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NASCAR WCUP: Chassis Notes, Pepsi 400, Daytona International Speedway

30 June 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

[The following are facts and figures regarding the cars Pontiac teams will be running this weekend during the NASCAR Winston Cup event at Daytona International Speedway.]

10

This No. 10 Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac stole its share of headlines at Daytona in February when Johnny Benson stayed at the front for 38 laps in the closing stages of the Daytona 500. He also ran the car at Talladega, posting a 13th place finish.

14

This chassis has one restrictor plate start in 2000, finishing 33rd here in February with driver Mike Bliss. It missed the show at Talladega in April and has since had the rear end re-worked by the A.J. Foyt crew.

18

This chassis is one of the oldest in the Interstate Batteries Grand Prix stable, built near the end of the 1997 season. It has two starts so far this year, finishing sixth in the Daytona 500 and 21st at Talladega after being involved in an incident in the tri-oval.

20

Joe Gibbs Racing built this chassis over the winter and has run it at both restrictor plate races in 2000. Driver Tony Stewart finished 17th here in the Daytona 500, and then settled for a 34th place finish at Talladega after being involved in the same incident that collected his teammate Bobby Labonte.

22

Ward Burton has collected 10 top 10 finishes this season, two of which are credited to this chassis. He finished eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500 and then posted a 10th with this piece at Talladega in April.

27

This chassis was new when Mike Bliss drove it to a 24th place finish at Talladega in April. It stood as his best finish of the year until last week when he netted a 22nd at Sears Point.

36

Ken Schrader has competed twice with this chassis in 2000, once in the Bud Shootout here and once at Talladega. The team likes this piece better than the one that competed in the Daytona 500. Its 36th place finish at Talladega in April was the result of the same wreck that claimed fellow Pontiac drivers Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart.

43

The saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," applies to the chassis underneath John Andretti this weekend, as it looks to make its 11th career start. It has run every restrictor plate race with Andretti since the beginning of the 1998 season. Its last outing was at Talladega, where Andretti finished a respectable 11th.

44

Kyle Petty ran this chassis for the first time at Talladega in April. The run resulted in a ninth place run, which still stands as Petty's top finish of 2000.

93

Dave Blaney is hoping the third restrictor plate race of his rookie season will yield better results than the first two. He has run them both in this chassis and owns a top finish of 27th, which came in the Daytona 500. He finished 30th at Talladega. The only thing he doesn't like about the car in the draft is the yellow stripe on the bumper, which tends to discourage drafting help.

Text provided by Al Larsen

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