NASCAR Winston Cup Pennsylvania 500 -- #41, Steve Grissom
16 July 1997
#41 Steve Grissom, Kodiak Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCAR Winston Cup Series Pennsylvania 500 Advance Pocono Raceway AFTER NEW HAMPSHIRE FINISH, GRISSOM SAYS KODIAK TEAM "PUMPED" FOR POCONO LONG POND, PA - After giving the Kodiak Team its best 1997 finish of fourth place at New Hampshire last weekend, driver Steve Grissom hopes to produce just as strong a run and maybe a better finish in this week's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. The fourth-place finish was the highest of Grissom's four-year career in Winston Cup racing, and it was also the first top-five effort of the season for the Larry Hedrick Motorsports Team since Grissom came on as driver for 1997. His previous best finish this year was 10th place at the New Texas Motor Speedway in April. Said Grissom, "Last week's finish at New Hampshire was just the tonic this Kodiak Team needed. We knew during the first half of the season that we had a strong team. We made some good runs in the first half and felt we should have had a few more top-10s, but the finishing results didn't reflect our real progress as a team. "Qualifying for sixth place at New Hampshire also gave us a big boost of confidence, so with that, we're 'pumped' heading to Pocono this second time with a really positive attitude," Grissom said. "Another reason we feel good about Pocono is that last time we had a strong car there. We started 35th and kept working on the car making adjustments during the race, so that by the last half of the race we really started making some progress, and got a finish of 18th place. We know we can do better at Pocono." Grissom added, "We felt we learned a lot about what kind of setup we need on that track from the last race, so this second time around up there we hope we'll be able to qualify better and get another top-10 or top-five finish. "Getting that good top-five finish at New Hampshire to start the second half of the season meant a lot to us," stated Grissom. "With that, we'll be working on continuing to improve each race and be real competitive the rest of the year. There's still plenty of time left to make up some positions in the points, and that's our goal." Continued Grissom, "Pocono is a unique track with its own characteristics, from the different kind of turns and the overall flatness. That makes it difficult to adjust the car to, but at the same time, it's a challenge, and if you can pull of a good performance there, you've got a lot to be proud of, and that just pumps you up that much more. "Feeling good about yourselves and your effort, and seeing the good positive results from that hard work pay off, well, you just can't beat that and what it does for everybody on the team," said Grissom. "Consistent, top, strong performances create winning attitudes. That's what you've got to have to be successful, a great attitude. "We look forward to the challenge of the second half of the season. We're ready to make our move upward and become a factor every race. Larry Hedrick (team owner) has provided us with the resources and the personnel we need for success, so we feel this Kodiak Team is right on the verge of making our presence known on a regular basis." By Muhleman Marketing
