NASCAR Winston Cup Series Dura-Lube 500 Preview: #41, Steve Grissom
30 October 1997
#41 Steve Grissom, Kodiak Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCAR Winston Cup Series Dura-Lube 500 Presented by Kmart Advance Phoenix International Raceway STEVE GRISSOM NOTES & QUOTES: DURA-LUBE 500 PRESENTED BY KMART PHOENIX, AZ - Based on what Steve Grissom has done on NASCAR's so-called flat tracks this season, he and the Kodiak Racing Team have every good reason to think they will be competitive in this coming weekend's Dura-Lube 500 race at Phoenix International Raceway, the next-to-the-last race of the season. Said Grissom, "The biggest reason for our positive feelings about racing at Phoenix this week is our race car. It's been our best race car this year. We placed fourth in it twice at New Hampshire, and at Richmond we finished just out of the top-10 two times, 11th and 12th. We raced it at Martinsville this year, too. "The Phoenix track has a layout all of its own, of course, but it does have some similar characteristics to running at New Hampshire, and that's where we've had our best runs this year," added Grissom. "The car has to be able to handle well, as it does on most of the Winston Cup tracks, but this Kodiak crew has been on top of things with the handling on this type of track all year. That's why we think we'll have another strong run Sunday. "It's sort of a 'D'-shaped track, but turns one and two at Phoenix are tighter than the turns in three and four, so it takes a lot of adjustment in practice runs to try to even things out so you can handle both ends of the track decently all day. It's a fun track. I like running there." With just two races left in this 1997 season, Grissom and the Kodiak Team are aiming for a season-ending finish in the top 20 in the Winston Cup point standings. They're not that far from being able to achieve that goal. Grissom currently is 22nd in the standings, only 22 points (2,862-2,840) from 21st-place Jimmy Spencer and he trails 20th-place John Andretti by just 26 points (2,876-2,840). Grissom and the team know that the race car has to perform well all day, and circumstances have to fall their way during the race as well. They can't get caught up in somebody else's accidents, as has happened several times this season when Grissom had good runs going. The 34-year-old Grissom said, "Pitting on the backstretch last week hurt us at Rockingham. We were running pretty well and we would gain positions on the track, only to lose them when we pitted. Still, we finished 24th, which wasn't too bad compared to where we qualified (37th). And we held onto our current points position. But we had a much better run going last week than it reflected in the finish. "We're hoping to make a much better qualifying run this week at Phoenix," continued Grissom. "When you get a good, solid qualifying effort and make the top 25 during the first round of time trials, it's hard to imagine how that takes the pressure off, and you and the team can then concentrate on getting the car all set-up and ready for the race." Grissom said, "We need to finish this season as strong as possible. We'd like nothing better than to post a win before the year is out. And this Kodiak Team is very capable of doing that. We'll definitely be doing our best to get all we can, and we'll just see what happens the next two races. "We need a momentum builder, something that will carry right on over to next season," said Grissom. "We are all working to make that happen this week at Phoenix." By Muhleman Marketing