Winston Cup 2000

Steve gets his first Winston Cup Victory at The Glen ! !

Speedweeks 2000 has come and gone, yet sometimes it seems like just yesterday we all were wondering what to do for the next 3 months!

The Winston Cup teams were plenty busy in the off-season. Various test sessions have been held in the month of January with Steve participating in both the Atlanta test sessions and the mandatory Daytona test sessions. His speeds were solid, and the team is ready to take NASCAR by storm in the new millennium. Steve also made several appearances during the month, including the annual Pennzoil Motorsports Show in Ft. Washington, PA.

Steve has had an inconsistent start to his 2000 season, but is still full of confidence in his Pennzoil team. He experiences mixed emotions in February with a disappointing finish in Daytona due to a mechanical failure, followed by a solid top-10 finish in Rockingham.

After running strong the week before, Steve hoped to ride that momentum into Las Vegas where he also attempted to make his first Busch Series race since 1997. Steve ran a special "Mission to Mars" paint scheme while on a mission of his own -- to bring back the glory of the second half of the 1999 season. Unfortunately his engine broke and Steve exited the race early and ended up with a 43rd place finish. He also failed to qualify the Whelen Chevrolet in the Busch Series, making for a very disappointing weekend.

The following week racing returned to Atlanta Motor Speedway where Steve had his devastating crash in 1998. Steve conquered the track by turning the fastest times during practice on Friday, and came close to earning his first pole position and sat on the provisional pole position for the first time in his Winston Cup career. He ended up with a 3rd place start behind his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. Whatever Steve left on the track during qualifying, he made up for in the race, as he earned his career-best finish of 4th.

Steve had another busy weekend in Darlington running again in both divisions. The Ted Marsh Racing / Whelen Motorsports team were excited to make their first race, and Steve Park fans were treated to a glorious trip down memory lane as he ran well all day. Despite a disappointing qualifying run in Winston Cup, Steve ran well all day until another engine failure took him out of the race.

The start of the Winston Cup short track schedule came with a return to Bristol. Steve had the fastest times in both practice sessions again, but this time he was able to turn it around into his first career Winston Cup Bud Pole Award. March has been another roller coaster ride for the Pennzoil team, but their confidence is high as they head into the rest of the season.

Read Steve's quotes on the 2000 season

Steve Park and his #1 Pennzoil Monte Carlo teammates know 2000 is their year to take the spotlight. The East Northport, NY native and the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team were the ninth highest scoring team in the second half of the 1999 season. They were 31st in car owner points after the July 4 race in Daytona and finished 14th when the season ended in November. Park hopes the consistency and high finishes that led to the remarkable turnaround in 1999 will continue throughout the whole of 2000.

Goals For 2000 Season

"To say that we are expecting to do well in 2000 is an understatement. We look at what we did the second half of 1999 and know that we have the talent and resources to do even better for the full 2000 season. That might be putting a lot of pressure on us but that's what racing at this level is all about. We know there's pressure and we know we can live up to it.

"There's no doubt this is our year to show what we are made of. In 2000 you aren't going to hear about wrecks, rookie seasons or personnel changes from us. We got all that out of the way in 1998 and the first half of last year. You saw what we could do in the second half of last season so now we think we can do even better for a full season in 2000. I don't know if we have any specific goals other than just the normal goals each team has. Our 14th place in the points last year proved we can finish races, and our leading 84 laps at Charlotte and 72 laps at Atlanta proved we can lead races. Now it is time to prove we can win races and once we prove that then we will concentrate on winning championships."

Paul Andrews & Steve Hmiel

"Everybody asked how we turned it around last year. It was a combination of things. Steve Hmiel came on board late in 1998 and Paul Andrews joined us half way through 1999 and their input started showing on the track in the second half of the season. Paul and I have a very good relationship. He knows what I mean when I tell him what the car is doing. I trust him. Trust is a big thing. Sometimes as you are sitting out on pit lane getting ready to qualify the crew chief will walk up and whisper into your ear that if you hold the throttle down through the first corner he's sure the car will stick. I've heard drivers tell their crew chief's 'OK you jump in here and ride with me down there we will see how well it sticks.' When Paul or Steve tell me something I know it's going to work and I trust their judgment."

Dale Earnhardt Inc.

"This is our third full year in Winston Cup. Remember we weren't just a new team when we started in Winston Cup. We were a new organization. We didn't have a file full of setups or tons of experienced people working on our equipment. But what we wanted to do was start fresh and grow slowly. I don't think you can win in this sport just mimicking what other people are doing. Look at our engine department. We build our own engines. We struggled some early on made some personnel change and now they are getting stronger and stronger. At the end of last year I thought we had one of the best engine shops in the business and if they continue to improve like I expect we could have the best in 2000."

Dale Earnhardt

"He's the car owner until they drop the green flag and then he's just another competitor. Just look how we raced each other last year. We were bouncing off each other at New Hampshire and I think I have his wheelmark on the Superspeedway car after Talladega last year. There are no team orders or anything like that once the race starts. After the race ends we will talk on Monday and we talk during the evenings on race weekends but in my mind he's a guy I have to beat. If I beat him then those meeting are a little bit more fun for me."

Have You Recovered From 1998 Accident?

"If I can go out and win a race this year one of the side benefits will be that I won't ever have to answer that question again. I know why people ask and I appreciate it, but that is ancient history. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everyone asking, but I don't want my recovery from a wreck to be the highlight of my career. I'm in better shape mentally and physically right now than I ever was before the accident. We went to Atlanta last year, led 72 laps and never thought twice about the wreck there. I have 34 races in 2000 to make everyone forget about my wreck and I think I can do that."