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Kroger 200 - Hank Parker Jr. Notes Hank Parker Jr. / GNC Live Well Racing Pre-Race Notes EVENT INFORMATION - Event: NASCAR Busch Series Kroger 200; Time and Date: 8 p.m. EDT, Saturday, Aug. 4; Site: Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis, Ind. Live Coverage: TNT Network (television) and MRN (radio); Qualifying: 4:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday, August 4. LAST RACE (NAPA AutoCare 250) - Hank Parker Jr. and the GNC Live Well Racing team finished 22nd at Pikes Peak International Raceway last Saturday. After starting 25th, Parker had worked his way up to 17th position when he began to feel a vibration in the car about a third of the way through the 250-lap event. The vibration created an extremely loose handling condition that Parker battled through the remaining laps of the race. The No. 36 GNC Live Well Chevrolet was credited with a 22nd-place finish, four laps down to race-winner Jeff Purvis. When the team returned to the Cicci-Welliver Racing shops on Monday morning, the crew immediately went to work to find the source of the problem. "We broke a spring in the locker in the rear end of the car," said crew chief Mark Tutor. "It was just one of those unfortunate mechanical failures that happen sometimes. We had a great car, but that sure stopped us from showing that to everyone." STANDINGS - Hank Parker Jr. is currently 19th in the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Drivers' Points Standings, while team owner Scott Welliver sits 23rd in the owners' points standings. LAST YEAR'S IRP EVENT - Driving his family-owned No. 53 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Team Marines, Hank Parker Jr. qualified 28th for the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series event at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis, Ind. During the event, Parker was involved in no fewer than three accidents. His No. 53 entry tangled with the No. 33 of Tony Raines to bring out the first caution of the race. On lap 119, Parker was involved in an incident that included the No. 37, No. 48, No. 83 and No. 20 machines. On lap 142, Parker's night was ended when his car was damaged in an incident involving no fewer than seven cars, including those of Raines, Tim Fedewa and Casey Atwood. TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS - Mark Tutor, the crew chief for the No. 36 GNC Live Well Racing team, is on a learning curve in the NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) this season. Tutor, who most recently served as the crew chief for Petty Enterprises driver Buckshot Jones is used to being involved in the NASCAR Winston Cup (NWC) series. Since the NBS visits tracks the NWC doesn't, Tutor is getting an education about some tracks that he's never seen in person. "I've really had to rely on the guys in the Cicci-Welliver shop and Hank to let me know what to expect at some of these places," Tutor said. "I've visited IRP before, but it was years ago when I owned an All-Pro (Series) car. That's been the situation at a couple of other tracks on the Busch schedule, like Milwaukee. I'm having to learn the little quirks and tricks to getting around a whole new set of tracks, fortunately a lot of them have characteristics similar to some of the places I'm familiar with." THIRD TIME'S A CHARM - For only the third time in their NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) careers, Hank Parker Jr. will get to face-off against his younger brother, Billy "Catfish" Parker, in Saturday's race at IRP. "Catfish" will drive the No. 15 as a third entry for ppc Racing, the same team that fields the No. 10 and No. 57 cars of Jeff Green and Jason Keller, respectively. "It's always cool to get to race against my brother," Parker said. "Billy's a really talented driver and he's in the right equipment to be able to showcase his talent. I've had better finishes in the races he and I have ran together so far, but I know it's just a matter of time before he outruns me. I'm sure he'll be giving me a hard time when it happens. I may have to wrestle him down and remind him which one of us is the older brother." The Parker brothers first raced together in the NBS at Memphis Motorsports Park in October of 2000. Billy Parker out-qualified his older brother, scoring a top-10 starting spot in his Busch Series debut, but the elder Parker held on to finish one position ahead of his younger brother in that event. The brothers also raced together in the GNC Live Well 250 NBS event in early July at The Milwaukee Mile. HANK PARKER JR. ON INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK - "It's an older track, but it's a lot of fun to race on. I know that you could get some good grip with the other tires we've used here, but with the harder compound that Goodyear is using this year, grip could be a little more of an issue. "You really have to let your car roll through the corners here. When you enter the turn, you enter a tick higher than you do at some other tracks, then just let the car roll on through the corner. You use your throttle to help get the car set. Driving it deep into the corners is not as important here as getting up off the corners are. You have to be moving when you hit the straightaways to be competitive." CREW CHIEF MARK TUTOR ON INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK - "I haven't been here in awhile, but it seems to be the same slick track. It's not totally different from The Milwaukee Mile in terms of the shock/spring package. As far as tracks I'm more familiar with, I hear that it handles somewhat like Richmond (International Raceway). I think we'll have a good night, if we can just avoid the problems of the past few weeks." ON THE PAST FOUR RACES AND THE UPCOMING EVENT - "I'm looking forward to Indianapolis. We as a team have made tremendous amounts of progress in the past four races. We just don't have the finishes to show for it. Three of the last four events, we've had mechanical problems, which is very frustrating. In those races, we've felt like we had at least a top-10 car three times, and we felt like we could have been in the top-five in Pikes Peak. "What can you do, though? We're going over all the cars, looking at every little thing to hopefully avoid these mechanical problems in our upcoming races. I'm very confident that we're building the foundations of a great race team." THIS WEEK'S PRIMARY CAR - The car the team is taking to Indianapolis Raceway Park is car No. 007 in the No. 36 GNC Live Well stable. As one might expect, the team has given the machine the moniker "Bond." 2001 SEASON SUMMARY - 21 starts, 1 win (Auto Club 300, April 28, California Speedway) 1 top-10 finish (California), 1 top-five finish (California), Winnings, $526,642 (Ranks fifth in 2001 Busch Series winnings).
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