Richmond: Stacy Compton preview

Stacy Compton Richmond preview

The Team: #59 Kingsford/Johnsonville Chevrolet, NASCAR Busch Grand National Series

The Race: Friday, May 3, 2002 -- Hardee's 250 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia -- 250 laps/187.5 miles

The Track: It doesn't get any more exciting than Richmond and the NASCAR Busch Series "Under the Lights". Richmond International Raceway is 0.75-mile oval track with 14 degrees banking in the turns, eight degrees on the frontstretch and two degrees on the backstretch.

TV/Radio: FX 7:00 pm ET / MRN 7:15 pm ET

Compton at Richmond: Compton has been to Richmond four times as a NASCAR Winston Cup driver for Melling racing. His best Cup finish is 22nd. As a NASCAR driver in the Craftsman Truck Series, Compton has four starts at Richmond with his best finish sixth in 2001.

Compton on Richmond:
"I'm looking forward to racing in my home state. I consider Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol home tracks and have a lot of fans in the area. I've always liked driving under the lights--you can really see the sparks fly! We've finished in the top three the past two weekends and Richmond would be a great place for our first win. The team has worked hard and our day (or night) is coming soon."

Compton's Season:  With nine races completed, Compton is 7th in the
point standings.  He has two top-5 finishes and five top-10 finishes.

Crew Chief's comments:
"We're taking the T-1 car to Richmond. It's the car we ran at Memphis and Richmond last year with a new body on it. We tested it in Nashville this year and Stacy really liked it. Our strategy for Richmond is simple--keep the fenders on the car and be there at the end. We've run good all season and if we didn't get that flat at Daytona and get wrecked in Bristol, we could be leading the point standings, but-- that's racin'." Steve Plattenberger

Last Year at Richmond: Jimmy Spencer in the No. 1 Chevrolet won last year's race at Richmond with a 1.430 second margin of victory over Tony Raines. The Bud Pole Award went to Matt Kenseth. The race had eight cautions for 72 of the 250-lap event. There were nine lead changes among five drivers.

Double Duty: In addition to his Busch Series ride, Compton is also running the full NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule in the No. 14 Conseco Pontiac owned by A.J. Foyt Racing. He finished 41st last weekend in California after engine problems on lap 104 forced him out of the race.

-stm-