02-14-2004 | Daytona Beach, FL

Friday the 13th played havoc on Steve Park and the Orleans Racing team, as they were involved in two accidents and limped to a 27th-place finish in the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway Feb. 13.

Driving the No. 62 Orleans Dodge Ram, Park started 21st and moved to seventh place by Lap 8 of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener.

“The start of this race is really a good indication of how good this team is and how fast this truck can be,” Park said. “Johnny Allen (crew chief), Steve Hibbard (shock specialist) and the guys made changes from practice, and I had confidence in the truck. It really boosted my confidence to move straight to the front. I was taking what they were giving me early on. I wasn’t really even pushing it, yet. It was too early to push it.”

There were seven cautions in the 100-lap event, six for accidents. The largest accident came on Lap 51 when 15 of the 36 trucks received damage.

The first accident came on Lap 9 when David Reutimann, Park and Bobby Hamilton went three wide coming out of Turn 4. Park hit the wall and spun down the track stopping on pit lane.

“We went three wide and David Reutimann, who I think drives Darrell Waltrip’s truck, went low,” Park said. “Maybe Darrell needs to give him a driving lesson because he is probably not too impressed with what he did there. He took me out, and he took Bobby Hamilton out, which I feel bad about because Bobby had a good truck.”

Park received a two-lap penalty for spinning on pit lane and running the stop sign when exiting pit lane.

“With the flat tires, if he had tried to go all the way around he would have beat the fenders off of the truck,” said Allen, who joined the team in late January as the crew chief. “Here the body is pretty important to be in contention to win. So he spun around on pit road to change the tire s, and that is a one-lap penalty. I guess we didn’t get the service done quick enough to get back out before the stop sign was out, so that was another one-lap penalty.”

Trouble came again on Lap 37 when rookie Ken Weaver sent Park to the outside wall. The truck had significant damage, resulting in lengthy repairs behind the wall. NASCAR penalized Weaver two laps for rough driving.

With 25 laps remaining, Park returned to competition and moved from 35th to 27th, gaining 27 points.

“We gained eight spots there at the end,” Park said. “It just shows you why this team has been in contention to win the championship before. We had a truck that could contend for the win. After we got knocked out, the guys still worked hard and fixed the truck enough to go back on the track and gain some points. That is what will win championships. If it comes down to the wire and you win by two points, it is because of tonight.

“The Orleans Dodge is a fast race truck, and it is a shame it ended up sitting in the garage. I really want to thank the Orleans team, Michael Gaughan and Wyler.com for their support. We will get them. We go to Atlanta in a few weeks. If this truck keeps running like it did tonight, we will be fine.”

This marked the first race for Park with Orleans Racing. He is competing full time with the team in 2004 replacing Brendan Gaughan, who moved to Penske Jasper Racing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

The next race for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is the Easycare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 March 13 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED at 1 p.m. EST.