NASCAR BGN: Fedewa shows first spark of brilliance at Darlington Raceway
10 March 1999
CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Tim Fedewa, driver of the No. 36 Stanley Racing Pontiac, captured his first career pole position at Darlington Raceway in the spring of 1995. Fedewa turned his 1.366-mile lap at a speed of 162.905.Fedewa first appeared on the scene of the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division in the spring of 1993 with his first full season. While continuing to grow and excel in the racing circuit, Fedewa showed his peers and fans what he was made of in 1995 by putting his race car on the starting grid in the prestigious pole position.
What started at Darlington Raceway has continued to grow throughout the entire Busch Series schedule. Fedewa followed up his first pole position with two more poles, one each at The Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile in 1997 and Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway in 1998.
Fedewa has yet to experience a victory at Darlington Raceway, but he does know the feeling of victory. Fedewa has claimed victory three times in his Busch Series career with a win at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and two wins at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway.
"When you enter a series as competitive as the NASCAR Busch Series, you are excited just to be there and be doing what you love for a living," said Fedewa. "Then when you achieve success in the form of a pole position or a win, it is almost an unbelievable feeling. Like you know in your heart every race you give it your all and do your best and fight for every spot and when you actually win its an incredible feeling.
When I won my first pole at Darlington Raceway I felt like I had proven myself. The competition in this series is very steep, each week you are up against at least 50 cars for qualifying and 43 for the race. Every year, more and more talent competes in the series and to be listed among the winners of poles and races is quite an achievement."
In 1999, Fedewa is part of a full-blown fire that has ignited from his spark of brilliance. With Fedewa in the coveted seat behind the wheel of the No. 36 Stanley Racing Pontiac with the Cicci-Welliver Racing team, he is ready to tackle the track deemed "too tough too tame."
"We knew we wanted Fedewa as soon as we knew we needed a driver," said Clyde McLeod, team manager for Cicci-Welliver Racing. "Not only is he a great race car driver, he is a great guy to work with and be around. Our three drivers here at Cicci-Welliver all equal each other out. We have three drivers with different styles and when we can work together and get three different inputs on the cars and tracks we are ahead of the game. At a track like Darlington, each of our drivers has a definite opinion about how to drive the track. They may argue or disagree, but that is the balance we are looking for with our operation."
Fedewa has aligned himself with the necessities of a winning team. Stanley, Fedewa and Cicci-Welliver Racing all have tasted how sweet success can be in this sport and they are ready to savor the smell again this season. They would like to start with a win at Darlington Raceway.