Dodge Joliet chassis notes

BILL ELLIOTT (No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup champion tested at Chicagoland and will bring back his Michigan chassis for the Tropicana 400. Elliott qualified sixth and finished ninth at Michigan. He finished 35th at Daytona in the Pepsi 400 and ranks 19th in the NASCAR Winston Cup Standings (NWCS). The 45-year-old Dawsonville, Ga., native will make his 641st career start at Chicagoland. He has won 50 poles and 40 races in his career.

JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Andretti will drive his Texas chassis at Chicagoland. The 38-year-old Bethlehem, Pa., native finished 31st at Texas. He finished 22nd last week at Daytona and ranks 31st in the NWCS.

WARD BURTON (No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Burton will drive his Charlotte chassis at Chicagoland. The 39-year-old driver from South Boston, Va., qualified ninth and finished ninth at Charlotte. He's coming off his best performance of the season last week at Daytona. Burton qualified second and finished fourth in the Pepsi 400. He moved to 18th in the NWCS. Burton has finished fourth and sixth in the past two races and moved up five spots in the standings.

CASEY ATWOOD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Atwood, a 20-year-old Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender from Nashville, Tenn., will drive his Pocono chassis at Chicagoland. Atwood had worked his way to sixth at Pocono when engine problems forced him to park his Intrepid after 157 of 200 laps. He finished 38th. Atwood finished 28th in the Pepsi 400 last Saturday night at Daytona and ranks 35th in the NWCS. He's fourth in the six-driver rookie competition.

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Sprint Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Petty will drive his California and Michigan chassis at Chicagoland. He finished 35th at California and 27th at Michigan. Petty, a 41-year-old driver from Randleman, N.C., finished 29th in the Pepsi 400 and ranks 43rd in the NWCS.

STACY COMPTON (No. 92 Kodiak Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Compton tried to test at Chicagoland but got rained out. The Melling Racing team, led by crew chief Chad Knaus, a native of Rockford, Ill., will bring its Las Vegas chassis back to race. Compton, a 34-year-old driver from Grit, Va., finished 27th at Las Vegas. He qualified third and finished 33rd in the Pepsi 400 and ranks 32nd in the NWCS.

JASON LEFFLER (No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Leffler, a 25-year-old Raybestos rookie of the year driver from Long Beach, Calif., will drive Chip Ganassi Racing chassis No. 112 at Chicagoland. He drove the same chassis earlier this season at Texas, Charlotte and California with finishes of 17th, 30th and 18th, respectively. Leffler finished 24th in the Pepsi 400 to lead all rookie competitors. He ranks 36th in the NWCS and fifth in the six-man rookie race.

BUCKSHOT JONES (No. 44 Georgia Pacific Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Jones, a 30-year-old driver from Tucker, Ga., will drive his Michigan and Charlotte chassis at Chicagoland. Jones finished 27th at Charlotte and 36th at Michigan. Jones failed to qualify last week at Daytona. He's ranked 39th in the NWCS.

DAVE BLANEY (No. 93 Amoco Ultimate Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Blaney will run his Michigan chassis at Chicagoland. Blaney, a 36-year-old driver from Hartford, Ohio, qualified fourth and finished eighth at Michigan. He finished 21st last week in the Pepsi 400 after running second with six laps to go. Blaney ranks 27th in the NWCS.

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T)
Marlin will bring his workhorse to Chicagoland. He drove the same Intrepid chassis earlier this season at Las Vegas, Atlanta, California, Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600 and Pocono. Chassis No. 105 finished third at Las Vegas. It qualified second and finished fourth at Pocono. Marlin finished 39th last week at Daytona in the Pepsi 400 after starting from the pole. An accident 16 laps from the end of the race sidelined his Intrepid and dropped Marlin to sixth in the NWCS. However, Marlin lost only one point to series leader Jeff Gordon. Gordon finished 37th at Daytona. Marlin trails the leader by 244 points and is 25 points behind fifth-place Rusty Wallace. Marlin leads all Dodge drivers with five top five and nine top 10 finishes this season. Marlin will be making his 521st career start at Chicagoland. The 44-year-old driver from Columbia, Tenn., has 11 career poles and six victories.

-Dodge Motorsports