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NASCAR Winston Cup Bud at Watkins Glen Preview: #23, Jimmy Spencer

5 August 1997

 #23 Jimmy Spencer, Camel Cigarettes Ford Thunderbird
 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
 The Bud at the Glen Advance
 Watkins Glen International
 
          JIMMY SPENCER NOTES & QUOTES: THE BUD AT THE GLEN

 

WATKINS GLEN, NY - After being forced to use a provisional to start last 
week's Brickyard 400, Camel driver Jimmy Spencer was in position to make the 
biggest move of the race. He moved from his 40th-place starting spot all the 
way into the top 10 for most of the day, but a late-race incident caused some 
damage to the front end of Spencer's car and he finished 24th.

The Bud at the Glen will be Spencer's second race at Watkins Glen this 
season. He appeared in the Lysol 200 Busch Grand National event in June and 
came away with a fourth-place finish. His best effort on the NASCAR Winston 
Cup level occurred in 1993 when he ended up third for car owner Bobby Allison.

Road courses haven't been Spencer's specialty during his career, but he has 
shown steady improvement. In his first three races at Watkins Glen, Spencer 
finished 28th, 29th and 27th. However, he has posted three straight top-20 
efforts since then, placing third, 18th and 19th. Sears Point is a similar 
story as Spencer finished no better than 26th in his first four races, but is 
coming off a career-best 14th-place effort in this past May's Sonoma event.

"I felt like we had a top five car at Indy and with the way things went down 
at the end, who knows what could have happened. We got together with a lapped 
car during one of the restarts late in the race. It was just one of those 
racing deals, but that took us out of the top five and really hurt because we 
had a good car."

"That's been our story all year long. We always seem to be in the wrong place 
at the wrong time, instead of the right place at the right time like Ricky 
Rudd. It hurts because the Brickyard 400 is one of the biggest races of the 
whole year."

"I think we've got a top-10 car for Watkins Glen. We don't go with the 
anticipation of winning because road courses really aren't our strength. 
Sonoma and Watkins Glen are the only two places we go all year where we don't 
feel like we've got a good chance at winning, but I do think we can run in 
the top 10. If we can do that, then you never know what might happen. We 
might have a chance to win."

"I've had good success in the Busch car, but you're going so much faster and 
you're generating so much more horsepower that it's harder to slow down going 
into the corners in a Winston Cup car. The key for me is to try and be 
patient, qualify welt and then try to run up front all day."


                     JIMMY SPENCER AT WATKINS GLEN

          YEAR   EVENT             START   FINISH    STATUS
          1989   Bud at the Glen     35      28      Transmission 
          1990   Bud at the Glen     31      29      Engine 
          1991   Bud at the Glen     33      27      Engine 
          1992   Bud at the Glen     32       3      Running 
          1995   Bud at the Glen     18      18      Running 
          1996   Bud at the Glen     33      19      Running

By Sports Marketing Enterprises