NASCAR BGN Series Dura-Lube 200 Preview: #3, Steve Park
27 August 1997
#3 Steve Park, ACDelco Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division Dura-Lube 200 Presented by Trak Auto Advance Darlington Raceway PARK REWRITING BUSCH SERIES RECORD BOOK DARLINGTON, SC - Although NASCAR Busch Grand National newcomer Steve Park has compiled some impressive statistics in his first season on the circuit, the driver of the No. 3 ACDelco Monte Carlo has seven more chances to continue rewriting the rookie record book in '97. So far Park shares or holds these rookie records: - Most wins (two, tied with Dennis Setzer) - Most points (2,933) - Most money ($340,411) - Most top-five finishes (eight) Other records are within his reach. No rookie has finished higher than sixth in the final Busch standings. Park is currently third, 284 points behind second-place Todd Bodine and 414 points behind leader and defending series champion Randy LaJoie. Kenny Wallace holds the rookie record for top-10 finishes with 16 in 1989. Park has 14 top-10 finishes in 23 starts (60.9 percent) and would need three more to break that record. Park has been the highest finishing rookie in 16 of 23 races this season, and he's running away from the competition in the Busch Series rookie of the year race. Park leads second-place Matt Kenseth by 809 points (2,337-1,528). The 29-year-old native of East Northport, N.Y., won races this season at Nashville and Michigan. Following his win at Nashville in April, he reeled off back-to-back runner-up finishes at Talladega and Loudon and that's also a rookie record for best finishes in a three-race span. After his win at Michigan on Aug. 16, Park followed up with another second-place run last week at Bristol. Heading to Darlington Raceway for Saturday's Dura-Lube 200 presented by Trak Auto, Park will try to continue beefing up his rookie resume. With veteran crew chief Tony Eury calling the shots, the ACDelco team will be one of the favorites in Saturday's 200-miler at the treacherous 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. "I'm really looking forward to going back to Darlington," Park said. "We had a fuel system problem the last time we were there. We qualified in the top-25, and I was just starting to get used to the track when the car quit. "We thought we got robbed of maybe a top-15 finish there. Maybe we can have some better luck and get a better finish this time." Park and Jimmy Spencer have been part of the winning 1-2 ticket in the last two Busch Series races. Park beat Spencer two weeks ago at Michigan, and Spencer came back to beat Park by just 139 thousandths of a second last Friday night at Bristol. "Those last laps were pretty scary," Park said. "We were about 110 percent. If Jimmy slipped up, we had to be right there to make a move on him. We touched and we banged a little bit, but it was all clean. "My hat's off to Jimmy. He's a tough racer, and did what he had to do to win. We were just a second-place car. It was our turn last week and Jimmy's turn this week. We're just happy to get to second. We struggled from 16th and had a bad pit stop. We got fired up that last pit stop and the team got us right back out where we needed to be. Jimmy had a fast car, and we just couldn't get by him." The runner-up finish was Park's third of the season. He could equal or even better his 1-2-2 streak of finishes after his first win at Nashville with a first or second-place finish at Darlington. "We won't go to Darlington trying to finish second, that's for sure," Park said. "At the same time, running second at Darlington would be quite an accomplishment. Three straight races of first, second and second doesn't sound too shabby, but first, second and first sound even better. "We keep learning more and more about the car every race, and we've really learned a lot the last couple of weeks. It's been great racing Jimmy Spencer for the win. He's a great competitor, and if you beat him, you've beat one of the best." Although Park's top-five record and his quest for the most top-10s by a Busch Series rookie is important, his No. 1 goal is winning. There's even a little bonus from his boss following a victory. "I hope we can win some more races," Park said. "I won't get greedy. One more would be fine and that would give us the most wins by a Busch rookie. "But we've got seven more chances, so maybe we can win more than one. Dale (Earnhardt) really likes it when we win, and he takes us out to lunch when we win races. We all like getting those free lunches, so maybe we can win some more races before the year's out. We've got seven more chances. I'd really like to get a pole, but we'll trade those poles for wins or top-fives." By Champion Sports Group