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Outback Steakhouse 200 - Hank Parker Jr. Notes Hank Parker Jr. / GNC Live Well Racing Pre-Race Notes EVENT INFORMATION - Event: NASCAR Busch Series Outback Steakhouse 200; Time and Date: 2 p.m. EDT, Saturday, Nov. 27; Site: Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, Ariz. Live Coverage: TNT Network (television) and MRN (radio) at 2 p.m. EDT. Qualifying: 3 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 25; Happy Hour: Friday, Oct. 25, 11:25 a.m. EDT. SAFETY - Hank Parker Jr. had already planned to work with the HANS device during his test session at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Fla., even before NASCAR announced the mandate on restraint devices last week. Parker, who had been using the Hutchens device for most of the season, said he just needed a couple of days to get comfortable with the HANS device. "I'm going to wear it at Phoenix. I've got it to where it's a lot more comfortable for me in the car," Parker said of the HANS device. "I needed to be able to make a lot of laps at speed with it on to see what it would take to make it comfortable for me. The only time you can do that is either during practice, during the race or during a test session. When I'm practicing or racing, I don't want anything distracting me, so we waited until this test session, when I knew I'd have the time to get it feeling right." PASSING THE TIME - Given that Hank Parker Jr.'s father is a famous fisherman, it's not surprising the young driver also likes to wet a hook when he gets the chance. Parker got to do a little fishing while testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida last week, without even leaving the race track. "It started raining during our test on Thursday and we had some time to kill, so one of the guys from the track took me over to fish in the pond that's just inside the backstretch," Parker said. "I caught seven bass in about a half hour. It was pretty cool. I caught one that was over five pounds, but it was in some brush and was about to break my line, so I jumped in the water to get it. I think the guy thought I was crazy, but I wasn't about to let that one get away. It was a cool way to wait out the rain. It sure beats sitting up in the transporter all day." LAST RACE (Sam's Town 250) - Hank Parker Jr. and the GNC Live Well Racing team's string of top-10 finishes came to an end at the Memphis Motorsports Park. On lap 91 of the 250-lap event, Parker made contact with the No. 75 of Scott Hansen in turn three, sending both cars into the outside retaining wall. After repairs were made, Parker returned to the track and finished the race in 32nd place, 42 laps down to race winner Randy LaJoie. Parker had posted three consecutive top-10 finishes. STANDINGS - Hank Parker Jr. dropped one spot to 18th in the NASCAR Busch Series Drivers' Points Standings, and team owner Scott Welliver remains 21st in owners' points. PAST PERFORMANCES AT PHOENIX - Driving the No. 53 B.A.S.S. Chevrolet, Hank Parker Jr. started 13th and finished 12th in 1999. In last year's Outback Steakhouse 250, Parker lined up in the 23rd starting spot and finished 22nd TIMING IS EVERYTHING - Hank Parker Jr. was sweating bullets last Tuesday afternoon. Parker missed his flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Miami, Fla., where he was scheduled to start a two-day test session at nearby Homestead-Miami Speedway on Wednesday morning. Parker was prepared to drive all night to make the test, but fortunately for the 27 year-old, he was able to get on another flight that arrived in Miami just before midnight. "I just misread my itinerary," Parker said. "I saw what time we landed in Miami and got it in my head that was what time we were supposed to take off from Charlotte. I had a lot on my mind that day and just didn't give it a second thought. That changed when I got to the airport and realized what had happened. I got plenty of time to think about it until I got my behind on that later flight. (Crew chief) Gary Cogswell's a pretty easy-going guy, but I'd hate to think what would have happened if I had gotten stuck in Charlotte. It would not have been pretty." DELEGATE RESPONSIBILITY - On Jan. 5, 2002, Hank Parker Jr. will marry his fiancée, Wendy Alexander. In an Internet chat session on his sponsor's website, www.gncracing.com, Parker was asked, "With your busy schedule, how do you and Wendy have the time and energy to plan your wedding?" Parker explained that the couple quickly decided on who was handling what aspects of the ceremony. "She's doing all the planning, I'm doing all the driving," Parker said. HANK PARKER JR. ON PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY - "I know people probably get tired of hearing it, but I love the flat tracks like Phoenix and Homestead. I think it shows in the way I've run at both places. I have a lot of fun racing at these places. I guess it's always fun when you're running well, though. "I've only got two races under my belt here, but this is one of those places where that's not a disadvantage, since the Busch Series has only come here for two years. It's kind of nice to know that some of the veterans like LaJoie and Keller don't have many more laps at this place than I do." CREW CHIEF GARY COGSWELL ON PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY - "I like the facility and the area. I've had a couple of good runs here with other drivers, and Hank seems to like the track. It reminds me of Gateway (International Raceway in St. Louis), with the main difference being how much brake you have to use at different ends of the track. At Phoenix, you really use a lot of brakes in turn one and not very much at all in turn three. "Other than that, I also like how consistent the track is. The wind coming off the desert makes it pretty chilly here first thing in the morning, then the sun heats things up to the mid-90's (degrees F) by midday. At a place like Charlotte, that would do two entirely different things to your car. Out here, you can get the car set up in the morning and have that setup work even in the heat. That is a real help." 2001 SEASON SUMMARY - 30 starts, 1 win (Auto Club 300, April 28, California Speedway) 2 top-five and four top-10 finishes [(1st) California, 4/28/01; (8th) Dover, 9/22/01; (2nd) Kansas 9/29/01; (7th) Charlotte, 10/6/01] Winnings, $758,822 (Fifth-highest total among Busch Series drivers in 2001).
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