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Steve Park Pre Race Report - Texas

Steve Park - #67 South Padre Island

Racing Event Preview

Silverado 350 - November 4, 2005

Texas Motor Speedway - Justin, TX

Notes:

The No. 67 South Padre Toyota Tundra at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend is Chassis No. 22-52. Bill Lester raced truck No. 22-52 at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August. This truck also set a new track qualifying record earlier this year at Kentucky Speedway.

Park makes it four for BDR … For the second consecutive week, Steve Park will join forces with Bill Davis Racing to race the No. 67 South Padre Island Toyota Tundra. This will be the second time Park has raced for Davis, as well as Toyota. Park was released earlier this month from Orleans Racing due to uncertainty about the team’s 2006 racing program and intentions to give Park the time he needed to explore opportunities for next year. He earned his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory earlier this year at California Speedway, which put him in an elite class of drivers who have grabbed wins in all three of NASCAR’s major touring series. He has scored two top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes in 20 starts this season. BDR has seen similar success this year with its truck racing program. Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 5 Toyota Tundra, grabbed the first and second wins of the year for BDR. Skinner, together with Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra, and Bill Lester, driver of the No. 22 Toyota Tundra, have accumulated 13 top-five finishes and 22 top-10 finishes, in addition to eight poles in 22 starts. For more updates regarding Park and BDR joining forces, go to www.billdavisracing.com.

South Padre at Texas … South Padre Island is a year-round beach resort located 2.5 miles off the southern tip of Texas. The stresses of the world are left on the Queen Isabella Causeway that connects the mainland of Texas with South Padre Island. Featuring the widest, cleanest beaches in the Lone Star State, South Padre Island offers a wide variety of diversions that create not just a successful getaway, but a lasting memory. To learn more about South Padre Island go to www.sopadre.com or call 1-800-SOPADRE.

Riding Along… Park will join his new team owners Bill and Gail Davis on a cross-country motorcycle ride that will take them from Texas Motor Speedway to Phoenix. This will be the second time in 2005 the Davis duo has taken the 1,200-mile journey.

Tune in … The Silverado 350K is scheduled to start at 9:15 p.m. EST Friday, Nov. 4. It will broadcast live on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144.

Steve Park comments:

Tell us about South Padre … “South Padre Island is a little piece of paradise located in the southern part of Texas. I got the opportunity to visit there last year and hang out with the mayor, meet the fine people of South Padre and just have a great time. It is a great place. I think a lot of people probably know it best as a Spring Break hot spot, but it is much more than that. It truly is more diversified than that. It is actually a great place to take a family for a nice getaway for some rest and relaxation.

“I got hooked up with some very nice people from South Padre Island earlier this year. They came on board with me in Texas for this past June’s truck race at Texas Motor Speedway. We had a lot of fun and had a pretty good run together, so they’re ready to do it again. I even got to make it to visit South Padre to thank everyone for sponsoring us. It is a beautiful place, full of palm trees, and I must say it is one of the best business trips I’ve ever taken.”

How was your first experience at BDR? “I thought it was great except for the result. I got the opportunity to work with Derek Finley, who was at DEI with me back in the late 1990s. We had a really strong truck, and I thought we really had a shot for a solid finish but did not even get a chance to get going before we got wrecked. I hate it for the guys at Bill Davis Racing. They really stepped up and gave me a great truck. I want to go to Texas and have a good showing for all the people at South Padre Island. It is their home track, and it would be great if we went there and won the race. I know that we are capable of good things, and I want nothing more than to go to TMS and have a good finish.”

Do you like to race at Texas? “I love going to Texas. The track is really fast, and you can race all the way around the track. I know we are going to have good horsepower with the Toyota engines, and the people at Bill Davis Racing have proved they know how to get around the 1.5-mile race tracks. I hope we get an opportunity to get more than two laps into the race. I knew we had a good truck last week and just did not get an opportunity to show everyone what we had. I am also excited to see all my friends at South Padre Island. They are going to bring a group up to watch us race, and I am confident that we are going to give them a good showing.”