NASCAR BGN Series Notes (Week of August 18)
19 August 1997
NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division Notes of Interest Week of August 18, 1997 DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Steve Park tied Dennis Setzer's 1994 record for most wins by a driver in their rookie season, when he won his second NASCAR Busch Series race this past weekend at Michigan. Park won his first race back in April at Nashville Speedway USA. - Raybestos Rookie of the Year Candidate Steve Park set a new rookie mark for most top-five finishes in a season. Park recorded his seventh top-five finish of the season this past Saturday by winning the Detroit Gasket 200. The old record of six previously was held by David Green set in 1991. - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., made his first start on a track larger than 1.5 miles and finished seventh in Saturday's Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan Speedway. It was his best finish among his five career NASCAR Busch Series starts. - Glenn Allen hasn't finished lower than 16th place in his last five NASCAR Busch Series starts. He's finished 16th, 7th, 14th, 13th, and 15th in those five races. In his previous five races, Allen finished 29th, 21st, 26th, 16th, 25th. - Todd Bodine has two top-10 finishes in his last five starts (40%). Bodine had 16 top-10 finishes in his first 17 races of the season (94.1%). - Randy LaJoie has won five races in 1997. In the race right before three of those wins, LaJoie has finished 29, 21, 17. In Saturday's Detroit Gasket 200, LaJoie posted a 17th-place finish. - Phil Parsons started off 1997 with nine top-10 finishes in his first 12 races. But Parson's luck has cooled as the NASCAR Busch Series veteran has two top-10 finishes in his last eight starts. - There were 38 of the 42 cars running at the end of the Detroit Gasket 200. That is the most cars running at the end of a race in 1997. - The NASCAR Busch Series has run the last 584 out of 600 miles under the green flag at Michigan Speedway. There have been only two cautions for a total of eight laps in the last three Detroit Gasket 200's at Michigan Speedway. - There have been 10 different winners on the NASCAR Busch Series after 22 races in 1997. But in the last seven races, every winner has been a repeat winner -- Randy LaJoie (3 wins), Elliott Sadler (2 wins), Mike McLaughlin (1 win), Steve Park (1 win). - The 6/7 Connections: The last time a driver won back-to-back NASCAR Busch Series championships was back in 1986 & 1987 (Larry Pearson). Randy LaJoie won in the championship last year in which the year ended in a six and this year ends with a seven. STAT OF THE WEEK NASCAR Busch Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Contender Steve Park set a new NASCAR Busch Series record for most points by a rookie in a season with 2,291. Park broke Kenny Wallace's eight-year old mark of 2,239 points by a rookie this past weekend by winning the Detroit Gasket 200 race. Park has eight races remaining in the 1997 season to add to his record total. The rookie award winner is determined with a special system that awards points based on the best 15 finishes posted by registered candidates. TOP 10 - TENTH: For a third straight week, Jason Keller retained the 10th spot in the point standings. Keller finished 21st this past weekend in the Detroit Gasket 200. - NINTH: Tim Fedewa held onto the ninth spot for the second week in a row. Fedewa has three top-10 finishes in his last six starts. - EIGHTH: Only once in his last seven races has Mike McLaughlin finished lower than 13th. - SEVENTH: Elton Sawyer had his three-race consecutive streak of top-five finishes broken at Michigan this past weekend. Sawyer only had three top-10 finishes in his first 12 starts, but has six top-10 finishes in his last 10 races. - SIXTH: Elliott Sadler had his streak of four-consecutive top-two finishes broken this past weekend, when he finished 18th at Michigan Speedway. - FIFTH: Buckshot Jones has seven top-10 finishes in his last 10 starts. - FOURTH: Phil Parsons was knocked out of the number three spot after spending the past seven weeks there. - THIRD: Rookie Steve Park has seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes after 22 races. Ten of those 13 top-10 finishes have come in the last 14 events. - SECOND: With a sixth-place finish at Michigan Speedway, Todd Bodine re-gained some ground in the point standings for the NASCAR Busch Series Championship. Bodine now trails LaJoie by only 112 points. - FIRST: Randy LaJoie sits on top of the points standings for the fifth week in a row. He has four wins, nine top-five, and 13 top-10 finishes in his last 17 starts. LaJoie has not been lower than third-place in the point standings since March 23, 1996, when he was in fifth -- 44 races ago. TURNING TO BRISTOL AND THE FOOD CITY 250 - The NASCAR Busch Series regulars have an upper hand in winning the fall race at Bristol Motor Speedway, compared to the spring race. In the 15 previous Food City 250's held each fall, NASCAR Busch Series regulars have won 11 times or 73.3% of the time. In the previous 14 Goody's 250's held each spring, NASCAR Busch Series regulars have won only five times or 35.7% of the time. - Only once in the past 15 fall races at Bristol Motor Speedway has qualifying been canceled due to inclement weather. - This marks the 31st NASCAR Busch Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway. That ranks fourth all-time (Behind Hickory - 40, South Boston - 32, Charlotte - 32) among active tracks the NASCAR Busch Series visits. - Only three drivers have won back-to-back Food City 250's. Can you name them? ANSWER: Brett Bodine (1985/86), Larry Pearson (1987/88), and Todd Bodine (1992/93). - Harry Gant holds the record for the fastest qualifying time in the Goody's 250 with a speed of 123.364 mph, set in 1994. - There have been only three driver (Morgan Shepherd - 1984, Brett Bodine 1986, and Jeff Fuller - 1996) who have won the Food City 250 from the pole position. By NASCAR Public Relations
