NASCAR WCUP: Park Only Driver To Race In Top Five NASCAR Divisions at NHIS
7 July 1999
Park Plans For Busy Week, Hopes to Return to Form At Track That Aided Career #1 Pennzoil Monte Carlo driver Steve Park is the only driver to race in NASCAR's top five touring series at New Hampshire International Speedway. Park's NHIS record includes four victories in the Featherlite Modifieds, one victory in the Busch North car, a second place finish in his only Busch South race, a fourth-place finish in his only Craftsman Truck appearance and a 41st-place finish in his first Winston Cup race in 1998. Park, a native of East Northport, N.Y., lived in Ellington, Conn., about a 3-hour drive from NHIS, when he drove in the modified series and considers NHIS his home track. New Hampshire International Speedway: "New Hampshire is sort of a homecoming for me. It's a place where guys from the Northeast like myself had the opportunity to showcase our talent in front of a lot of the Winston Cup, Busch, and Truck owners and drivers. Competing in five of NASCAR's top divisions there is pretty neat. I think I have raced every type of car that has ever been on that track except an Indy car. Now that they are not racing there I might hold that record for a long time. In fact, I'm not sure if there is another track on the Winston Cup circuit where a driver has raced in all five touring series. Obviously, this is a place that gave me my start so it has a special place in my heart. I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for New Hampshire International Speedway guys like me would never have had an opportunity to be in Winston Cup racing." Racing In Front of Home Folks: "Racing in front of your home folks puts a little more pressure on you because everyone is there to see you and cheer for you. On the other hand it's also a great place to perform well. I think I might be a little nervous once we get there, but once we get the Pennzoil car through qualifying and start working on the race setup those nervous jitters will settle down and we will be OK. It's going to be a very busy week. I'm going up to Connecticut on Tuesday and will be in Concord on Wednesday at a street fair. On Thursday I'm playing in a Pennzoil golf tournament and then going to the lobster bake at the track that evening where we have to do a television and radio show. On Saturday night I'm signing autographs at a local track. Throw in all the racing stuff and you can see how busy this weekend is going to be. These people up here have done more for me than I could ever do for them so I don't mind being busy in New Hampshire." Tough Luck At NHIS: "As much success I've had here in the other series, you'd think that would translate into Winston Cup success, but it hasn't yet. I think that will come with time. This series is a whole lot tougher than any other series I've raced in. Our season kind of turned around when Paul Andrews came to be our crew chief in May. We ran great at Charlotte and Michigan but we have had some bad luck recently. I think we can turn it around. Turning it around at NHIS would be the greatest place to do that. I want to win anywhere, but winning here would be pretty cool. People ask about the turnaround and I tell them it's communication. Paul and I seem to communicate better. The things that make any business or personal relationship work are the same things that make racing relationships work. It's all about communication and trust. I trust Paul when he suggests we do something with the car and he trusts my feedback. It will pay dividends soon."
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