NASCAR WCUP: Jerry Nadeau/Melling Racing Prepares for Michigan

9 June 1999

Jerry Nadeau/Melling Racing
Race Performance Profile
Kmart 400 -- Michigan Speedway
June 13, 1999
Track Specs: 
Track Length: Two miles
Banking: 18 degrees in the turns
Race Length: 200 laps / 400 miles

1999 Stats and Facts:

Nadeau posted the best finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup career -- eighth -- in the DieHard 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway April 25.

Nadeau's best qualifying effort this year was April 15 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where he posted the fourth-fastest speed.

Nadeau's No. 9 Melling Racing Ford paint scheme will feature a special tribute to late team owner Harry Melling at Michigan Speedway. Nadeau's Taurus will be painted red -- Melling's favorite color and the same as the colors used when Bill Elliott won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship and the inaugural Winston Million in 1985. The car's decklid will carry a special decal that reads, "This one's for you Harry. We'll miss you."

1998 Stats and Facts:

Nadeau started 27th and finished 35th in the June race at Michigan Speedway.

Nadeau's season-high finish was 15th at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Nadeau's best qualifying position was at Sears Point (Sonoma, Calif.) Raceway, where he started second.

Nadeau's Thoughts on Michigan Speedway:

"I have mixed feelings about going to Michigan this weekend. I'm really looking forward to going back to the track where I ran my first (NASCAR) Winston Cup race. But our team is heartbroken because this was Harry's home track. He was from just up the road in Jackson (Mich.), and his presence will be missed by all of us.

"We really want to have a good weekend at Michigan for the whole Melling family. The past couple of weeks have naturally been tough on all of them. We just need to keep working harder like Harry would have wanted us to. There are so many fast cars out there and we are going to keep pushing ourselves until we are one of the ones you have to think about every week."

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