 |
Steve Park Post Race Report - Texas
Mechanical Woes Make For Long Night in Texas
Speeding on the racetrack is a good thing but speeding on pit road can be disastrous.
Just ask Steve Park who was poised for an easy top 10 finish at Texas Motor Speedway; that is until NASCAR's pit police slapped him with a speeding violation with less than ten laps to go in the Chex 400K.
Up to that point, Park had overcome a myriad of problems that plagued him throughout the race, making for a long night at the 1.5-mile track in the heart of the Lonestar State.
Flying the colors of South Padre Island for the first time this season, Park got the weekend off to a great start with a solid 11th place qualifying effort but the first half of the 167-lap race proved to be trying times for Park and the Orleans Racing team.
Just 20 laps into the race the power steering failed which made the No. 62 Dodge more than a handful for Park to control.
Thirty laps later when the shifter broke, the transmission became locked in fourth gear and that was a problem that would come back to haunt Park in a big way.
The race came down to a final round of green flag pit stops and since time was of the essence, Park and Company opted for a “splash and go” stop with nine laps remaining.
The crew performed the “splash” part of the stop to perfection but with the faulty transmission Park was unable to gauge his speed and in NASCAR's opinion the “go” part was bit too rambunctious.
The call was made for a pass through penalty and Park reluctantly hit pit road to accept his punishment but there was just no time left to make up the difference on the track.
When the checkers flew, Park was 16th in the running order and two laps behind the leaders.
Despite the disappointing finish, Park still managed to gain one spot in the unofficial point standings to 16th as he and the team head into the tenth race of the season next weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
