When Daytona Beach’s Dan Pardus and [#32] car owner Jim Gardner released their BGN team’s 15-event 2002 schedule, it lacked a Daytona date. Nonetheless, Pardus was determined to find a way to come down to his home town. In a deal that’s been in the works since the schedule’s release, Pardus and Gardner have been hard at work acquiring a superspeedway car and the funding necessary to undertake the effort. “We didn’t plan to start our racing season at Daytona,” said Pardus when he announced the test. “The opportunity is exciting with the new speedway car to test and possibly enter the season’s opening race. ” Though a Busch Series appearance during Speed Weeks is not assured, a deal looks firm enough for Pardus, Gardner and team to be at the Jan. 24-25 Busch Series test at Daytona.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(1-11-2002)
UPDATE: Dan Pardus and his #32 Jim & Judie Motorsports team will be in Daytona for the start of second-round BGN tests at Daytona. However, team owner Jim Gardner isn’t sure the team will be here for the BGN race during Speed Weeks. When the team announced its 2002 schedule in early December, superspeedway races like those at Daytona [and Talladega] were purposely omitted because cars used for those events are generally not suitable for use on the bulk of BGN tracks. In late December, another team made Pardus and Gardner an offer they couldn’t refuse — making available a superspeedway car and engines — allowing the team to contemplate a run at Daytona. Nevertheless, the brand new car is an unknown quantity and Gardner said he wants to make sure it’ll be sufficiently competitive to justify the cost of bringing a team to Daytona in February.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(1-24-2002)
AND * Dan Pardus, driver of the #32 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet, tested a Monte Carlo that formerly belonged to the now defunct Alumni Motorsports team. Pardus, who is a Daytona Beach, Fla., native, is running a limited BGN schedule in 2002 and if he goes fast enough during the test, might enter the EAS/GNC Live Well 300.(DIS PR)(1-24-2002)
