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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