NASCAR BGN: Whelen Crew Chief Ted Marsh Relying On Steve Park In Texas
29 March 2000
Longtime Crew Chief Says Young Driver To Guide Team In Texas Busch Race #31 Crew Chief Ted Marsh has won races in the modified and the Busch North Series in the Northeast and visited more tracks than he can count. But the owner of the Connecticut-based team has never encountered the likes of Texas Motor Speedway where he will race the Whelen Chevrolet on Saturday. This will mark the team's second race of the season. Driver Steve Park started ninth at Darlington and ran among the leaders before a flat tire forced an extra pit stop and relegated the New York native to 17th place. Park comes to Texas a week after winning his first Winston Cup pole at Bristol driving the #1 Monte Carlo. It was the first Winston Cup pole for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Ted Marsh: On Texas Motor Speedway: "I have never even been there. It's like Charlotte, right? There aren't too many places like Texas Motor Speedway on the Busch North or Modified tours. I hear it is a sight to see. " What Is It Like To Go To A Track Where You Have Never Raced? 'If you have never been to track before then it's wise to go test, but we couldn't do that. So then you really rely on what your friends tell you. You go to someone you trust and ask them. Hopefully they can reference some other track. For Texas they will probably say it's like Charlotte with the exception of here and here. This weekend we are going to rely a hundred percent on Steve telling us, 'This is what I want. This is what we need to do.' And that's fine. We have a lot of confidence in his ability for things like that. I might be the crew chief this weekend, but it's going to be Steve calling most of the shots." Does Bringing A Fresh Approach Offer An Advantage? "That could be true. I never thought of it that way. I think more of it is relying on Steve's past Busch experience. We'll start there and then we'll make changes. If bringing a fresh approach gives us an advantage then I'm all for that." Steve Park On Leading Whelen Team At Texas: "Yeah that is funny. I'm going to be the one with the most Texas experience on our Whelen team. That might be a first for me since I've started racing down South. But that is cool. It gives you a little extra incentive. Those guys are relying on me. I've had some success there. We led a bunch of laps 1997 in the Busch race." Will The Pole At The Bristol Winston Cup Race Help In Texas? "Well they are extremely different tracks and there's a difference between the Busch and Cup cars so I can't say there will be a lot of carryover. However confidence-wise it always helps. Success breeds success as they say. I hope that is true for us in Texas." Running In The Top Ten At Darlington: "Darlington was a blast. We showed how well we could run. Like I have said, a lot of people might never have heard of Ted Marsh but up where I am from he is pretty well known. Those guys know their stuff and you saw a little of that at Darlington. Maybe you will see some more of it in Texas this weekend." Race Information Qualifying: 3:45 p.m. Eastern on Thursday Race: 1 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. Race will be televised on CBS.