In his first Winston Cup season, things got off to a rough start. He struggled in the first two races and then failed to qualify for the Las Vegas 400. After failing to make the Las Vegas race, qualifying for the Atlanta race became a necessity. However, while practicing for the Atlanta race in early March, Steve hit the turn 4 wall almost head-on. The car then slid through the infield grass and hit the pit wall. He suffered a broken leg and a broken shoulder that kept him out of the car until August. His return to NASCAR came on August 1 at the Brickyard 400. He was running in the top 10 for most of the race, but a late crash relegated him to a poor finish. Nevertheless, he showed a great deal of promise in running in the top 10 all day.
Throughout the rest of 1998, his finishing results were often less than stellar. The Pennzoil Chevrolet driver struggled to find consistency each week. The team looks forward to 1999 with renewed optimism. It will be Steve's first full season of Winston Cup racing. In addition, Dale Earnhardt Inc will be adding a second team in a limited schedule for Dale Earnhardt Jr. In 1999, the DEI cars will be ones to watch.
Many race fans know Park only as the rookie driver in Earnhardt's car. However, he has
had a long racing career on the modified circuit and his family has been involved in racing
for decades. Park came over to BGN from the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour where he had
15 wins, 22 poles and won the Most Popular Driver award in 1995. He finished second
in the NASCAR Featherlite Tour championship in 1995 and '96.
He's also won two NASCAR Busch North Series races in only nine starts. He won the pole at Watkins Glen driving for Joe Nemechek in only his second-ever
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series attempt.
He got his start in racing at the quarter-mile
Riverhead Raceway in Riverhead. His father Bob was a long-time Modified competitor at Riverhead.
