The inaugural race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was held on March 1st, but the qualifying runs were held in February.

      Despite his previous experience on the track in BGN last year, Steve failed to qualify for the race this week. It is a rough set-back for the team, as they were struggling enough in the standings as it was. After the next race in Atlanta, the provisional spots will be awarded based on this years standings. Steve did move to last in Rookie Standings, however with only the top 15 races counted at the end of the year, look for a lot of changes to occur after the half way point of the season. (if not before) According to Steve:

Below are some quotes that were included here before Steve even headed to Atlanta:

Steve and Ron at Phoenix in '97

      The remainder of the 1998 season is completely up in the air for Steve and the Pennzoil team. His injuries will keep him out of the car for at least 3-5 months. In the meantime, a decision will have to be made as to who to put into the car. Dale is very concerned with wearing out the crew by placing a different driver in the car each week. Some sense of consistency is desired by the whole team.

      Steve had already been scheduled to practice at Darlington the following week, so DEI called upon their driver, Ron Hornaday Jr., to fill in for Steve. Ron tested there on Tuesday, March 10th. Chances are good that he will run at both the Darlingtion race on the 22nd, and Bristol on the 29th. However, the Craftsman Truck Series resumes the following week, and he will not be available to race in Texas. By that time, Dale Earnhardt, Ty Norris, and the rest of the guys at DEI will have had time to secure another driver to fill in for Steve.

      The other pending question about Steve's future is his rookie status. This crash came early enough in the season, that they do have the option to only run 3 more races (being a total of five this year) and retain rookie status for 1999. On March 7th, at a press conference held in Atlanta, Ty Norris of DEI stated:

      However, in an interview with Dale Earnhardt the same day, it was clear that he felt bad about hurting Steve's rookie status, and that it was a definite possibility to have him only run 3 more races, do a lot of testing in the fall, and come back for rookie-of-the-year in '99. As it stands now, it will be next to impossible for Steve to win roty this year, even if he does run 12 more races. So the decision has to be made to either come back this year and waive the opportunity to win roty, or to come back next year. No matter what Steve says about the team's focus being on more than the rookie-of-the-year, it is VERY important to him. A crash like this puts everything in your life into perspective, though. There is a lot of time to make decisions, and the weekend off for Winston Cup couldn't come at a better time for DEI.

      It was another rough weekend for the #1 team, as Ron Hornaday was unable to get the car into the race. He had the car running well, however he crashed in a practice session prior to qualifying, forcing the team to go to the back-up car. The had just put sticker tires on, and it got loose on him, and the back end ended up in the outside wall. The team didn't have enough time to get the back-up car quite right. They were the first team to fall short of points for a provisional.

      It had been announced of March 17th that Ron Hornaday Jr. will drive the Pennzoil car at Darlington. He tested there on March 10th, in an already scheduled test that Steve was planning on running. On the 11th, he was the 8th fastest car on the track. However, on Thursday, Mike Wallace got behind the wheel and ran the testing. Ty Norris, general manager of DEI, said Hornaday will also drive the Pennzoil Monte Carlo at Bristol unless a permanent replacement for Park is found before that race. Norris said DEI is still talking to several drivers about filling the seat. For quotes from Norris and Hornaday, read the press release.

      Darrell Waltrip sold his team on Thursday, March 26th, and he and new team owner, T. J. Beverley, worked out an arrangement to allow him to fill in for Steve, then come back to the #17 car. This is a great opportunity for the Pennzoil team to build owner points to have provisional points to fall back on should Steve need them when he returns. Since Darrell holds a previous Winston Cup title, he automatically receives a past champions provisional. This provisional is awarded to the driver, not the car/owner, therefore DW (theoretically) can make every race, no matter how bad he qualifys! In fact, for those not as familiar with DW's accomplishments (are there any?), he won cups in 1981, 1982, and 1985. He is tied for 3rd for all-time wins with Bobby Allison, so this pairing gives him a great opportunity to hold that title soley. With the pressures of being a owner/driver soon to be behind him, look forward to seeing a glimpse of the DW of old!

     

      Practice sessions did not go well for the mixed team. On Friday morning, March 27th, DW was only 45 fastest. He ran 22 laps, the fastest of which was 00:15:981 (179.992 m.p.h.). In afternoon practice he was down to 46th fastest, with the fastest of his 13 laps at 00:15:988 (120.015 m.p.h.). Saturday the 28th, the team was only 45th fastest after running 54 laps, the fastest of which was only 00:16:250 (118.079 m.p.h.). Qualifying did not go well, and the team took advantage of DW's past champions provisional. For the first time since Rockingham on February 22nd, the team would be racing on Sunday.

Steve with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Bristol

      The team's spirits were picked up on Saturday, as Steve was healthy enough to go to Bristol. It was his first trip back to the garage area since the Atlanta accident. He had previously visited the team at the Mooresville shop, but has not been well enough to travel. His rehabilitation is coming along great, and he took time to address the media while he was there to let all the fans know how he's doing. Make sure to read the quotes from Steve about his recovery. He is very thankful for all the well-wishes the fans have sent in. (note: Thank you, too, from the webmaster for the great outpouring in the fan book!)

      Minutes before Sunday's Food City 500, three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip stood in the Pennzoil hauler and outlined goals for he and his new teammates at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

      The race started out very slow, as DW couldn't get out of the 43rd spot for quite some time. However, this is Bristol! Success here often requires more good luck than anything. This high banked short track wreaks havoc on cars, and just finishing the race is a major accomplishment. Not only did DW finish the race, but he got the team their highest finish of the season - 23rd. He may have been 4 laps down, but the car went back to the trailer undamaged. It took the leaders more than 200 laps before they could pass DW and only after a loose condition developed on a long green flag run. He spent most of the second half of the race battling the handling problem, but he avoided accidents, never forced the car where it shouldn't be and managed to leave Bristol with a higher finish than some faster cars that succumb to accidents.