Steve Park looks at dover

HOUSTON, Texas -- If past history is any indication of how Steve Park, pilot of the #1 Pennzoil Chevrolet, will finish in this weekend's MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover Downs, mark him down for another top 10 finish.

In his five starts on the 1-mile oval, Park has an average finish of 9.2, with his best occuring during his rookie season in the Busch Series when he finished fifth during both events that year. His average starting position is just as impressive.

Since joining the Earnhardt brigade in 1997, Park has started the events at Dover as well as 10th, coming last fall. With an average starting position of 16.8, Park moved the #1 Pennzoil Monte Carlo from the 31st spot up to 16th during last year's Spring event

"Going to Dover is great for me because it's close to the Northeast and a lot of my fans come down," said Park, who hails from Long Island, N.Y. "I also enjoy Dover because it's a challenging track. 'The Monster Mile' lives up to its reputation -- a fast track where it's hard to pass."

"We've run really well on that cement track," continued Park, who posted one of his five top 10s last year on the 1-mile oval. "Including the Busch series, it seems to be a place where we can move from the back toward the front. It's difficult but not impossible."

"Our goal is to make the Pennzoil Chevrolet comfortably fast," said crew chief Paul Andrews, who'll be setting up the same car raced at Bristol and Rockingham. "You don't want to be on the edge -- the driver must feel secure getting into the turns fast and hard. The car setup in Dover is different from any other track because the expansion joints on the concrete oval play havoc on the suspension and the shock frequencies are not like any other place. You also have to rely on Goodyear to bring the right compound on the tire, it could make a huge difference in the race."

<pre> Steve Park Dover Downs International Speedway Performance Record

Year    Race                    St      Fin     Laps    Status  Winnings
1999    MBNA 400 (WC)           31      16      396/400 Running $42,310
        MBNA 400 (WC)           10      9       399/400 Running 42,915
1998    MBNA 400 (WC)           DNS
        MBNA 400 (WC)           13      11      399/400 Running 24,640
1997    GM/AC Delco 200 (Busch) 13      5       200/200 Running 14,250
        MBNA 200 (Busch)        17      5       200/200 Running 12,750