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NASCAR BGN: Steve Park Qualifies Whelen Monte Carlo Sixth at Texas

1 April 2000

Steve Park and the #31 Whelen Monte Carlo kept getting better and better 
during  Thursday's Busch Series practice sessions at Texas Motor Speedway. 

And when it counted the most, both the car and driver were at their best.

In the morning practice session, the New York native could barely make it 
into the top 40 of the 54 cars attempting to qualify for Saturday's 
Albertson's 300. In the afternoon session Park moved up into the top ten.

He said there was no secret to the success.

"We made a ton of changes and they all worked," said Park who won a Winston 
Cup pole at Bristol last weekend. "That's the sign of a good team. We saw 
what we needed and made a gear and some spring changes. Things worked 
perfectly."

So perfect that he managed to qualify sixth in the qualifying session with a 
speed of 183.505 mph.

"That was pretty cool. I'll take that. Now we can spend all day Friday 
working on race setup and maybe give this Whelen car a chance to win on 
Saturday."

Saturday's race marks the second appearance by the Whelen Monte Carlo in the 
2000 season. Park started ninth and finished 17th at Darlington earlier this 
month.

"We ran well there, before we had a flat tire," said Park. "If we can have 
the car as good this weekend then we will be fine."

The race will be televised by CBS Saturday afternoon.