DEI/RCR engine to make its debut in Daytona race (cont'd)

"So we took the best of both worlds on stuff that we could put together, like carburetors and intakes and headers that we found. This was the last time we were going to run the SB2 engine [at a plate race] so we didn't want to put a lot of money into it -- but we put in a lot of effort.

"We feel like we've got a good package and all the drivers seem to be happy."

Harvick is one who's seeing the benefits.

"I think we've run very strong through the whole year and we've had a couple hiccups along the way at a couple racetracks -- but nothing crazy bad," Harvick said. "For the most part we've been really good performance-wise. Our engines keep getting better every week and I know we have a plan getting to the Chase with our engines being better and having different packages and things like that to choose from."

That, Gilmore said, is the collaboration's ultimate intent.

"The big focus is on Talladega, to have an engine that you could take out of the 8 truck [Earnhardt Jr.'s DEI car] and put it in the 29 [Harvick's RCR car]," Gilmore said. "All of the engines going to Talladega will be the same.

"We're starting on that project Monday. We've kind of laid out the package we want to run there and we've got 10 people put aside to start work on that project on Monday.

"We'd like to build 18 engines for the test [in September], then come back and try to rebuild half of them and get ready for the [UAW-Ford 500 on Oct. 7]."

Gilmore said the 10 men -- a mix of employees from each organization's engine department, would work in RCR's engine R&D department in Welcome, N.C.

"That's what we've been doing since the middle of May, putting guys in each other's shops and working together," Gilmore said. "Right now it looks good that we'll have five guys in the Chase [for the Nextel Cup].

"Our goal for the Chase is to have a common package on the R07 for the open engines, by then. Right now we have a little mix of our cylinder heads and their short blocks -- we're mixing and matching and making the best scenario that we can.

"But by the Chase, we want to all have a common engine, as we call it."