NASCAR: Park-Whelen Busch Combination Ready For 2000 Audition
29 February 2000
Park-Whelen Busch Combination Ready For 2000 Audition Park Plans To Parlay Lakeland, Fla. Test Into First Busch Start Since 1997 #31 Whelen Monte Carlo driver Steve Park hopes a January test at Lakeland, Fla. will translate into a solid qualifying effort this weekend when Ted Marsh Racing makes its 2000 Busch Series debut in the Sam's Town 200. Park, the driver for Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s #1 Monte Carlo in Winston Cup will attempt to qualify for his first race appearance in a Busch car since the 1997 season when he won the three races, the rookie award, and finished third in the season point standings driving for Earnhardt. Plans call for Park to drive the Whelen car for Marsh Racing in about 15 Busch races in 2000. Steve Park on Busch Qualifying "As I have said before, Winston Cup qualifying determines where you start. Busch qualifying determines if you start. That's tough. We saw that at Homestead in November. We were quick enough to be in the top 15 but someone oiled the track down right before we went out. I hit the wall pretty hard in our one lap then we loaded up the Whelen Monte Carlo and went home just like that. You get one crack at it and if something even slightly goes wrong you are done for the weekend." Why Run Busch Series Races? "People ask me why I would run in the Busch Series. I think the advantages are learning the tracks and gaining confidence. I hope this weekend I will find out what the Vegas track does over a period of a couple hundred miles. I want to know just how loose or tight it becomes as the race goes on. You can pick up little things during the race on Saturday that I think will translate to Sunday. I think it can also build confidence. It seems to have worked for Jeff Burton and Mark Martin. If Mark sees value of running Busch races then I'm not going to argue. It makes for a hectic day. You jump out of one car then into another and then back again. But hey, its racing and that is what I like to do most." Lakeland Test "We tested at Lakeland and spent the day just working to make the car faster. By the end of the day we were turning some very quick speeds. Everyone is learning on this team. Marsh Racing has had a lot of success up North in the Busch North and modifieds and they are learning all the tricks to running well down here." Advice From Dale Earnhardt: "He approved this deal. All he said was don't run any superspeedways and learn as much as you can. If that a happens then it will be worth the work."