Atlanta Testing: In his first laps back in a NASCAR Winston Cup car since April, #00-Buckshot Jones turned the fastest lap of nine Winston Cup and Busch teams testing for the Oct. 25-27 NAPA 500 weekend. Jones, driving for Michael Waltrip Racing, turned a lap 184.493mph. Second-fastest was BGN regular #27-Scott Wimmer, who will be attempting to run both the Aaron’s 312 Busch race and the NAPA 500, with a lap of 183.152. Jones has a one-race deal with Waltrip’s race team to run the NAPA 500 at Atlanta, and Jones said there is a possibility of running a few more races in the future. After spending the day helping Jones with the test session, Fox Sports race analyst Larry McReynolds said it should be no surprise Jones wants to return to Atlanta. Jones will pilot the same Dale Earnhardt Inc.-owned car that Dale Earnhardt Jr. used to win the Dover race last fall. Speeds: #00-Buckshot Jones, 184.493 #27-Scott Wimmer, 183.152 #16-Greg Biffle, 182.970 #9-Bill Elliott, 182.789 #09-Geoffrey Bodine, 179.883 (AMS PR)(10-1-2002)
