Dodge looking for help: Dodge officials head into the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend contending the Intrepid’s engines are underpowered and the cars are at an aerodynamic disadvantage. Sterling Marlin’s injury has left Dodge without a championship contender this season — Bill Elliott is a distant eighth in the points and Marlin, the only other Dodge even in the top 20, will continue to plummet in the standings as he misses the final six races. NASCAR allowed the Chevrolets and Pontiacs to extend their front air dams, and Dodge officials believe they’ve suffered from it. It’s not clear where the Dodges need the most help. They’ve been complaining to NASCAR for months that their engines are underpowered, but deficiencies in aerodynamics have become a new issue since Chevrolet got its help in August. But NASCAR, which heard the latest Dodge complaint on Tuesday, is unlikely to provide any assistance before the end of the season. “If they are talking about being at a disadvantage with the motor, then they have been all year,” NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. “It’s the same motor all year and they led the points most of the year with that motor. So we just don’t think it’s appropriate, with as few races as there are left on the schedule, to do anything. There’s not much we can do to help them.”(CNNSI/AP)(10-10-2002)
