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Steve Park Pre-Race Report - Richmond
PRE-RACE NOTES:
This will be Park’s 15th start at Richmond International Raceway. He has four starts 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 Richmond. This will be the third start for Orleans Racing at Richmond and the 74th Craftsman Truck Series start for the team.
As the schedule allows, Park will sign autographs at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9 at the Big Johnson souvenir trailer at Richmond International Raceway.
Park is 11th in points after 16 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, fifth at Nashville and ninth at Bristol.
PRE-RACE QUOTE FROM STEVE PARK: “I like racing at Richmond. They added soft walls and repaved the track. They are doing a heck of a job keeping the track up to date. I’m looking forward to this race. We are getting close to the end of the season, and we are working hard for a win. Because of our poor start at the beginning of the season our main goal was to get in the top 10 in points. We are very close to that. I had a personal goal to win a race, if not multiple races. I will feel like we fell short if we do not win a race. We have some top five and top-10 finishes. We have been in a position to win, but we need to capitalize on those opportunities. We are a more mature team than we were at the beginning of the season.”
About the NEXTEL Cup points system: “I’m an old-style guy. The old Winston Cup and now NEXTEL Cup champion was a guy who was consistent. The team had to be an overall champion all year. I have mixed opinions. I thought Matt Kenseth did a great job last year and got a raw deal. He was racing by the rules.”
About Hurricane Frances and Park’s home in Florida: “The first hurricane did a little bit of damage to the enclosed pool structure. I needed to have it repaired. This hurricane finished it off. The house has done fine. No windows or roof damage. It is mainly the pool enclosure. I was at home and then drove to Homestead to test early last week. We kept a close eye on the hurricane. When I got back from the test, I got the house ready and then drove to North Carolina. I didn’t want to be in the path of the hurricane. My family lives in North Carolina, so everyone is fine. I’m just going to have to lean on Jimmie Johnson to get some Lowe’s support to fix the damage.”
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