little bit of championship history behind it.”

Since the buyout of Bahari Racing, Eel River Racing principals have kept the operation moving toward its goal of fielding a high-caliber team in 2000, and hiring Dodson as crew chief was one of the key moves.

“We’ve made a great amount of progress over the past few months, and the next couple of months will be critical,” Dodson said. “We’re hiring the best people available for our crew, meeting with potential sponsors and finding a driver who is the best fit for our organization and potential sponsors. There is a lot of work involved and a lot of tough decisions, but we are all well equipped to make the decisions.”