Dodge's 2001 Winston Cup Teams in Review
Copyright © 2001 by Lawrence A. Cole. All rights reserved. Printed by permission. March 2001.
Writers Note: The following is based on personal opinions formulated and gathered from 25 years of following NASCAR and auto racing. It is presented to you to form your own opinions and to give you some working knowledge of the teams if you are not a close race fan of NASCAR.
Evernham Racing
Team owner: Ray Evernham
When Ray Evernham left Hendrick Racing in 1999, most people wondered why he would walk away from a successful racing program at its peak. It didn't take long to find out, when Dodge announced Ray Evernham as being the man tapped to lead the Dodge Winston Cup effort for them. Most noted for his leading of Jeff Gordon to three championships in four years, Evernham hopes to bring the same magic to his new Dodge effort. Evernham is a smart race strategist, and was considered to be the best crew chief in NASCAR. He can also deal with the politics that he will be confronted with in this initial season. His car/track knowledge takes a setback this year however with the change to Dodge, and the new tires that Goodyear will be using. All in all, Evernham is the best team that Dodge has, and his knowledge matches with any other NASCAR teams.
Overall team rating: 9
Drivers:
Bill Elliott
Team Owner: Bill Davis
Is this the second chance for team owner Bill Davis? It was Davis who supported young Jeff Gordon in Busch racing, got him the best of the limited Ford powered V-6s that were available, launched Gordon on his career, only to watch Gordon bolt to Hendrick racing on the eve of a deal that Davis was putting together to bring Gordon into W/C racing. Davis proved himself a winner however, taking Ward Burton to prominence on the W/C scene, and leading Burton to two W/C wins. Now Davis gets to be on the front end of the Dodge effort, and he will be putting the hard work and dedication that he has always shown behind Dodge. On the downside, he is more of a business man then a overpowering crew chief, and will have to rely on others to make the Dodge's go on race day.
Overall Team Rating: 8
Drivers:
Ward Burton
Sadly, probably the team that is the lowest of all the Dodge teams. Why remains a mystery to many. However, much of this team's lack of success is the King himself, Richard Petty. Petty has seemed to let racing pass him by, and hasn't kept up on the changing technology. This from a man whose career was based on having the best technology available for the time.
Petty has also been abusive to drivers that he hires, as witnessed by his Craftsman Truck program, where he fired one of the most popular drivers in the series. Petty seems to think the driver can make an ill handling, underpowered truck win on his own. And Petty seems to have his own ideas, and wants to go his own way in many areas. Petty's equipment by today's standards is outdated. And even son Kyle refers to their needing a 5-year rebuilding program to upgrade. From a Dodge point of view, having the King back brings back a lot of loyal Chrysler fans, so it was a must for Dodge to have the King in their fold.
Overall Team Rating: 5
Drivers
John Andretti
The last team to announce its Dodge intentions in 2001 brings us another one of the drivers who could visit victory lane this year. Ganassi bought out the Sabates team during the 2000 season, and got driver Sterling Marlin in the process. Ganassi brings to Dodge a proven winning race operation and Ganassi is a no nonsense type of person that bodes well for a winning race team. He is also on the front end of the technology wars, just the opposite of the Petty team. Ganassi immediately recognized the advantages of a two-team operation, and reacted swiftly, bring in Jason Leffler to drive the second team car. However, the question that has yet to be answered is if Ganassi can do with Winston Cup cars what he was able to do with open wheel cars, and can he deal with the NASCAR community.
Overall Team Rating: 8.5
Drivers
Sterling Marlin
At one time, Melling Racing was the most feared of all race teams. With driver Bill Elliott, Melling was a household name. But after the death of the founder, and the loss of Elliott, Melling has floundered as a race team, and its most valuable commodity was the number 9 which they had the rights to. With Dodge wanting the number 9 for Elliott, Melling may have found a way back to its glory days, by hooking up with Dodge and the sharing of information that they sorely need to be competitive again. Melling has shown to have the desire and the willingness to work, which is the plus that they have. The single team concept though has not been successful, and I doubt Melling can make it work.
Overall Team Rating: 6.5
Drivers
Stacy Compton
Best Tracks to get a Win
Once...as Jerry Olesen wrote..."The cars were production line models, which were reinforced at key points...These days, they race 'cars that never were,' so to speak, and much of the relevance to actual automobiles has been lost. "
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Copyright © 2001 by Lawrence A. Cole. All rights reserved. Printed by permission. March 2001.
Writers Note: The following is based on personal opinions formulated and gathered from 25 years of following NASCAR and auto racing. It is presented to you to form your own opinions and to give you some working knowledge of the teams if you are not a close race fan of NASCAR.
Evernham Racing
Team owner: Ray Evernham
When Ray Evernham left Hendrick Racing in 1999, most people wondered why he would walk away from a successful racing program at its peak. It didn't take long to find out, when Dodge announced Ray Evernham as being the man tapped to lead the Dodge Winston Cup effort for them. Most noted for his leading of Jeff Gordon to three championships in four years, Evernham hopes to bring the same magic to his new Dodge effort. Evernham is a smart race strategist, and was considered to be the best crew chief in NASCAR. He can also deal with the politics that he will be confronted with in this initial season. His car/track knowledge takes a setback this year however with the change to Dodge, and the new tires that Goodyear will be using. All in all, Evernham is the best team that Dodge has, and his knowledge matches with any other NASCAR teams.
Overall team rating: 9
Drivers:
Bill Elliott
Casey Atwood
Bill Davis Racing
Team Owner: Bill Davis
Is this the second chance for team owner Bill Davis? It was Davis who supported young Jeff Gordon in Busch racing, got him the best of the limited Ford powered V-6s that were available, launched Gordon on his career, only to watch Gordon bolt to Hendrick racing on the eve of a deal that Davis was putting together to bring Gordon into W/C racing. Davis proved himself a winner however, taking Ward Burton to prominence on the W/C scene, and leading Burton to two W/C wins. Now Davis gets to be on the front end of the Dodge effort, and he will be putting the hard work and dedication that he has always shown behind Dodge. On the downside, he is more of a business man then a overpowering crew chief, and will have to rely on others to make the Dodge's go on race day.
Overall Team Rating: 8
Drivers:
Ward Burton
Dave Blaney
Petty Enterprises
Sadly, probably the team that is the lowest of all the Dodge teams. Why remains a mystery to many. However, much of this team's lack of success is the King himself, Richard Petty. Petty has seemed to let racing pass him by, and hasn't kept up on the changing technology. This from a man whose career was based on having the best technology available for the time.
Petty has also been abusive to drivers that he hires, as witnessed by his Craftsman Truck program, where he fired one of the most popular drivers in the series. Petty seems to think the driver can make an ill handling, underpowered truck win on his own. And Petty seems to have his own ideas, and wants to go his own way in many areas. Petty's equipment by today's standards is outdated. And even son Kyle refers to their needing a 5-year rebuilding program to upgrade. From a Dodge point of view, having the King back brings back a lot of loyal Chrysler fans, so it was a must for Dodge to have the King in their fold.
Overall Team Rating: 5
Drivers
John Andretti
Kyle Petty
Buckshot Jones
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
The last team to announce its Dodge intentions in 2001 brings us another one of the drivers who could visit victory lane this year. Ganassi bought out the Sabates team during the 2000 season, and got driver Sterling Marlin in the process. Ganassi brings to Dodge a proven winning race operation and Ganassi is a no nonsense type of person that bodes well for a winning race team. He is also on the front end of the technology wars, just the opposite of the Petty team. Ganassi immediately recognized the advantages of a two-team operation, and reacted swiftly, bring in Jason Leffler to drive the second team car. However, the question that has yet to be answered is if Ganassi can do with Winston Cup cars what he was able to do with open wheel cars, and can he deal with the NASCAR community.
Overall Team Rating: 8.5
Drivers
Sterling Marlin
Jason Leffler
Melling Racing
At one time, Melling Racing was the most feared of all race teams. With driver Bill Elliott, Melling was a household name. But after the death of the founder, and the loss of Elliott, Melling has floundered as a race team, and its most valuable commodity was the number 9 which they had the rights to. With Dodge wanting the number 9 for Elliott, Melling may have found a way back to its glory days, by hooking up with Dodge and the sharing of information that they sorely need to be competitive again. Melling has shown to have the desire and the willingness to work, which is the plus that they have. The single team concept though has not been successful, and I doubt Melling can make it work.
Overall Team Rating: 6.5
Drivers
Stacy Compton
Tracks
Best Tracks to get a Win
Tracks to close your eyes at
Best Chance at Dodge First Win
NASCAR at Allpar
Once...as Jerry Olesen wrote..."The cars were production line models, which were reinforced at key points...These days, they race 'cars that never were,' so to speak, and much of the relevance to actual automobiles has been lost. "
The semi-stock car years
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We make no guarantees regarding validity or accuracy of information, predictions, or advice - .
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