NASCAR BGN Series Gateway 300 Report -- #99 Glen Allen
29 July 1997
#99 Glenn Allen, #99 Luxaire Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division Gateway 300 Race Report Gateway International Raceway ALLEN CONTINUES TO TURN SEASON AROUND, RECORDS BEST EVER QUALIFYING RUN FOR A LUXAIRE CAR MADISON, IL - The weather controlled the weekend during NASCAR's first visit to Gateway International Raceway. With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and a heat index of a 120 degrees, the heat played havoc with the weekend. The weekend started out on a high note as Luxaire driver Glenn Allen recorded the 3rd fastest qualifying lap out of 52 cars. The 3rd spot set a mark for best qualifying spot ever for a Luxaire sponsored Busch Grand National car. With only 3 cars to go in qualifying Allen sat on the pole. As the first cloud of the afternoon covered the sun, two of the last three cars eclipsed Allen's speed. "We had an awesome car throughout practice and our lap was near perfect during qualifying," Allen said. "I would have loved to have had the pole, but third isn't bad when you consider the fact of 12 Winston cup drivers were there." Throughout the first part of the race Allen remained in the top five. Trouble with one of the air guns during the pit stop caused Allen to fall back to 15th. Allen would soon recover and moved back to 10th place before the engine developed a timing problem. On lap 120 Allen came into the pits for quick work on the engine under caution and returned to the race without losing a lap. From lap one the newly paved track began to disintegrate, causing numerous accidents. Allen hit a broken part of the track in turn 4 and looped his #99 just a few laps past halfway. He bent up the hood and trunk but received no frame damage. Allen came into the pits for repairs and 5 laps later returned to the race. A few laps later the heat became a factor once again. With temperatures inside the car reaching 160 degrees Allen became nauseous. Contributing to the problem was carbon monoxide that was entering the cockpit of the car as a result of his accident. The decision was made to take Allen out of the car and let Dale Earnhardt Jr. finish the race. Allen was transported to the infield care center for treatment. Earnhardt kept the car in the race and as the race came to an end, the #99 car was in 14th place. "I have never been that sick or hot inside a car before, it was miserable," Allen said. "Dale Jr. did a great job for me and I owe him a big favor for climbing into the car. "We had a great car this weekend, it's a shame the track conditions kept us from really racing," Allen said. "I believe we had the car to win the race, oh well we are getting closer every week." The Busch Series heads to Indianapolis Raceway Park for Friday night's Kroger 200. By J&J Racing Public Relations