Dodge Darlington chassis notes

BILL ELLIOTT (No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Elliott will drive the same chassis that carried him to a 23rd place finish at Rockingham. Elliott has had only one top-10 finish this season yet ranks sixth in the NASCAR Winston Cup Standings (NWCS), 118 points behind leader Jeff Gordon. Elliott had three top-10 finishes in the first four races last season and was fourth in the NWCS, 108 points out of first place. Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles at Darlington. It's been 197 races since Elliott's last victory -- the 1994 Pepsi Southern 500 at Darlington. Five of Elliott's 40 career victories came at the 1.366-mile track. Elliott will make his 628th career start Sunday at Darlington. He finished 19th in last year's spring race at Darlington. CASEY ATWOOD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Atwood will run the same chassis that carried him to an 18th place finish earlier this season at Rockingham Atwood failed to qualify for last week's race at Atlanta. The 20-year-old driver from Nashville, Tenn., dropped from second to fifth in the Raybestos Rookie Of The Year standings and 35th in the NWCS. WARD BURTON (No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Burton will race Bill Davis Racing chassis No. 40 at Darlington. It's the same chassis used last year at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the UAW-GM Quality 500 and the Pennzoil 400 at Homestead. Burton finished 10th and 39th, respectively, in those events. Burton is the defending champion of the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. He led five times for 188 of 293 laps at Darlington last year en route to a 1.42-second victory over Dale Jarrett. Burton finished sixth last year in the Pepsi Southern 500 at Darlington and second behind his brother, Jeff, in the 1999 Pepsi Southern 500. Burton finished ninth in the '99 standings and 10th last season for car owner Bill Davis. Burton, who has driven for Davis since 1995, will make his 219th career start on Sunday at Darlington. He's tied for 20th in the NWCS.

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Marlin will run the same chassis he drove to a third-place finish at Las Vegas. The 43-year-old Tennessee native also drove the same chassis last week at Atlanta, led two laps and ran in the top five all day before a cut hose drained water out of the radiator and overheated the engine. Marlin finished 35th at Atlanta and dropped to fourth in the NWCS, 82 points behind the leader. Marlin entered last week's race leading the NWCS with three top 10s in the first three races. Marlin won the pole for the 1992 spring race at Darlington and took the checkered flag in the 1995 spring race at Darlington. Marlin has seven top fives and 13 top 10s in 33 career starts at Darlington. Saturday, March 17, 2001. Darlington Raceway. Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. Dodge Winston Cup Chassis notes and quotes. Page 2.

JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Andretti will race the same chassis that carried him to a 37th-place finish earlier this year at Las Vegas. Andretti finished 14th last week at Atlanta and moved to 33rd in the NWCS. He finished 20th last spring at Darlington and 37th at Darlington in the fall.

BUCKSHOT JONES (No. 44 Georgia Pacific Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Jones finished 19th last week at Atlanta, his best finish ever at that track. Jones will run the same chassis at Darlington that carried him to a 36th place finish earlier this season at Las Vegas. Jones ranks 37th in the NWCS.

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Sprint Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Petty will use the same chassis he took to Las Vegas earlier this season. He failed to qualify with it there. Petty finished 42nd last week at Atlanta after qualifying 18th. He ranks 43rd in the NWCS. Petty finished 25th last spring at Darlington.

STACY COMPTON (No. 92 Kodiak Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Compton will race the same chassis that carried him to a 41st-place finish in the rain-delayed race at Rockingham. Compton led six laps of that event and held the lead when the red flag halted action on Sunday. Compton finished 24th last week at Atlanta and ranks 28th in the NWCS. He finished 29th last spring at Darlington.

DAVE BLANEY (No. 93 Amoco Ultimate Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Blaney will race Bill Davis Racing chassis No. 49 at Darlington. It's the same chassis Blaney drove to a ninth-place finish earlier this season at Rockingham, the only top 10 finish of the season for Bill Davis Racing. Blaney led three times for 70 laps last week at Atlanta but ended up with a 34th place finish. He ranks 32nd in the NWCS. Last year at Darlington, Blaney finished 26th in the spring and 20th in the fall.

JASON LEFFLER (No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Leffler will run chassis No. 106 at Darlington. He finished 28th with the same chassis at Las Vegas. Leffler finished 32nd last week at Atlanta. He ranks fourth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition and 39th in the NWCS.

-Mopar