NASCAR BGN: Park Runs Out Of Time At Richmond; Whelen Car Finishes Sixth
6 May 2000
Whelen Monte Carlo driver Steve Park ran out of time Friday night at Richmond International Raceway. But a sixth-place finish in the ultra-competitive NASCAR Busch Series isn't too bad. Only the checkered flag could stop Park's charge from mid-pack over the final 60 laps. If the race had been but twenty laps longer it appeared Park would have finished second to Mark Martin. "Man we had a good run," said Park seconds after climbing from the Whelen car that he drove to its best finish of the 2000 season. "If we could have just raced a bit longer I think we would have caught everyone except Mark. But we were good and if we can keep running like that then we will be OK this year." Park began Friday night's race in second place and quickly took the lead during the race. Park traded the lead with Martin and polesitter Jeff Green. It appeared Park's red and white car was the second quickest car on the track with Martin the only car better. The pair were running first and second when an accident on lap 166 bunched the field. Martin and Park elected to stay on the track while the rest of the lead lap cars came in for fresh tires. "I think that was the right strategy," Park said. "I knew those other cars with new tires would be quick but our times hadn't fallen off and you can't go too far wrong if you follow Mark Martin." But things went wrong. Park's car wouldn't turn on the older tires and nearly all the lead lap cars drove past him. Park fell to about 25th place. "That was frustrating," he said. "The car kept skating in the corners. There wasn't much I could do." Thirty laps later a caution came out and Martin and Park came in for new rubber. Then the show started. Park sliced through the field with the new tires once making it four-wide going into the first turn. As the laps clicked down Park picked up position after position. He followed Martin through the field and was in sixth when the checkered flag fell. Jeff Green won the race despite having a car slower than Park and Martin. That frustrated Park, but understood that races sometimes come down to pit strategy and that can often be a matter of luck. "We were a lot better than our sixth place finish but we ran good and our team is improving and that is all I can ask." Park and his Connecticut-based Marsh Racing teammates return to action this weekend in Loudon, New Hampshire.