NASCAR Cup

Indianapolis: Jeremy Mayfield preview

Jeremy Mayfield No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T THOUGHT ON INDIANAPOLIS "I've done well there before. I really like that track. There's so much history there. It's a big race for everyone. We went out and tested there with Bill and Casey. As a ...

Published: Aug 2, 2002, 1:14 PM

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Jeremy Mayfield
No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T

THOUGHT ON INDIANAPOLIS

"I've done well there before. I really like that track. There's so much history there. It's a big race for everyone. We went out and tested there with Bill and Casey. As a team, we've all got some good information for this weekend. I don't know exactly what to expect, but we're making strides. We need to go in, get a good qualifying run, and go from there. We're starting to turn this thing around. You know, we've gotten taken out the past couple of weeks, but we're headed in the right direction. We've just got to keep after it."

THOUGHT ON SOFT WALLS

"I think they'll be good. You know, I haven't really gotten to see exactly what it's like, but it's something we needed to look into it. The softer the wall is when we hit, I think the better it is. We've made a lot of improvements inside the race car. Now, we're concentrating on other ways to improve safety at the track and that can be nothing but a good thing. I think the soft walls can only help in that regard."

FOLLOW UP ON LAST WEEKEND'S R & D TEST- RAY EVERNHAM

"We didn't quite get the information back that we were looking for. We definitely feel there's something there. We're just not 100% confident about putting all of those pieces in place, but that is a direction that we going to continue moving toward. Now, we did learn some things that we can do with our current motor combination for Indianapolis, but I'm not going to tell people what those things are. That's why they call it research and development. We're still doing research and development but we are going to apply some of those things and we also are encouraged in the direction some of those things are going."

RACE NOTES

* For the first time in its history, Dodge captured the auto racing"Grand Slam" by winning last weekend's NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck Series' races, as well as the ARCA RE/MAX Series race within a three-day span.

STATS & FACTS

* This weekend's race marks Mayfield's 258th career start in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. In seven career Winston Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jeremy Mayfield has garnered one top-five and one top-ten finish: he started in the eighth spot in 1995 and finished in fifth place in the race in 1997. In last year's race at Indianapolis, Mayfield started in the 16th position and ended the day in 18th place.

* Last weekend in Pocono, Jeremy Mayfield and the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T started the Pennsylvania 500 from the fourth spot. By lap 10, Mayfield moved into the top 3 and continued to run with the leaders until the first of 2 red flag race delays came out on lap 26. After the restart on lap 27, Mayfield continued to race in the top 15. By lap 60, the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge dropped thru the field to the 37th position due to a loose handling car. On lap 140 Mayfield spun and hit the wall in turn two after contact with Jerry Nadeau in the #44 car. Mayfield was forced to retire from the race, ending the day in 38th place.

* After last weekend's finish in Pocono, Mayfield remains in the 28th position in the Winston Cup points race, just 59 points out of the 27th spot.

* Mayfield's second-place run this year at Las Vegas was his best run at the track and his best overall finish since the 2000 Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami where he finished second. The finish also qualified Mayfield for the Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus during the May race in Charlotte.

* Coming into the 2002 season, Mayfield had 237 starts, with six poles (two at Talladega and one at Darlington, Dover, Rockingham, and Texas), three wins (two at Pocono, and one at California), 33 top-fives and 58 top-10s. His most recent win came at Pocono in June of 2000.

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