Busch Grand National Series

GNC Live Well Racing Wants to Take One Step Forward at Kansas

CONCORD, N.C. - Hank Parker Jr. is understandably optimistic and excited about returning to Kansas Speedway for the Mr. Goodcents 300 on September 28. The 27-year-old driver and his No. 36 GNC Live Well Racing team scored a runner-up finish in the inaugural NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) race at the speedway last September and hopes to improve that finishing position by one spot this time around.

"Just one position higher, that's all I'm looking for," Parker said. "Our car was just incredible last year, so we're bringing the same chassis back for this go-round. I'm really pumped about coming back here and trying to improve on last year's run."

Despite not testing at Kansas Speedway this year, crew chief Gary Cogswell and the members of the GNC Live Well team feel confident about the information they gathered in last year's race and from test sessions at similar tracks.

"We have a good notebook to build off of," Cogswell said. "We've had really strong runs at tracks like Las Vegas and Pike's Peak. Casey (Mears, Parker's teammate at Team Jesel Motorsports) tested here, so we've got those notes to work from as well."

Parker has traditionally done well at tracks with layouts similar to that of Kansas Speedway. Both of his NBS wins came at relatively flat tracks (California Speedway in April of last year and Pike's Peak International Raceway in July), and his first career Bud Pole Award came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2000. Parker has also led a number of laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, another flat track on the circuit.

"I seem to perform well at the flatter tracks, and I'm not sure why that is," Parker said. "I think it complements my driving style. There's not many tracks I don't like, but places like California and Homestead hold a special place in my heart. After finishing second here last year, Kansas also made that list."

Parker, Cogswell and the rest of the GNC team are focused on a top-10 finish in the NBS points standings as an end-of-the-season goal. Parker feels the team will need error-free runs and a lot of hard work to achieve that objective.

"We're a couple of hundred points out of the top-10, so we've got to have a lot of good luck and a few other guys need some bad luck for us to get there," Parker said. "All we can do is perform as well as we can in these last seven races. A win this weekend in Kansas certainly wouldn't hurt."

The Mr. Goodcents 300 NBS race will air live, Saturday, Sept. 28, on TNT (Turner Network Television) and MRN (Motor Racing Network) at 1:30 p.m. EDT.