Dodge Daytona 2 chassis notes

BILL ELLIOTT (No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Elliott will race a brand new chassis in the Pepsi 400. Elliott won the pole and finished fifth in the 2001 Daytona 500. He's a four-time winner at the 2.5-mile track with a pair of victories in the Daytona 500 and two in the Pepsi 400. In 48 career starts at Daytona, Elliott has four wins, 15 top fives and 24 top 10s (half of his starts). Elliott finished ninth at Sears Point and has two ninth-place finishes in the past three races. The 45-year-old driver from Dawsonville, Ga., ranks 17th in the NASCAR Winston Cup Standings (NWCS) after 16 of 36 events.

JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Andretti will race his Talladega chassis in the Pepsi 400. Andretti, a 38-year-old Bethlehem, Pa., native, started 35th and finished 37th at Talladega. The winner of the 1997 Pepsi 400, Andretti has 15 career starts at Daytona, and his 1997 victory is his only top-10 finish. Involved in an accident in the 2001 Daytona 500, Andretti finished 39th in the season opener. He ran out of fuel on the final lap at Sears Point while running 11th and ended up 30th in that race. Andretti ranks 31st in the NWCS.

WARD BURTON (No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Burton will race chassis No. 38 in the Pepsi 400. He led the most laps with it at Daytona in February before an accident on lap 173 sidelined his Intrepid and relegated Burton to a 35th-place finish. Burton finished 33rd with it at Talladega. In 14 career starts at Daytona, Burton has five top-10 finishes with a three-time career best finish of seventh at the 2.5-mile track. In fact, Burton has recorded three straight seventh-place runs in the Pepsi 400. He's fresh off a sixth-place finish at Sears Point that lifted him four positions in the series standings to 19th. The 39-year-old driver from South Boston, Va., will welcome his car owner, Bill Davis, back to the track at Daytona for the first time since May in Charlotte. Davis has been recuperating from kidney stones.

CASEY ATWOOD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
The 20-year-old Nashville, Tenn., driver will race his Talladega chassis in the Pepsi 400. Atwood finished 30th at Talladega. The Raybestos rookie of the year contender finished 20th in the 2001 Daytona 500 in his first Cup start at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. He finished 41st at Sears Point and ranks 34th in the NWCS. Atwood ranks fourth in the six-man Raybestos rookie race.

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Sprint Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Petty will bring chassis No. 8 to Daytona for the Pepsi 400. Petty's 16th-place finish in the 2001 Daytona 500 has been his best of the season. In 39 career starts at Daytona, the 41-year-old driver from Randleman, N.C., has two top fives and eight top-10 finishes. He's fresh off a 22nd-place finish at Sears Point and ranks 44th in the NWCS.

STACY COMPTON (No. 92 Kodiak Dodge Intrepid R/T)
The 34-year-old driver from Grit, Va., will bring back the same chassis that qualified second for the Daytona 500 and won the pole at Talladega. Compton finished 10th in the Daytona 500. He broke a shock and then parked early with engine problems and a 43rd-place finish at Talladega. Compton started 13th and finished 39th in last year's Pepsi 400. Despite getting spun out on the last lap at Sears Point, Compton finished 24th in that race and ranks 33rd in the NWCS.

JASON LEFFLER (No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Leffler will drive Chassis No. 006 in the Pepsi 400. The 25-year-old Raybestos rookie of the year contender from Long Beach, Calif., finished 20th with the same chassis at Talladega earlier this season. He started 15th and finished 34th in the 2001 Daytona 500. Leffler ranks fifth in the six-driver Raybestos rookie race and 36th in the NWCS after failing to qualify at Sears Point.

BUCKSHOT JONES (No. 44 Georgia Pacific Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Jones will run the same Petty Enterprises chassis he used earlier this season at Daytona and Talladega. Buckshot finished 29th in the Daytona 500 and a season-best 16th at Talladega. The 30-year-old driver from Tucker, Ga., will be making his first start in the Pepsi 400. He finished 35th at Sears Point and ranks 39th in the NWCS.

DAVE BLANEY (No. 93 Amoco Ultimate Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Blaney will drive the same chassis that finished 42nd (engine problems) in the Daytona 500 and 17th at Talladega. The 36-year-old driver from Hartford, Ohio, will be making his fourth career start at Daytona. He started fourth and finished 24th in last year's Pepsi 400. Blaney finished 32nd at Sears Point and ranks 26th in the NWCS.

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Marlin will drive chassis No. 005 in the Pepsi 400. He finished seventh with it in the Daytona 500 after leading 11 times for 39 laps. He led the most laps (four times for 51 laps) at Talladega with the same chassis and finished 23rd after qualifying second. In 38 career starts at Daytona, Marlin has three wins, 11 top fives and 18 top 10s. Marlin celebrated his 44th birthday on June 30, and the Franklin, Tenn., native ranks fifth in the NWCS after his 28th-place finish at Sears Point. Marlin's most recent top-five finish at Daytona was a third in the 1997 Pepsi 400. His last victory came 164 races ago in the 1996 Pepsi 400.

-Mopar