New Year Is A New Year At DEI
New Year is a new year at DEI
by Tim PackmanDale Earnhardt Inc.,
by Tim PackmanDale Earnhardt Inc.,
With the ringing in of a New Year comes a new year in NASCAR, as well.
The 2005 season produced one Nextel Cup Series victory and Bud Pole Award, six Busch wins, three Busch Pole Awards and a repeat championship for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Even though the 2006 calendar year is only a few days old, the racing season began a few months ago.
Martin Truex, Jr. and the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team shut down Chance 2 Motorsports with their second consecutive Busch Series championship. That was only a few weeks ago, and now that 2006 is upon us so is their new season with an elevated challenge.
They became the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team this year.
"As of right now, and through this season, we are a rookie team in Nextel Cup racing," said Kevin Manion, crew chief. "Believe it or not, we actually started working on our 2006 Chevrolets back in late July. Chevrolet and NASCAR handed down the changes and we went to work right then.
"The changes from Chevrolet had to do with the same changes made to the factory Monte Carlo. The new hood, nose and deck lid was all we had to incorporate into our race cars.
"We start testing at Daytona next Monday and, if we have a good test, the rest of the month goes by pretty fast. If we don’t have a good test, then we have to come back here to the shop and get busy."
Preseason Thunder begins at the 2.5-mile track of Daytona International Speedway on Monday, January 9 for all Nextel Cup cars that finished first, third, fifth, and so on, in the owner’s points. Then, the even number finishers go Jan. 16-18 with Busch testing right after Jan. 20 – 22.
Dan Stillman and the No. 11 Menards Chevrolet team are pulling double duty for Daytona this year. Paul Menard is going to run the full Busch schedule this year and seven Nextel Cup races, as well.
Their first venture on the Cup side for the No. 15 Menards team will be only the most prestigious race of the year – the Daytona 500.
"Yeah, that does make me a little nervous," said crew chief Stillman. "The biggest worry for me is going to be qualifying. I know we’ll race pretty well, but qualifying like it is there has me a little worried.
"This team is wide open right now getting both cars ready. We want to win a Busch championship and keep the DEI streak alive by going three in a row from the team aspect.
That’s our main focus, but don’t think the Daytona 500 car is taking a back seat by any means.
"We started working on our 2006 Busch cars in October of last year. There weren’t any factory changes like there was on the Cup side, so that helps us a lot right from the start."
Menard and the No. 11 team are coming off 2005 finishing sixth in points with one Busch Pole Award (Talladega), six top-fives and 15 top-10s. They might not have won a race – yet – but they can be proud of the fact they didn’t use one provisional in 2005.
The No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet team is a back to the same team that won six races and the Daytona 500 in 2004. Like the other teams, their 2006 season started long before the baby New Year came walking in.
"We started on our 2006 cars in September of last year," said Tony Gibson, car chief. "We actually had our Daytona car done by the end of November.
"They have both been wind tunneled and are ready for testing. We are in the process of building another No. 8 Bud car for the Shootout. It would be nice to start the season off by winning another one of those."
Even though the calendar year is only a few days old, it seems the racing one is months ahead – without even taking an official lap, yet.
The 2005 season produced one Nextel Cup Series victory and Bud Pole Award, six Busch wins, three Busch Pole Awards and a repeat championship for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Even though the 2006 calendar year is only a few days old, the racing season began a few months ago.
Martin Truex, Jr. and the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team shut down Chance 2 Motorsports with their second consecutive Busch Series championship. That was only a few weeks ago, and now that 2006 is upon us so is their new season with an elevated challenge.
They became the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team this year.
"As of right now, and through this season, we are a rookie team in Nextel Cup racing," said Kevin Manion, crew chief. "Believe it or not, we actually started working on our 2006 Chevrolets back in late July. Chevrolet and NASCAR handed down the changes and we went to work right then.
"The changes from Chevrolet had to do with the same changes made to the factory Monte Carlo. The new hood, nose and deck lid was all we had to incorporate into our race cars.
"We start testing at Daytona next Monday and, if we have a good test, the rest of the month goes by pretty fast. If we don’t have a good test, then we have to come back here to the shop and get busy."
Preseason Thunder begins at the 2.5-mile track of Daytona International Speedway on Monday, January 9 for all Nextel Cup cars that finished first, third, fifth, and so on, in the owner’s points. Then, the even number finishers go Jan. 16-18 with Busch testing right after Jan. 20 – 22.
Dan Stillman and the No. 11 Menards Chevrolet team are pulling double duty for Daytona this year. Paul Menard is going to run the full Busch schedule this year and seven Nextel Cup races, as well.
Their first venture on the Cup side for the No. 15 Menards team will be only the most prestigious race of the year – the Daytona 500.
"Yeah, that does make me a little nervous," said crew chief Stillman. "The biggest worry for me is going to be qualifying. I know we’ll race pretty well, but qualifying like it is there has me a little worried.
"This team is wide open right now getting both cars ready. We want to win a Busch championship and keep the DEI streak alive by going three in a row from the team aspect.
That’s our main focus, but don’t think the Daytona 500 car is taking a back seat by any means.
"We started working on our 2006 Busch cars in October of last year. There weren’t any factory changes like there was on the Cup side, so that helps us a lot right from the start."
Menard and the No. 11 team are coming off 2005 finishing sixth in points with one Busch Pole Award (Talladega), six top-fives and 15 top-10s. They might not have won a race – yet – but they can be proud of the fact they didn’t use one provisional in 2005.
The No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet team is a back to the same team that won six races and the Daytona 500 in 2004. Like the other teams, their 2006 season started long before the baby New Year came walking in.
"We started on our 2006 cars in September of last year," said Tony Gibson, car chief. "We actually had our Daytona car done by the end of November.
"They have both been wind tunneled and are ready for testing. We are in the process of building another No. 8 Bud car for the Shootout. It would be nice to start the season off by winning another one of those."
Even though the calendar year is only a few days old, it seems the racing one is months ahead – without even taking an official lap, yet.
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