Park Pocono preview

Ø Starting in his 105th NASCAR Winston Cup event, Steve Park in the Dale Earnhardt, Inc.-owned #1 Pennzoil Chevrolet Monte Carlo prepares for the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway this Sunday, June 17. The 200-lap race is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.; broadcast on live on Fox.

Ø Crew chief Paul Andrews has visited victory lane with three different drivers at Pocono Raceway -- Alan Kulwicki, Geoffrey Bodine and Jeremy Mayfield. Mayfield's run in 1998 gave the young driver his first victory.

Ø In last year's first event at Pocono, began the 200-lap, rain-delayed event in the 27th spot but worked his way through the field rather quickly. After running in the top-10, Park radioed into the team that the brakes on the #1 Pennzoil Chevrolet has failed. A timely caution allowed the Pennzoil team to add brake fluid to the Monte Carlo and with just 21 laps on the lead lap, Park rallied with just 13 laps remaining to finish 15th.

Ø The New York native has an average finish of 12.75 on the 2.5-mile oval. Park missed the two Pocono races in his rookie year due to injuries sustained earlier in 1998 during practice in Atlanta. Never falling a lap behind the leaders, Park has completed all the laps attempted during his four races at Pocono Raceway.

Steve Park: "We've had our ups and downs at Pocono but have managed to run fairly consistent," said Park, who stands eighth in the Winston Cup points race. "It's one of the largest track we race on but so very different due to its shape and flat corners.

"Road course guys tend to run well at Pocono since there is downshifting involved while trying manipulate the corners. I think the Pennzoil team has proven that we can run well on those types of tracks, especially with our win at Watkins Glen."

Crew chief Paul Andrews: "We are taking a brand new car to Pocono but Dale Jr. tested there so we've got some pretty good data to work with. We tested the car in Michigan but that was before the rule change, making that information basically useless. The new Pennzoil Chevrolet was also taken to the wind tunnel so we're ready to go.

"I've taken three different drivers to victory lane at Pocono and I'd like to make it four. Success on this track is in the set up. It has to be versatile enough to maneuver each corner and the corners at Pocono are challenging as each one is different."

--SPR