|
NASCAR Drivers: The Hotseat: Steve Park
By Aaron Campbell
Nasnut Magazine Editor
(Taken from the article I wrote in the LaFollette Press)
Steve Park has proven to be among NASCAR’s elite. Scoring two victories (Watkins Glen 2000 and Rockingham 2001), 12 top fives, 30 top tens, and two poles (Bristol and Homestead 2000) in 140 starts in Nascar Winston Cup. Also he won a pole, 3 races, and 12 top fives in the 1997 Nascar Busch Grand National Series. Also in his Nascar Craftsman Truck Series Career he has a pole (Watkins Glen) and a Top 5 in 3 starts. In NASCAR’s Touring Divisions he has made 198 starts (187 Featherlite Modified, and 11 Busch North) scoring 18 wins, 25 poles, 63 top fives, and 93 top tens.
Rumors that went around the Internet about Steve Park were leaving D.E.I. were complete falsehoods. Steve told me that he looks forward to building the teams confidence and returning the #1 team to a victory lane nearest you, and is looking forward to the 2003 season. He told me that he has fully recovered from Darlington last year, but was a little dizzy from Pocono. (Steve was involved in a horrible wreck at the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina last fall. During a caution, his Chevy turned left coming off turn 2 and was T-Boned by Larry Foyt who was going full speed when he hit Steve. He missed the rest of the 2001 season and the first 4 races of 2002. ) He is also looking forward to racing in the Nascar Busch Grand National Series again. The progression of the 2003 Monte Carlo is coming along good. They are looking forward to testing the new Monte Carlo after the season-ending race at Homestead in November.
Steve says he likes all tracks, especially Bristol. His favorite racecar is a Chevrolet Monte Carlo; he says it is the coolest car of all time. He says he is his favorite driver. He comes from open-wheel modifieds, but he says he likes where he is in Winston Cup. To this point in his career, he says Watkins Glen was his biggest win because it was in his home state (New York), on a road course, and it was also his first win. He would like to win every race but the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 are near the top of his list. He says Bristol has the best food and Bratwurst is his favorite. He chose the Daytona 500 as the biggest race to win, over the USGP at Indianapolis, the Indy 500, or the Lemans 24 hour endurance race in France. Next years contract was the coolest thing he ever autographed. He has been racing for 24 years and says he will be ready for retirement in about six years.
|
|
Winning is it Really that Important?
Aaron Campbell
Nasnut Magazine Editor
Jeff Gordon has had his much publicized "dry-spell". Thirty-one races without a win. It seams that fans and critics alike are in disbelief when a dominating driver does not win every other race. Race wins are a help to a championship, that is not a joke, but race wins cannot mean a championship year. It is consistency that takes titles. Gordon and Wallace are both in the top 10 in points with Gordon becoming a new winner in 2002 and Wallace has not won since California in 2001. The reason why the Jeff Gordon's and the Rusty Wallace's and the Bobby Labonte's are not the only ones in victory lane every week is because NASCAR has finally hit pairity. At one time you could write off a rookie, not now, or an old driver who has not won in years, that is over with now. Anything is possible in today's NASCAR Winston Cup Series. This also means another thing though, the end of the "dominator" era for now. Lets hope that this dosen't end anytime in the near or distant future.
|
