Steve Park Rules!

Steve Park Pre-Race Report - Bristol

Source: Orleans Racing
Kimberly Meesters
Date: 08/23/2004

LAS VEGAS, Monday, Aug. 23, 2004 – The following pre-race notes, quotes and statistics are for Steve Park , driver of the No. 62 Orleans Dodge in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, prior to the O'Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway Aug. 25.

PRE-RACE NOTES:

Park will test Aug. 23, his 37th birthday, at Winchester Speedway in Indiana to prepare for the O'Reilly 200. Winchester is a half-mile, high-banked oval.

This will be Park's 14th start at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has four starts at Bristol in the NASCAR Busch Series and 10 starts in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. This will be his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Bristol. This will be the second start for Orleans Racing at Bristol and the 73rd Craftsman Truck Series start for the team.

Park will sign autographs Aug. 25 at 2:45 p.m. at the Big Johnson souvenir trailer at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Park is 12th in points after 15 races. He finished 27th in Daytona, 12th in Atlanta, 26th in Martinsville, 27th in Mansfield, 12th in Charlotte, 13th in Dover, 10th at Texas, 11th at Memphis, fourth at Milwaukee, fourth at Kansas, sixth at Kentucky, 31st at Gateway, 17th at Michigan, 22nd at Indy and fifth at Nashville.

PRE-RACE QUOTE FROM STEVE PARK: “I spent last week on vacation. It was the first real vacation I have had since the winter, and I really welcomed the time off. It was very relaxing. While I was there I met Wade Boggs, who use to play for the Boston Red Sox. He and his wife were really interesting people. It was a nice bonus to visit with them for a couple of days. It went from one extreme to the other, though, because I was inundated with phone calls late last week with tragic news. Tommy Baldwin is one of my best friends, and I was devastated to learn about his father's death. I spent the end of the week on the phone a lot dealing with his family and my family. Then I had to fly straight to Winchester to test on Monday, which was also my birthday. Then I will fly to Long Island for the funeral on Tuesday and then to Bristol for the race Wednesday. So I've been very busy the last couple of days, and it will stay hectic through the week. But I love going to Bristol . We always say it is like flying a jetfighter in a gymnasium. To get around that place in 15 seconds is amazing. It is the only track we go to like that. I have a pole in the NEXTEL Cup car there, and I have had some good runs there. We are testing two trucks at Winchester and will decide which one to take to Bristol.”