Dan Pardus Posts Fastest Speed on the Final Day of ARCA Series Testing
23 December 1997
by Daytona Public Relations
DAYTONA BEACH, FL. -- Dan Pardus, of Daytona Beach, Fl., posted the
fastest speed on the final of three days of ARCA Series testing Monday at
Daytona International Speedway.
Pardus, driving the #42 Gardner Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo, was clocked
at 48.8 seconds for an average speed of 184.426 mph.
Pardus, a graduate of the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series, was impressive in
his ARCA debut at Daytona last February, turning in a ninth-place finish. The
ARCA Series' season opening Daytona ARCA 200, to be held in conjunction with
the all new Bud Shootout At Daytona, is scheduled for Feb. 8th.
"The car feels pretty good," said Pardus. "We're trying to get things
dialed in right now. This is a brand new car, so it's a new deal for us. We
worked all of Friday night just to get the car ready.
"But, we came out on Saturday and ran the car only about 15 laps and we
were one of the fastest cars here. We're pretty excited about that, and we
think there is still a lot we can do to the car. Last year I was just looking
for a good top-10 finish, this year I think we have the potential to win the
ARCA 200. I've got a little more experience under my belt and I really enjoy
superspeedway racing. I'm excited and all of my guys from Daytona that have
been behind me for all these years, they're really excited about this year's
Speedweeks.
"If we get through the ARCA race and everything goes good, we may shoot
to try to make the field for the Daytona 500. We need a local guy in there,
since Marvin Panch and Fireball and all the boys from years ago, there really
hasn't been anybody from Daytona that has run in the past few years."
Pre-season testing continues Jan. 3 when NASCAR Winston Cup General
Motors teams begin a three-day test in preparation for the Bud Shootout At
Daytona and the Feb. 15 Daytona 500.
A section of the Oldfield Grandstand is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
for the test sessions at no charge with access through DAYTONA USA, "The
Ultimate Motorsports Attraction." Guided Speedway Tours are also available
from 9:30 a-m. to 5 p.m. for a nominal fee.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Practice times for the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series - 12-22
Ps No. Driver Make Lap Time M.P.H.
-- ---- ------------------- ----- -------- -------
1 42 Dan Pardus Chev 0:48.800 184.426
2 66 Mark Thompson Ford 0:48.824 184.335
3 80 Andy Hillenburg Ford 0:49.000 183.673
4 11 Glen Morgan Chev 0:49.800 180.723
5 18 Josh Baltes Chev 0:50.200 179.283
6 32 Mark Stahl Ford 0:50.400 178.571
7 53 Bob Kelly Chev 0:50.500 178.218
8 3 Kirk Shelmerdine Chev 0:51.000 176.471
9 82 Neil Cunningham Ford 0:52.400 171.756
10 70 Billy Meazell Chev 0:54.200 166.052
Track Length : 2.5000 Miles
*Electronic times taken randomly throughout the day
Mike Snow -- The Auto Channel