NASCAR BGN Series Jiffy Lube Miami 300 Preview: #96 Stevie Reeves
5 November 1997
#96 Stevie Reeves, Big A Auto Parts Ford Thunderbird
NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division
Jiffy Lube Miami 300 Advance
Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex
STEVIE REEVES NOTES & QUOTES: JIFFY LUBE MIAMI 300
HOMESTEAD, FL - With the NASCAR Busch Grand National season coming to a close
at Homestead (Fla.) Motorsports Complex on Sunday, November 9, driver Stevie
Reeves and the Big A Auto Parts Ford team look at the race from two
standpoints -- the end of 1997 and the start of 1998. Set for 1998, Reeves,
crew chief John Birosh and sponsor Big A Auto Parts will be together again --
that was just announced a little over a week ago.
Though in its first full season of Busch Grand National racing, the team has
remained solidly locked in the top 20 of the national standings throughout
the year. Reeves and the team have seen several speedways this season for the
very first time, but have been able to overcome the general lack of knowledge
and finished well enough to maintain their spot among the elite of the sport.
Reeves, 29, is a native of Speedway, Ind., who grew up literally in the
shadow of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was born while his parents lived in
a house three blocks away from the fourth turn of the famed speedway; he
later moved to within one block of the first turn. Seemingly destined to
drive a race car, Reeves has two national USAC championships and is still
considered one of the best midwestern U.S. drivers.
CAA Performance Group fields the Big A Auto Parts Ford. CAA is owned by John
Andretti, one of just four drivers in history with major race victories in
NASCAR, CART, and IMSA; Cary Agajanian, one of the best-known racing
promoters and administrators in the country; Mike Curb, the former Lt.
Governor of California who has owned CART and NASCAR Winston Cup cars; and
Don Laird, one of the top race managers in the nation.
The thoughts of Big A Auto Parts Ford driver Stevie Reeves heading into
Homestead:
"For a lot of us, Homestead is the start of 1998. We were able to announce a
little over a week ago that Big A Auto Parts would be back in Busch racing on
an even bigger level than this year in 1998, and we're pretty excited about
that. We've already got an eye on 1998.
"The racing season never really ends. You run the last race of one year,
spend December and January getting ready for the next year, and start racing
in February. It never stops and, the way racers are, that's probably the best
thing. We'll leave Homestead and head back to North Carolina, and continue
working on what we're going to do in 1998. Maybe we'll take a half day on
Christmas or something, and then get back to the shop. I go to the shop every
day I can, and the guys are in there every day, too.
"We're looking at Homestead from two angles. Sure, we want to have a great
run there, qualify well and run well. It would be great to walk away from
Homestead with a win but a really strong run wouldn't be bad either. The
worst thing that can happen to any team is run badly in the last race of the
year. You have to sit there and brood about it for two months. Running really
well in the last race of the season can carry you for two months. It gives
the team a real lift, something that lasts for a good while.
"Everybody's first goal at Homestead is to win the thing. That's no big
surprise. But you're next goal is to have a really good weekend. The momentum
can mean so much to a racing team for a long, long time. It can carry you
through the rough times of the off-season and, when you're working some late
hours on a cold, December night, that good run at Homestead can mean a lot to
you.
"They might not drop the ball in Times Square for a couple of months but 1998
begins at Homestead. We have to be ready to throw the confetti, sing 'Auld
Lang Syne' and kiss the girls at midnight starting now. The way racing is
these days, nobody can afford to wait until January. If you're not ready to
go by the time the bowl games are being played, you won't be ready to go by
the time Daytona rolls around.
"The Big A Auto Parts Ford team is going to be ready for Homestead, and we're
going to be ready for 1998 at the same time."
By Williams Company of America, Inc.
