Tomorrow Magazine Special Racing Issue 2002 - UAW-Chrysler.com

2002
SPECIAL
RACING
ISSUE
www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org
BILL ELLIOTT
TAKES THE CHECKERED
AT HOMESTEAD
Take the NASCAR Trivia Quiz | Preview 2002 Dodge Racing Action | Meet Our Fans

Side by Side
Welcome to the fast track
DaimlerChrysler Senior Vice
President John Franciosi (left) and
UAW Vice President Nate Gooden at
the announcement of the inaugural
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
HERE WE GO AGAIN! IT’S OFF TO THE RACES —
NASCAR style — for our second year in the
Winston Cup Series.
The 2001 season was revved with excitement and
history-making milestones for the National Training
Center. Our co-sponsorship of the Evernham
Motorsports No. 9 and No. 19 Intrepid R/Ts helped
drive Dodge’s successful return to Winston Cup
racing after a 16-year absence.
Now that Dodge is back on track for 2002,
we’re publishing our second Special Racing Issue of
Tomorrow for our regular UAW-DaimlerChrysler
readers, as well as NASCAR fans who visit the NTC’s
exhibit at 18 Winston Cup events (see page 24).
Besides continuing to work with team owner Ray
Evernham this year, we’re proud to again sponsor the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
This event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has quickly become one of the hottest
on the Winston Cup circuit. This year’s race has special meaning for Bill Elliott and
one of his most dedicated fans (see page 7).
If 2001 was any indication, 2002 should be another fast ride. Dodge roared back
in supercharged style last year, winning four events and contending for the lead at the
finish of other races. Far outnumbered by Fords and Chevys, the nine Intrepids led
nearly 1,200 laps in 2001.
It was a memorable year for Evernham Motorsports and the National Training
Center. The sight of Bill Elliott, his arms raised in victory after his Veterans Day
heroics in Homestead, Fla., was a special moment for our union-management
partnership and all DaimlerChrysler employees.
The flame-red No. 9 looked right at home in victory lane, and so did Bill after
winning his first Winston Cup race since 1994. He prevailed after a stretch battle with
rookie teammate Casey Atwood, who finished third in the No. 19 car after having led
much of the Pennzoil Freedom 400.
This season, we expect No. 9 and No. 19 to be even more competitive, as the
Evernham Motorsports team has a new look (see page 10). Experienced driver Jeremy
Mayfield replaces Casey behind the wheel of the No. 19 car. And savvy
Ray Evernham has learned a lot from his first year as a team owner. He has laid the
foundation for a winning tradition in the spirit of teamwork that symbolizes the
UAW-DaimlerChrysler partnership.
So, fasten your seatbelts, enjoy the magazine — and enjoy the races!
UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER
NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
2211 East Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48207
313-567-3300
Fax: 313-567-4971
E-mail: rrussell@ucntc.org
www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org
JOINT ACTIVITIES BOARD
NATE GOODEN
VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR
DAIMLERCHRYSLER DEPARTMENT
UAW, CO-CHAIRMAN
JOHN S. FRANCIOSI
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EMPLOYEE
RELATIONS DAIMLERCHRYSLER
CO-CHAIRMAN
DAVE MCALLISTER
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO
VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR
DAIMLERCHRYSLER DEPARTMENT UAW
KEN MCCARTER
VICE PRESIDENT, UNION RELATIONS AND
SECURITY OPERATIONS DAIMLERCHRYSLER
JAMES DAVIS
CO-DIRECTOR UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER
NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
FRANK L. SLAUGHTER
CO-DIRECTOR UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER
NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
RON RUSSELL
COMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR
BOB ERICKSON
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
TERESA LOCKHART
COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT
MICHAEL BULLER
EDITOR
JENNIFER DOLL
MANAGING EDITOR
KAREN ENGLISH
SENIOR EDITOR
KEVIN CAVANAUGH
ACCOUNT MANAGER
KEVIN MILLER
VICE PRESIDENT, CREATIVE SERVICES
KRISTIN BRADETICH
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR
JOHN HEFFERNAN
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
DENISE MCQUAID
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Nate Gooden
John Franciosi
This magazine is printed by a union
printer on union-made recycled paper.
2 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

LOOKING AHEAD AT THE UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
Volume 6 • Number 1
www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org
Features
Special Issue: Racing 2002
10
14
16
20
Fast Track
COVER
STORY
Dodge’s thrilling return to Winston Cup competition in 2001 is a hard
act to follow, but the team is ready. Meet the NTC racing team and
find out what lies ahead for 2002. by Steve Cohen
Teamwork’s the Ticket
Three workers from Sterling Heights Assembly Plant show why
it’s the people who make the quality difference at DaimlerChrysler.
by Laura Motta
Photo Essay
Take a look at the action as Dodge returned to Winston Cup racing
for the 2001 season.
Beyond Winston Cup
The excitement doesn’t stop with Winston Cup — Dodge-sponsored
entries in other racing events are getting their share of the attention, too.
by Michael J. McDermott
8
10
Departments
2 Side by Side
Welcome to the fast track.
4 Start Your Engines
Find out about interactive
racing games, take the NASCAR
trivia quiz, learn who’s driving
Dodge in 2002 and scope out
the Winston Cup schedule.
cover
No. 9 Dodge
Intrepid R/T
page 10
cover photo by
Dorsey Patrick
8 Our Fans
Some avid fans tell us why
racing is their favorite sport.
24 On the Road Again
Don’t miss the second season
of the UAW-DaimlerChrysler
National Training Center
NASCAR exhibit.
26 When Seconds Count
Meet the team that’s in the
center of it all.
This Special Racing Issue
is also available online at
www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org
14
back cover by
Tim Gray
26
Tomorrow (ISSN: 1096-1429) is published quarterly with two special issues in spring and fall for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center by Pohly & Partners Inc.,
27 Melcher Street, 2nd floor, Boston, MA 02210, 800-383-0888. Periodicals postage rates paid at Boston, Mass. and additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to Tomorrow, 2211 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48207. © 2002 by UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or
in part of any text, photograph or illustration without prior written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

Start Engines
YOUR
compiled by
Jennifer Doll
Fun and Games
with NASCAR
Probably the most fun you
can have while learning
about the connection between
Evernham racing and the UAW-
DaimlerChrysler National Training
Center is through a pair of interactive
kiosks. The kiosks introduce race fans to
the NTC and the more than 30 joint programs
it provides while also highlighting ties to
Dodge racing.
Originally part of the NTC exhibit that travels
the NASCAR circuit, the kiosks have now
found more permanent homes where they can
attract year-round traffic. You’ll find one in the
lobby of the NTC in Detroit and the other down
in Ray Evernham’s North Carolina shop.
This year, interactive driving games are very
popular at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler National
Training Center exhibit, which is making the
THE UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER NTC TEAM
CAR: Dodge Intrepid No. 19
RACING HISTORY:
JEREMY
MAYFIELD
✮ Introduced in November 2001
as an Evernham driver for the
2002 season
✮ One of just two active drivers
under the age of 32 to have won
more than $8.7 million in a career
✮ Notched his first pole position in
1996, at the Talladega (Ala.)
Superspeedway
BIRTH DATE: May 27, 1969
BIRTHPLACE: Owensboro, Ky.
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Lake Norman, N.C.
MARITAL STATUS: Single
rounds on the
NASCAR circuit. The
games attract kids of all
ages, and according to the UAW’s
Tim Bressler, from NTC NASCAR Operations,
age has nothing to do with the excitement level.
“Everybody loves playing the games,” he
says. “In fact, they love it so much that the
steering wheels take a real beating from an
enthusiastic public. They’re not designed
to handle 1,500 people per hour, so we go
through steering wheels pretty fast. But that’s
OK, they’re replaceable. When they’re junk, we
toss them.” All in all, the exhibit goes through
a couple dozen steering wheels per season.
(For more about the NTC exhibit, see page 24.)
BILL
ELLIOTT
CAR: Dodge Intrepid No. 9
RACING HISTORY:
✮ Made his Winston Cup debut in 1976
✮ 1988 Winston Cup champion
✮ In 2000, voted NASCAR’s Most
Popular Driver for the 10th straight
year and the 15th time in the last
17 seasons
BIRTH DATE: October 8, 1955
BIRTHPLACE: Dawsonville, Ga.
FAMILY: Wife, Cindy, and kids, Star,
Britney and Chase
NICKNAMES: “Awesome Bill from
Dawsonville” and “Million Dollar Bill,”
for winning the Winston Million
in 1985
RAY
EVERNHAM
TEAM OWNER: Evernham Motorsports
RACING HISTORY:
✮ Lead partner for Dodge’s return
to WInston Cup racing in 2001
✮ NASCAR Winston Cup Scene
“Crew Chief of the Decade”
✮ Led Jeff Gordon to become
a three-time Winston Cup Champion
✮ 47 career wins and 122 top-five
finishes in the NASCAR Winston
Cup Series
BIRTH DATE: August 26, 1957
BIRTHPLACE: Hazlet, N.J.
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Cornelius, N.C.
FAMILY: Wife, Mary, and son, Ray J
KENNY HANSEN
LEFT TO RIGHT: DORSEY PATRICK, DOUGLAS MCLAUGHLIN/DAIMLERCHRYSLER, TIM GRAY
4 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

THEY SAID IT
What is your greatest NASCAR memory?
“WHEN BOBBY ALLISON TOOK OUT PART OF THE FRONT STRAIGHTAWAY FENCE AT
TALLADEGA. HE LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT, BUT IT TOOK FOUR HOURS TO REPAIR THE FENCE
BEFORE THE RACE COULD START AGAIN.” – Steve Lawler, Local Joint Training Facilitator,
Atlanta Parts Distribution Center
“STERLING MARLIN FINISHING SECOND IN INDIANAPOLIS WHILE I WAS THERE.”
– Peter Korosi, automation worker, Twinsburg Stamping
“DALE EARNHARDT SR. WINNING THE DAYTONA 500.” – Pam Eskola, production control;
Rose Ruder, sub-assembly worker; and Al Lucci, Retired UAW Local 72 Executive Board
Member; all from Kenosha Engine
“GOING TO ATLANTA AND HANGING OUT WITH MARK MARTIN, TED MUSGRAVE,
JACK ROUSH AND TOMMY KENDALL. THEY RENTED A TRACK AND I GOT TO RIDE WITH THEM
IN THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR AS THEY SHOWED OFF THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE.”
– Mike Spencer, driver/mechanic, Chelsea Proving Grounds
OTHER
DODGE TEAMS
Ultra Motorsports,
with driver Casey Atwood
Bill Davis Racing,
with drivers Ward Burton
and Hut Stricklin
Chip Ganassi Racing
with Felix Sabates,
with drivers Sterling Marlin
and Jimmy Spencer
Petty Enterprises,
with drivers Kyle Petty,
John Andretti and
Buckshot Jones
“WHEN DODGE CAME BACK.” – Todd Gorsuch, technician, Jefferson North Assembly
TRIVIA
Q: Who owns the fastest recorded time in a stock car?
A: Bill Elliott, for going 212.809 mph in qualifying for the 1987 Winston
500 at Talladega
Q: What female driver captured a total of 38 victories in an era when no one
thought it possible for a woman to get behind the wheel of a race car?
A: Louise Smith, who raced Modifieds, Sportsman Cars and the Grand
Nationals (now NASCAR Winston Cup), from 1946 through 1956
Q: Which driver had 200 NASCAR Winston Cup Series wins and seven
series championships during his 35-year career?
A: Richard Petty
© BETTMANN/CORBIS
Q: Who is the only NASCAR Winston Cup driver to win three
consecutive championships?
A: Cale Yarborough, in 1976, 1977 and 1978
Q: How many NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series poles
have been won by Dodge drivers?
A: 171 and counting
CALE YARBOROUGH

Winston Cup
NASCAR 2002
WINSTON CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE TRACK TV
02/10/02* Budweiser Shootout / Daytona International Speedway TNT
02/14/02* Gatorade 125s / Daytona International Speedway TNT
02/17/02* Daytona 500 / Daytona International Speedway NBC
02/24/02 North Carolina 400 / North Carolina Speedway FOX
03/03/02* UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER 400 / LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOX
03/10/02 Atlanta 500 / Atlanta Motor Speedway FOX
03/17/02* Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 / Darlington Raceway FOX
03/24/02 Food City 500 / Bristol Motor Speedway FOX
04/07/02* Texas 500 / Texas Motor Speedway FOX
04/14/02 Martinsville 500 / Martinsville Speedway FX
04/21/02* Talladega 500 / Talladega Superspeedway FOX
04/28/02 NAPA Auto Parts 500 / California Speedway FOX
05/04/02 Pontiac Excitement 400 / Richmond International Raceway FX
05/18/02* The Winston / Lowe’s Motor Speedway FX
05/26/02* Coca-Cola 600 / Lowe’s Motor Speedway FOX
06/02/02* MBNA Platinum 400 / Dover Downs International Speedway FX
06/09/02 Pocono 500 / Pocono Raceway FOX
06/16/02* Michigan 400 / Michigan International Speedway FOX
06/23/02 Sonoma 350K / Sears Point Raceway FOX
07/06/02 Pepsi 400 / Daytona International Speedway FOX
07/14/02* Tropicana 400 / Chicagoland Speedway NBC
07/21/02 New England 300 / New Hampshire International Speedway TNT
07/28/02 Pennsylvania 500 / Pocono Raceway TNT
08/04/02 Brickyard 400 / Indianapolis Motor Speedway NBC
08/11/02 Watkins Glen International / Watkins Glen NBC
08/18/02* Pepsi 400 / Michigan International Speedway TNT
08/24/02* Sharpie 500 / Bristol Motor Speedway TNT
09/01/02 Mountain Dew Southern 500 / Darlington Raceway TNT
09/07/02 Chevy Monte Carlo 400 / Richmond International Raceway TNT
09/15/02 New Hampshire 300 / New Hampshire International Speedway NBC
09/22/02 MBNA America 400 / Dover Downs International Speedway TNT
09/29/02* Protection One 400 / Kansas Speedway NBC
10/06/02 EA Sports 500 / Talladega Superspeedway NBC
10/13/02 UAW-GM Quality 500 / Lowe’s Motor Speedway NBC
10/20/02 Martinsville 500 / Martinsville Speedway NBC
10/27/02* NAPA 500 / Atlanta Motor Speedway NBC
11/03/02* Pop Secret 400 / North Carolina Speedway TNT
11/10/02 Checker Auto Parts 500K / Phoenix International Raceway NBC
11/17/02* Homestead 400 / Homestead-Miami Speedway NBC
* UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center NASCAR exhibit will be present at event.
Schedule subject to change.
6 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

Superfan
Joy at the Races
By S.C. Biemesderfer
A special fan has a NASCAR dream come true
At first glance, you might not pick
out young Amanda Zimmerman
of Pasadena, Md., as a dedicated
NASCAR fan. But she has all the
qualifications — racing is her favorite
thing to watch, to scream about and
to dream about.
“I know there are a lot of fans, but
I think I must be one of the biggest,”
says Amanda. “I love the cars, the
crowds and all the noise, and I love
watching my favorite driver, my
friend Bill Elliott.”
And as we go to press on the eve
of the 2002 UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400 in Las Vegas, Amanda’s lifetime
AMANDA ZIMMERMAN
NASCAR dream is at an intersection
with reality, thanks to UAW-
DaimlerChrysler. At the big race on
March 3, the magic words “Gentlemen,
start your engines…” will be spoken
by — you guessed it — Amanda.
“Amanda will essentially be the
assistant grand marshal of the race,”
explains Al Benit, from UAW-
DaimlerChrysler National Training
Center NASCAR Operations.
Since birth, Amanda has had to
contend with health conditions that
limit her activity, and now she needs
heart and double-lung transplants. But
at the races, Amanda loses herself
in the speed, the competition
and her ferocious cheers.
“It’s the most fun I have,”
she says.
Ever since her parents took
her to the Dover Downs
International Speedway in
Delaware at age 8, Amanda’s
been an enthusiastic fan.
“She gets a little crazy,”
says Amanda’s mother, Roseann,
who with her husband,
Kurt, is a longtime NASCAR
fan. “It’s also true that Bill
Elliott is her friend. He met
her at the Daytona 500 in
1995, and he’s been wonderful.
Every year, he calls her
on her birthday.”
It was Amanda’s contagious
enthusiasm at the NTC’s
exhibit at Lowe’s Motor
Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., that
caught the attention of someone in
DaimlerChrysler’s circle.
“Amanda was talking with everybody,
including Paul Glaza from UAW
“I KNOW
THERE ARE A LOT OF FANS,
BUT I THINK I MUST BE
ONE OF THE BIGGEST.”
Local 212,” recalls Tim Bressler, from
NTC NASCAR Operations. Glaza
is one of seven DaimlerChrysler
Transport drivers who haul the NTC
exhibit around the Winston Cup circuit.
“Paul told me her story, and we
decided to try to get her to the UAW-
DaimlerChrysler 400.”
The rest fell into place. Amanda
will help start the race with family and
closest friends at her side. “She simply
can’t wait. She has a permanent smile
on her face,” says Amanda’s mother.
And the story gets even better. The
big race takes place the week after
Amanda turns 16, so again, thanks to
the NTC, Amanda will be celebrating
her Sweet 16 in Las Vegas with Bill
Elliott among the guests.
“It’s going to be my best birthday
ever!” says Amanda.
Adds Bressler, “I know it means
the world to Amanda, but it means a
great deal to us, too.” ■
ADAM AUEL
Amanda Zimmerman’s room decor leaves no doubt about her enthusiasm for
Dodge Winston Cup racing — and “awesome Bill from Dawsonville,” Bill Elliott.
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 7

Our Fans
Ol’ Blue Is Back
By Mike Martindale
Greg Kwiatkowski finds his dream Dodge
Inside a garage in Shelby Township,
Mich., off a residential street
appropriately named Speedway,
there’s a piece of racing history. How
it got there is the stuff of legend.
In 1970, Nixon was president, gas
was 36 cents a gallon and 13 year-old
GREG KWIATKOWSKI
Speedway to a world closed course
record of 200.447 miles per hour.
It was the first time the 200-mph lap
had been officially broken. Baker did it
twice more that day in the Corporate
blue No. 88 Charger Daytona.
Nearly 30 years later, luck brought
to NASCAR and the museum.
“Chrysler painted another Daytona for
the museum, but the actual car was
given to White, who painted it yellow
and black and raced it for a couple of
years before retiring it,” he says.
After tracking down No. 88,
Kwiatkowski couldn’t stop thinking
about it. He had owned other race cars
— a 1970 Plymouth Super Bird and a
1969 Dodge Daytona, both street
versions — but this was different. He
sold those cars so he’d be ready if
White would part with the Daytona. In
July 1998, after seven months of phone
calls from Kwiatkowski, White finally
agreed to sell for $5,000.
Today the aged chassis sits in
Kwiatkowski’s garage. Its tires, fenders,
doors, trunk, hood, nose, wing and
A PIT STOP FOR NO. 88
Greg Kwiatkowski was about to
discover stock car racing.
“My dad took me to the Michigan
International Speedway, and to say I
was impressed is an understatement,”
says Kwiatkowski, a technician at the
DaimlerChrysler Technology Center
and UAW Local 412 member. “I told
myself then that one day I was going to
own one of those cars.”
In March of that year, 29-year-old
Buddy Baker thrilled race enthusiasts
everywhere when he drove a 1969
hemi Dodge Charger Daytona test car
at the Alabama International Motor
Kwiatkowski and Baker together.
After months of searching,
Kwiatkowski located the recordsetting
Dodge, rusting away in an
Iowa cornfield. He then tracked
down Baker, who was living in South
Carolina, to tell him the news.
The retired racing champion was
surprised. Baker thought the Daytona
had been on display in the International
Motorsports Hall of Fame in
Talladega, Ala., all that time.
But in 1987 Kwiatkowski had
learned that No. 88 had been given to
USAC stock car racer Don White, not
roof are scattered around. Near “the
car” is a second vehicle, a donor car,
which Kwiatkowski plans to use to
restore the hulk to its former glory.
That should take up to five years and,
conservatively, thousands of dollars
and thousands of hours of labor.
But he has a motto to keep him
going: an aged metal plate with the
words “Put a Dodge in Your Garage.” ■
LEFT: BILL SCHWAB, RIGHT: COURTESY GREG KWIATKOWSKI
8 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

Our Fans
Back to the Races
It’s the thrill of the chase for Troy Ussery
By Martha K. Baker
TROY USSERY
A Fan Grows Up
About
A
five years ago, when
Troy Ussery started watching
NASCAR races, his brother
couldn’t understand the fascination.
“It’s nothing but a bunch of cars just
going around in a circle,” his brother
would say. “Why do you watch this?”
The answer, for Ussery, involves
both speed and strategy. “I like to see
them maneuver through the last lap
with everybody trying to pass the
drivers trying to block,” he explains.
To Ussery, other sports might get
boring, but never stock car races. “I
watch at least one race a weekend,”
says this UAW Local 1166 member at
Kokomo Casting. Ussery was born in
By Martha K. Baker
Krisi Hartwick follows In her father’s footsteps
Chicago, but his parents moved to
Kokomo, Ind., when he was a boy. He
went to work right out of high school,
most recently at Kokomo Casting,
where he’s been for six years, driving a
fork truck for the past three. “We talk
about the stock car races all the time at
work,” he says. “I really get into it.”
That’s no secret. Ussery sports the
paraphernalia of a fan; namely a cap
with Ward Burton’s No. 22 stitched
on and a white leather hat with Jeff
Gordon’s No. 24 printed on it.
“Gotta root for Jeff, the Michael
Jordan of racing — he’s from Indy,”
says Ussery. “And Ward drives a
Chrysler. I like Dodge racers!” ■
KRISI HARTWICK
ABOVE: TOM CASALINI, BELOW: JAY BAKER
Back
B
when her teenage girlfriends
tacked pictures of Billy
Idol on their walls, Krisi
Hartwick was decorating her room
with racing posters.
Hartwick has been a racing fan
since she was 15 — half her life. For
nearly 10 years, she helped her dad,
Robert Holbert, who drove hobby
stock cars in Farmington, Mo.
Even though her dad’s car never
ran much more than 60 mph on a dirt
track, what Hartwick likes about racing
is the speed, “especially when the
sprint cars go 100 mph.”
Hartwick gets so excited watching
the racers take risks that her job might
seem a little ironic. The UAW Local
136 member installs seat belts at St.
Louis North Assembly, driving —
cautiously — the 84 miles to work
from her home in Ironton, Mo. There,
one of her most treasured possessions
is a T-shirt autographed by St. Louis
native and veteran NASCAR racer
Ken Schrader.
Hartwick and her dad have met
Schrader, and they stood in line
for hours to meet famed fellow
Missourian, Rusty Wallace, who won
the Winston Cup crown in 1989.
Memorable NASCAR moments
like those are something that
Hartwick will never grow out of. ■

From the pole at Daytona
to VICTORY LANE at Homestead,
it was a SUCCESSFUL
DEBUT YEAR for the NTC team.
2002 looks even better.

BY STEVE COHEN
hen cars lined up
for the 2000 Daytona
500, few people would
have guessed that, in a
year, a Dodge driven by
veteran Bill Elliott would
sit on the pole. But that’s
just what happened.
DORSEY PATRICK
In September 1999, Dodge had
announced its return to NASCAR at
stock car racing’s biggest event, the
Daytona 500 in February 2001. Even
more exciting was the news that firsttime
car owner, legendary crew chief
Ray Evernham, would lead a two-car
Winston Cup team carrying not only
the Dodge emblem, but those of the
UAW and the National Training
Center as well. So as the 2000 season
raced on, the people behind the NTCbacked
team moved just as fast,
preparing for the auspicious debut at
Daytona — only 500 days away.
By capturing the Daytona pole in
the No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T, Elliott
was one of three Dodges in the front
row, kicking off the 2001 season with
a flourish for Evernham Motorsports.
The strong start showed the team,
from the Dodge engineers in Michigan
to Evernham’s guys in the pits, that
they were on to something. While Dale
Earnhardt’s death overshadowed the
results, Elliott and teammate Casey
Atwood in the NTC co-sponsored No.
19 finished an encouraging fifth and
20th, respectively, at Daytona.
Finally, on Nov. 11 in Homestead,
Fla., Evernham Motorsports put
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 11

the definitive stamp of success on
the season as Elliott captured his
first Winston Cup victory in more
than seven years, at the Pennzoil
Freedom 400.
But like all new teams, Evernham’s
went through growing pains, struggling
to achieve the consistency it knew
it could. The 500-day deadline had
been met, but more work remained.
“As of December 10, 2000, we had
one car between both teams,” recalls
Mike Ford, crew chief for Elliott’s No.
9. “Going into last year’s Daytona 500
we had the Daytona cars. That’s it.
Our Rockingham cars [for the next
race] were still being painted.”
The Evernham team seemed to be
playing catch-up the entire season, a
problem fueled by NASCAR’s consecutive
week racing stretch from July 4
until the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
disrupted the schedule.
But Elliott saw positive signs even
as the long season was winding
down. “We qualified well for a lot
of races,” he says, “and put ourselves
in a position to win at times.
That’s what you’ve got to do to be a
good race team.”
Still, the end-of-the-season Thanksgiving
weekend make-up race at
Loudon, N.H., which was postponed
after the Sept. 11 attacks, could not
come fast enough for the Evernham
team. It wasn’t that they wanted or
planned to rest, they just needed time
to rev back into development mode
and kick it up another notch for the
coming season.
The team’s main goal now,
Evernham says, is “to make the cars
more consistent track to track. We’ve
got tons of computer data that we’re
now able to draw trends from.” As
a result, the team will be able to set
up the cars better for each track’s
particular nuances.
And not just one or two cars. “Now
we’ve got 32 cars between the 9 and
19,” says Ford. “The core group of
guys stayed and we focused this offseason
on making cars go fast.”
AT
Ray Evernham
the heart of that core group is
Bill Elliott, a 26-year NASCAR
veteran and former car owner who has
been happy to go back to driving
exclusively. “It’s great thinking about
springs and shocks and what the car
feels like instead of worrying about
if a guy needs a raise,” he says.
Sammy Johns, former crew chief
for Ken Schrader, switched to Evernham’s
No. 19 car in 2001. He and
Patrick Donahue were co-crew chiefs
until mid-season, when Donahue left
and Johns took over. Johns is also
excited about attacking the challenge
with time to prepare. “Coming over
mid-season I didn’t try to make a lot of
changes, but now we’ve got time to
work on details,” he says. “We’re
trying to get more aerodynamic consistency
between cars so it doesn’t
matter which car we take to the track
each week. Every little detail matters,
right down to the shape of the fender.”
For fine-tuning, the team plans to conduct
off-season wind tunnel testing.
The engine package also was
fine-tuned during the off-season. “We
had some weight issues,” admits
Evernham, “but considering it came
right off the computer screen, it was
pretty amazing.”
Perhaps the biggest off-season
development for Evernham Motorsports
was the driver change from
rookie Casey Atwood to Jeremy Mayfield
in the No. 19 car. After suddenly
leaving the Penske team in early
October, the veteran Mayfield sat on
the sidelines for the first time in years.
“It was definitely frustrating sitting at
home watching the cars go each week
and not be there,” he says. “The thing
that kept me going was the fact that I
knew bigger and better things were
coming.” And they have with Evernham
Motorsports. “Working with Ray
Evernham has brought the fire back
in me to race,” says Mayfield. “The
circumstances of the 2001 season kind
of took some of it away.”
Mayfield is optimistic about 2002.
“My confidence level is higher than it’s
ever been. I want to be up front week
in and week out. I know that sounds
JONATHAN FERREY/ALLSPORT
12 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

DORSEY PATRICK
like a cliché, but I feel like this team
will be in a position to win races.”
The 32-year-old has a well-rounded
Winston Cup background. He finished
third at the Watkins Glen International
in August 2001, and he has served as
his own crew chief and fabricator.
Now, like Elliott, he’s focusing on one
thing. “I’m concentrating on driving
the race car and doing the best I can to
get these guys the information that
they need for us to win,” he says.
Mayfield has also worked hard on
being physically prepared for the
grueling season. “I want to be able to
get out of the car and run another 500
miles,” he says.
Evernham, moving from crew
FOR chief to multiple car owner
has also been a learning experience.
“It grew so fast, I didn’t know if I was
running it or it was running me,” he
says of his expanding organization.
He quickly learned to delegate and
choose his spots. The No. 9 team is
more experienced, he says, so “Mike
Ford comes to see me only when he’s
got a problem. Sammy’s team is
younger, so I give more input and
help in advance.”
The shop in Statesville, N.C., was
still humming at 7:30 p.m. when we
caught up with Evernham in mid-
December, but everybody realizes
avoiding burnout will be a key to
long-term success. The short prep
window fatigued the team last year.
“Halfway through the season the
guys were extremely tired,” says
Ford. “Our goal this year is to keep
everyone fresh to the end.”
To help out, long-time Daimler-
Chrysler Vice President/Motorsports,
Lou Patane, who semi-retired last
April, has signed on for part-time duty
at Evernham Motorsports. He has
been handling key projects like land
acquisition and overseeing the construction
of new facilities in Statesville
for the race and fabrication
shops, and the expansion of the engine
shop in Concord.
The new facilities, says Patane, will
be “more centralized and help us gain
process control.” Evernham Motorsports
will manufacture its own
chassis, be able to respond quicker to
engineering changes and cut the turnaround
time to repair damaged cars.
“It’s becoming tougher to win consistently,”
says Evernham. “We can
still make differences in lots of areas,
but it’s harder to make big differences.
We’ve got to make small things add up
to winning races.”
That will require Evernham Motorsports
to be the best NASCAR team
there is, says Patane. To get there,
adds Evernham, “We’ve got to be
engineering based and have a level of
systems and technology” that’s better
than ever before.
Based on what Evernham Motorsports
has accomplished in its first
800-plus days, count on the team
to get there soon. ■
Bill Elliott, with wife Cindy

BY LAURA MOTTA
TEAMWORK’S
THE TICKET
James Rouse,
Stephanie Counts
and Joe Vogel of
Sterling Heights
Assembly Plant
A trio of SHAP workers shows their pride
IF A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, three Sterling Heights Assembly
Plant (SHAP) workers have plenty to say to 130,000 racing fans. While the cars zoom around the
track at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, every spectator in the stands at the Las Vegas Motor
Speedway clutches a ticket that bears the picture of this proud threesome.
The three SHAP workers were chosen to be photographed for the front of the ticket because
they reflect UAW-DaimlerChrysler’s commitment to teamwork and quality assurance — the
same qualities that keep racers like Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield moving around the track
safely, even while traveling at warp speeds.
14 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

“I’VE NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN TO ME.
I WAS REALLY SURPRISED
AND JUST SO PROUD AND GLAD THAT I WAS CHOSEN.”
— JAMES ROUSE
Stephanie Counts, James Rouse
and Joe Vogel, all of UAW Local 1700,
are shown working together at the
plant, home of the Chrysler Sebring
convertible and sedan and the Dodge
Stratus sedan. It’s the kind of scene
that doesn’t require a long explanation
— it’s obvious that teamwork gets the
job done.
“Teamwork is very important in
building a quality car,” emphasizes
Counts, a body wire installer. Other
parts of the winning combination, she
says, are “communication and respect
for one another,” which are both evident
in the picture — and worth sharing
with thousands of fans on March
3, race day.
Being selected to show the world
the spirit of UAW-DaimlerChrysler
was an unexpected honor for the
three. Like many aspects of working
on winning vehicles, having even a
small part in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400 is something that these workers
take pride in. “I was shocked,” says
Counts. “It’s exciting to know that
people are going to see you. I’m proud
that I was chosen.”
That pride, for Counts, extends
well beyond being one of the faces on
the ticket at this year’s big race. It
reaches every aspect of her job and her
family. Counts says that she often
points to Chrysler brand vehicles on
the highway and tells her three children,
“Mama helped build that car.”
Counts wasn’t the only one who
was surprised and proud to be
featured on the ticket. James Rouse,
who has worked on the line at SHAP
since 1984, says being tapped was
a real first for him. “I’ve never had
anything like this happen to me,” he
says. “I was really surprised and
just so proud and glad that I was
chosen — I guess you could say I’m
blessed. It makes me feel like I’m
one in a million.”
Rouse brings that upbeat feeling to
his job, where he shows his team
spirit by sharing his positive outlook.
“I always go in with a willing mind
every day,” he says. “I make people
glad to see me come to work, and
keep myself in the spirit and lift some
people up that need it.”
Rouse is doubly excited to be
on the ticket because he loves to
RACE DETAILS
watch NASCAR racing. “I like the
excitement,” he says. “With the
crowd cheering, it sort of gets in
your blood.”
Like Rouse, Vogel is a NASCAR
fan who’s drawn to the thrills that
come with every lap. Also an assembly
line worker, Vogel enjoys going to
the Michigan International Speedway
where, he says, “the races are exciting
and interesting to watch.”
As this trio of SHAP workers
follows Dodge racing throughout the
2002 season, they’ll be feeling a
special pride — after all, they had a
role in making it happen. Besides,
adds Rouse, “I support anything
dealing with Chrysler.” ■
THE UAW-DAIMLERCHRYSLER 400 AT THE LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
DATE: March 3, 2002
TIME: 2:30 pm, EST
PLACE: The Speedway is a short drive from downtown and the Las Vegas strip.
Take Interstate 15 north to Speedway Exit 54. The track features a 1.5-mile superspeedway,
a 2.5-mile FIA-approved road course, a 4,000-foot drag strip, paved
and dirt short tracks, motocross circuits, stadium truck racing facilities, go-kart
and Legends cars layouts as well as a Junior Drag racing strip.
If you can’t be there, tune in to FOX to watch on TV or PRN to listen on the radio.
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 15

Photo
ESSAY
After a memorable 2001 season including a win at Homestead,
Bill Elliott’s No. 9 Intrepid R/T left no doubt that Dodge is back.
INSETS: The Evernham team isn’t the only Dodge presence
in Winston Cup racing. These sleek R/Ts do their part to show
Dodge’s true colors to the racing world.

2001
DODGE RETURNS TO WINSTON CUP COMPETITION
FROM DAYTONA TO HOMESTEAD’S
DODGE DAY AFTERNOON AND
BEYOND, THE 2001 WINSTON
CUP CIRCUIT MARKED DODGE
RACING’S RETURN TO THE FAST
TRACK. HERE’S AN UP-CLOSE
LOOK AT THAT EXCITING SEASON.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY:
SPREAD DORSEY PATRICK
INSETS DOUGLAS MCLAUGHLIN/
DAIMLERCHRYSLER
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 17

It’s easy to see the No. 19 and No. 9 UAW-DaimlerChrysler NTC Intrepid R/Ts show the pride
of many people who work hard to keep Dodge out front in Winston Cup racing.

Mike Ford’s pit crew stands poised for action as Bill Elliott’s
No. 9 rounds the bend.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY:
DOUGLAS MCLAUGHLIN/
DAIMLERCHRYSLER
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 19

At the Track
Beyond
BY MICHAEL J. MCDERMOTT
Winston
Dodge teams are sparking excitement
throughout the racing world
20 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

CRAFTSMAN TRUCK
RACING ACTION
up
LEFT: HIGH SIERRA PHOTO, RIGHT: MIKE ARTHUR
The big news in NASCAR
in 2001 was the return of the fabled
Dodge brand to the Winston Cup
Series after a 16-year absence — and
what a return it was. Among the
team’s 2001 Winston Cup accomplishments
were 10 Dodge Intrepid
R/Ts making the field for the
Daytona 500, capturing the first
three starting positions and winning
one of the 125-mile qualifying races.
Dodge won four Winston Cup races,
six more poles and logged 25 top-five
finishes and 52 top-10s through the
rest of the season. Another high
point was Bill Elliott’s Veterans Day
victory in the Pennzoil Freedom 400
at the Homestead-Miami Speedway,
piloting the famed No. 9 car co-sponsored
by the UAW-DaimlerChrysler
National Training Center.
But there’s a lot more to the Dodge
racing story, including teams in the
Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series
sprint car circuit, the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series and the
NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
The latest chapter in the Dodge racing
story is the recent announcement that
Dodge has become the presenting
sponsor of NASCAR’s Weekly Racing
Series, where short-track racers
can compete for recognition and
cash awards.
“Any way you look at it,
this is an ideal addition to
our racing activities,”
says Jim Julow, vice
president, Dodge Global Brand
Center. The multiyear agreement provides
Dodge dealers with additional
race sponsorship opportunities and
opens the door for Dodge to leverage
its return to the NASCAR Winston
Cup Series in even more ways.
The NASCAR Weekly Racing
Series has launched many drivers
who went on to stellar careers in
NASCAR’s three national series —
Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman
Truck. “The series provides an excellent
starting point for NASCAR’s
future stars, as well as a home for
thousands of competitors,” says
NASCAR President Mike Helton.
Dodge drivers who got their start in
the series include Ward Burton,
Sterling Marlin, Casey Atwood, Stacy
Compton, Buckshot Jones, Scott
Riggs and Ted Musgrave.
Short-track racers in NASCAR’s
Weekly Racing Series compete for
regional and national recognition,
along with more than $1.7 million in
awards across the country. “The visibility
that Dodge and its 3,000 dealers
nationwide bring to the NASCAR
Weekly Racing Series will help showcase
this series’ great racing action,”
MARK KINSER
IN THE MOPAR OUTLAW
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 21

MARK OSBORNE
NHRA
BILL LESTER
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS
JOE RUTTMAN
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS
MARK KINSER
OUTLAW SERIES
SCOTT RIGGS
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS
TED MUSGRAVE
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS
DARRELL ALDERMAN
NHRA
says Chris Boals, series director.
“Dodge has always been known for
its commitment to sportsman racers.”
NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series
When the 2001 Dodge Ram took
the 2001 NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series (NCTS) Manufacturers’
Championship, Dodge took its first
NASCAR title since Richard Petty
won the 1975 Winston Cup Series
Championship. “Everybody worked
hard to put together the pieces and
make the program what it is today,”
says Ray Richard, Dodge NASCAR
truck program manager.
The Rams were the ones to watch
right from the start, with Dodge winning
the first seven races of the year.
“The biggest high for me, personally,
was winning Daytona,” says Joe
Ruttman, who took the checkered
flag at that storied racetrack driving
the No. 18 Dana Dodge in the Florida
Dodge Dealers 250 in February 2001.
Ruttman’s season was a success
in many ways. The veteran driver,
who led Bobby Hamilton’s racing
team, tied an NCTS record for most
top-10 finishes — 20 in all. That’s
the kind of consistency that opens
the door to championships.
But Ruttman had even higher goals
for the year. “Our team goal was to
win the Drivers’ Championship, but
we faltered in the last six or seven
races, which kept us from achieving
that goal,” he says. “It had nothing to
do with the truck. DaimlerChrysler
builds a tremendous product and
gives us tremendous support. We just
crumbled at the wrong time and
didn’t perform at the level we could.”
Still, the 30-year racing veteran
finished third in points for the
Drivers’ Championship, and two
other Dodge drivers made the top
five. Ted Musgrave, driving the No. 1
Mopar Performance Dodge for the
Ultra Motorsports team, took second,
racking up seven wins and finishing
in the top 10 in 18 of the 24 NCTS
events. His teammate Scott Riggs was
fifth, piloting the No. 2 Team ASE
Dodge Ram to five checkered flags.
Dodge looks forward to continuing
its winning ways in the NCTS in
2002 with the racing version of its
new 2002 model Dodge Ram 1500,
replacing the model that originally
entered competition in 1996.
The Dodge Motorsports Diversity
Program also continues in 2002, with
Dodge serving as the primary sponsor
of Bobby Hamilton Racing’s No. 8
Dodge Dealers Ram 1500, driven by
Oakland, Calif., native Bill Lester.
An engineer by training, Lester, who
currently lives in Marbleton, Ga.,
made his professional auto-racing
debut in the International Motor
Sports Association’s GTO race in
1989. He made history at Watkins
Glen, N.Y., in 1999, when he became
the first African-American driver to
compete in a NASCAR Busch Grand
National Series event. “This is simply
a dream come true,” Lester says of his
ride in the Craftsman Truck Series.
He has set his sights on winning
Rookie of the Year honors in 2002.
Dodge’s diversity program provides
up to half a dozen scholarships
annually for minority candidates
interested in careers in the racing
field. Last year’s winners are currently
enrolled at the Houston campus
of Universal Technical Institute,
and future winners may also select
to attend the NASCAR Technical
Institute, scheduled to open in
Charlotte, N.C., during the summer
of 2002.
TOP TO BOTTOM: CHRYSLER GROUP, JON FERREY/ALLSPORT, DODGE MOTORSPORTS, CHRYSLER GROUP, ALLSPORT, CHRYSLER GROUP, HIGH SIERRA PHOTO
22 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

Outlaws and NHRA
In a season-long battle described by
one veteran sports writer as “one of
the classic championship duels in
World of Outlaws [WoO] history,”
Mark “Mopar Man” Kinser slugged
it out with Danny “The Dude”
Lasoski for the 2001 crown in the
Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series. It
all came down to the Mopar Parts
World Finals at the Las Vegas Motor
Speedway in November. Mopar
Man’s No. 5M Mopar Maxim sprint
car edged out The Dude’s No. 20
J.D. Byrider Eagle by two places,
but The Dude had enough points
to win the title.
said after his victory, sharing the
credit with his crew and sponsors.
Dodge fans hooked on Pro Stock
drag racing had lots to cheer about
last year, as Mark Osborne and
Darrell Alderman — “the Dodge
boys” — routinely cranked their Pro
Stock Dodge Neon R/Ts up to
200-plus mph. The 2001 NHRA
Winston Drag Racing Series season
marked the 50th anniversary of the
National Hot Rod Association, the
world’s largest motorsports sanctioning
body, and Dodge has been
there since the beginning.
Describing the new Dodge Neons
as “just awesome,” Osborne singled
out Mopar aerothermal design engineer
Terry DeKonnick and crew chief
Mark Ingersoll for their roles in the
victory. “We’ve really only scratched
the surface of what these new hemipowered
Neons can do,” he added.
Alderman also praised the hemipowered
Neon he drove to a new
national speed record of 202.64 mph
in his second-round victory, breaking
the 202.42 mph record he had set the
previous day in qualifying.
MARK OSBORNE’S
STOCK DODGE NEON R/T
WIECK/DAIMLERCHRYSLER
Mopar Man ended up in second
place, just 30 points behind
Lasoski — the closest finish in WoO
history. Still, 2001 was a season
of important accomplishments for
Kinser. A high point was his
first-place finish in the Gold Cup
Race of Champions at Silver Dollar
Speedway in Chico, Calif., in
September. That was one checkered
flag that had eluded Kinser for quite
a while, and he was at the top of
WoO point standings at the time he
won the race. “Thank God I have
finally won this race! I’ve been coming
here for something like 17
years, and I finally won it,” Kinser
One of the highlights of the 2001
season was the all-Mopar final
between Osborne and Alderman at the
Prolong Super Lubricants NHRA
Nationals at Seattle International
Raceway in July. In the first NHRA
finals showdown between two
Mopars since 1995, Osborne nipped
Alderman by 0.001 of a second,
despite the fact that Alderman had set
a new national speed record twice during
the qualifying rounds.
Osborne’s victory, his third career
NHRA Pro Stock national event win,
was the first for a hemi-powered Pro
Stock car since Randy Humphrey
beat Sonny Bryant in 1979.
In the season’s final race, the 37th
annual Automobile Club of Southern
California NHRA Finals, Alderman
won his first-round elimination
race, becoming one of the few
drivers in drag-racing history to
run down the legendary Warren
Johnson. He fell to George Marnell
in the second round by 0.007 seconds
— a margin of about 2 feet.
Osborne finished in seventh place
in the point standings. Alderman
ended up in 12th place.
By just about any measure, 2001
was a good year for Dodge racing.
But Dodge teams all have the same
thing to say about the years ahead:
“The best is yet to come.” ■
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 23

ON THE ROAD
AGAIN
There’s a lot
of racing
excitement
under the
NTC NASCAR
exhibit’s big,
white
canopy
BY MOLLY ROSE TEUKE
AS CROWD-PLEASERS GO, IT’S HARD TO BEAT A PAIR OF SHINY RED
Dodge Intrepid R/Ts. Rev those engines and the fans come running! Not to
the track, but to the UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center NASCAR
exhibit. This fan magnet, introduced last season, is now making the rounds
on the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup circuit.
24 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

LEFT: DAIMLERCHRYSLER, RIGHT: JAY BAKER
“We’ve learned that noise matters,” says Tim
Bressler from NTC NASCAR Operations. “When we
fire up the show cars, we draw people from halfway
across the speedway.” The exhibit’s Intrepid R/Ts are
twins to the real thing, down to the 358-cubic-inch V8
Dodge Magnum engines, with only a tad less horsepower
— 650 in these, over 750 in the racing version.
The NTC exhibit team learned a lot in its first season.
Number one: Fans love excitement. “We also
learned that there’s a lot of curiosity about the cars,”
says Bressler, “so this year, we have a Winston Cup
Dodge engine.” The engine was created by Ray
Evernham of Evernham Motorsports, with a display
that explains it all.
Gone are the information kiosks about the NTC (see
“Start Your Engines,” on page 4), but still holding pride
of place is the Victory Circle, where fans can be photographed
with the cars. Nine interactive games test fans’
mettle against NASCAR celebrities. The cars they
“race,” of course, are No. 9 and No. 19.
The team that keeps the exhibit on the road for 18
races includes seven DaimlerChrysler Transport drivers.
“These drivers are real go-getters,” says Al Benit from
NTC NASCAR Operations. “They know what needs
to be done and they do it as a team.”
For lifelong race fan Ron Shull, transport driver and
member of UAW Local 12, the excitement begins when
the two red rigs pull onto a racetrack. It takes 12 to 15
hours to unload the exhibit’s components: floor panels,
stages, cars, three pit boxes with the interactive games,
a promotional booth and a pair of six-passenger golf
carts designed to look like the Intrepid. “It’s like being a
roustabout at the carnie,” Shull says gleefully. “It’s quite
elaborate, yet it always seems to run smoothly because
of how we work together.”
The transport team is supported at each race by
Work and Watch participants selected from a
DaimlerChrysler plant near the track. They are chosen
from the ranks of both union and management by seniority,
attendance, work ethic and, says Los Angeles
Parts Distribution Center Manager Mike Ritacca,
their passion for NASCAR.
Gary Mattson, a stockkeeper and UAW Local 230
member, was one of several Work and Watchers who
helped with the 2001 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at
the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Once we got on the
road to Vegas,” Mattson recalls, “all positions and
titles were left back at the shop. It was just racing fans
coming together.”
Before watching the race, Work and Watchers do
everything from stuffing giveaway bags to greeting
fans. Everyone agrees that talking to fans is great
fun, but it’s also a serious chance to represent the
company and the union. “I talked to a couple of
gentlemen who were completely unaware of what we
stand for,” says Work and Watcher Greg Mills,
chairman of UAW Local 230’s Shop Committee. “It
changed their image of unions to learn how the UAW
and management work together as a team to make it
in this competitive marketplace.”
Team members field questions, among them “Is the
NTC a driving school?” “A lot of people were surprised
by the answer,” says Alice Aubuchon, a member
of UAW Local 136 at St. Louis North Assembly.
“When we explained that it’s a joint company-union
effort providing programs for people in the plants, you
could tell it changed some preconceived notions.”
Aubuchon, a newcomer to the thrills of racing,
found it a patriotic experience. “Racing is much more
of an all-American sport than I’d realized,” she says.
“Fans come from all walks of life, and seeing so
many of them dressed in red, white and blue gives
you a proud feeling.”
The exhibit typically handles between 1,400 and
1,700 fans per hour, but when race time comes, things
quiet down quickly. “Still, we always have to wait
for a few diehards to finish their races on the
interactive driving games before we shoo them out to
see the race,” says Bressler. ■
“FANS COME FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE,
AND SEEING SO MANY OF THEM
DRESSED IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE
GIVES YOU A PROUD FEELING.”
— ALICE AUBUCHON
Exhibit
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 25

At work in the fast lane, Mike Ford’s crew services No.9.
BY STEVE COHEN
WHEN SECONDS COUNT
When you’re on a pit crew, timing is everything
If you ever have to change a flat
tire, consider this. In less than
20 seconds, seven people can
fuel up a Dodge Intrepid, make a
minor mechanical tweak or two and
change all four tires. Of course, it’s
not just any Dodge Intrepid, it’s the
No. 9 Intrepid R/T raced by Bill
Elliott for Evernham Motorsports.
And the seven-person team is not
just any team, it’s Elliott’s well-trained
pit crew.
Considering that NASCAR Winston
Cup races are often won by a second
or less, pit crew performance can make
the difference between taking the
checkered flag and finishing out of the
top 10. That’s why a good crew is
prized and carefully developed. For
Evernham Motorsports, the development
responsibility falls on the
shoulders of Gary Smith and Ed
Watkins. The two share pit crew
coaching duties for the Evernham
team. They work together during the
week but split into two distinct
operations each weekend, Smith
running Bill Elliott’s No. 9 car
crew and Watkins running Jeremy
Mayfield’s No. 19.
DOUGLAS MCLAUGHLIN/DAIMLERCHRYSLER
26 www.uaw-daimlerchryslerntc.org

JONATHAN FERREY/ALLSPORT
Training is rigorous for the crew,
which includes two tire changers, two
tire carriers, a jack man and two gas
men. Like other professional sports
teams, the crew conditions extensively.
“We’re in the weight room twice a
week and spend another day on conditioning
drills that focus on foot speed,”
says Watkins.
Recruiting pit crew members is
challenging since there are no “minor
leagues” for the job. “We look for
young, quick, agile, aggressive individuals,
as well as guys with experience
in motor racing,” says Watkins.
“They’re largely former athletes; football
players and wrestlers seem to
adapt well.” Watkins should know.
He’s a former college football player
at East Carolina University.
Many crew members were standout
high school athletes, says Smith,
“so they know what it takes to excel.
You’ve got to have that explosion
to get around the car, as well as
the agility and accuracy to hit those
lug nuts.” Pit crew members are
intimately familiar with the race
cars, working during the week as
mechanics and fabricators.
At the new Evernham Motorsports
facilities being built in Statesville, N.C.,
the pit crew will have an improved
gym. A workout regimen is specially
developed for each pit crew position.
The jack man, for example, “will work
his triceps more,” says Watkins. “The
tire carriers will do more lower body,
and the tire changers stress forearms
and biceps.”
There’s also a new state-of-the-art
pit practice area at the facility, including
a covered, lighted area to simulate
night-time pit stops. A permanently
mounted camera records all the action.
The team performs between 15 and
20 simulated pit stops each week, running
different scenarios depending on
which track they’ll be racing at. The
practice car comes screaming into the
pit area at the same speed with which
the crew can expect to be greeted on
race day. The only difference? The
crew is dumping water, not fuel, into
the practice car that’s fitted with a
water tank so it can be quickly emptied
and reset for another go-round.
As in football, the team video
reviews all its performances — the three
weekly real-time pit practices and the
actual races. They’re constantly looking
for an edge, whether it is through
SAMMY
JOHNS
NO. 19 PIT CREW
CHIEF
A native of Lakeland, Fla., Johns had
high expectations to fulfill as the
2001 season opened. Johns started
out as a crew chief with Ken
Schrader at Andy Petree Racing,
then moved with the veteran driver
to MB2 Motorsports. Johns now runs
the show for Jeremy Mayfield's team
at Evernham Motorsports.
MIKE
FORD
NO. 9 PIT CREW
CHIEF
This second-year chief mechanic was
thrilled to gain Elliott's focused attention
when Evernham stepped back into
solely an owner's role in 2001. Ford
has been showing his drive since the
start of the season, when Elliott qualified
for the pole position at the Daytona
500 and finished fifth in the event, the
highest-finishing Dodge to compete.
changing the angle of their foot or their
handholds on a tire — anything to
shave seconds off their performance.
Each year, Winston Cup teams
compete for the Pit Crew Championship
at North Carolina Speedway in
Rockingham; in 2001, there was a
$30,000 prize at stake. The crews
change four tires and empty two, 22-
gallon fuel cans into their race car,
with time penalties assessed for loose
lug nuts or spilled fuel. This past year,
the top team completed their mission
in 17.69 seconds — a drop of more
than 5 seconds from the winning time
15 years ago. ■
Sammy Johns’ crew goes to work on the No. 19 Dodge Intrepid.
TOMORROW RACING ISSUE 2002 27

A View from Bill Elliott’s Pit
New Hampshire International Speedway
Loudon, N.H., Nov. 16, 2001