Jan 2002 - Hank Parker Jr., driver of the number 36 GNC Live Well Dodge Intrepid in the Busch Grand National series, was the driver chosen to participate in the 2002 edition of Race 2 Win's Q&A sessions.
Hank took time out of his schedule to field questions from the readers of Race 2 Win.
Hank,
What do you expect in your switch to Dodge next season? Do you think that it will set you behind at the start?
Ronnie
Daytona, Fla
I don't expect it to be that much of a change. I'm sure we'll have to change our setups from last year somewhat. I don't think it will set us behind too far. I know there will be a bit of a learning curve, but with Gary Cogswell's help, I think we'll get over that fairly quickly.
What is the most difficult part of switching makes? Will you be getting any direct help from Ray Evernham?
Good luck in 2002, and a safe season to all!!!
Thanks!!!
Bob "Raceboy" Eaton
Seabrook, Texas
Thanks for the question, Raceboy! Having to find out what this particular make of car wants in terms of a setup is probably the hardest part of switching. No, we're not receiving any direct help from Ray. He did give me one piece of advice, "Don't eat yellow snow." Seriously, Ray and I have a really good relationship, I stay in touch with him because my roommate, Timmy, works as a fabricator at Evernham Motorsports. Well, at least he was my roommate, I've got a new one now that I'm married. That would be my wife, Wendy. But no, Ray is not giving the team any direct help.
Hi Hank. Which is your favorite track to race at, and why? Good luck this season. I know you'll do very well.
Kristi
West Branch
Thank you for the good luck wishes and for being a fan. There's not any tracks that I really dislike, to be honest with you. I guess my very favorite is Homestead in Fla., just because I usually do pretty well there. We nearly won the race there back in 1999, we led a lot of laps until we miscalculated our fuel mileage and ran out of gas. The wide, flat tracks like Vegas, California and Homestead seem to suit my driving style the best, so I like all of those.
Hey Hank! Big fan! How did you feel after you won your first race? Was it like you expected? Where do you think your next win will come?
Jack W
Asheville, NC
Thanks for the question. I can't begin to describe how I felt after I won California. It was a mixture of excitement, disbelief, relief, joy, you name it. A hundred different emotions ran through my mind. It was even sweeter than I expected. The only problem is, it's like eating potato chips. You can't eat just one. Once you feel what it's like to win a NASCAR race, you're real hungry to win another one. I honestly think we've got a shot at winning Daytona. I know everyone says that, but our wind tunnel numbers were good, and the test at Daytona went really well. My crew chief won at Rockingham and Vegas when he was with Buckshot Racing last year, so I think we've got a shot at winning those races, too. Heck, we've got a shot at winning all of them!
I have read that you and Little E are good friends, what is your relationship like now that you are married?
Connie Dayton
Dallas, Texas
Dale Jr. and I don't hang out as much as we used to, but we stay in touch. He's got so much on his plate, and my time's taken up a lot, too. We still get together from time to time, though. I saw him on New Year's Eve. He and my wife really like each other, so that's cool. I go visit him whenever I can. I'm looking forward to racing him in the Busch Series this year, that should be a lot of fun.
How long do you plan on running the busch series? Is a move to cup in the near future?
Steve
I'd love to move up to Winston Cup in the next year or so, but it all depends on what offers are available to me. I don't want to move up to Cup and just ride around in the middle of the pack, I want to be competitive and be with a team that's capable of running up front and winning some races. So, if my best opportunities are in the Busch Series in the next year or two, I'll stick around there for awhile longer. You never know what the future holds, but like most drivers, my ultimate goal is to go to Winston Cup someday.
What is our favorite Band or type of muisc?
Allen Brown
Blanchester, Ohio
I like a little bit of everything. My all-time favorite band is probably Pearl Jam, but lately I've been listening to a lot of Bluegrass, believe it or not. I really like Dan Tyminski, the guy from Alison Krauss' band who did the singing for George Clooney in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". The whole soundtrack to that movie is awesome! I like rock, I like country, I like some rap. There's not much I don't like.
Who's the better racer, Dale Earnhardt Sr. or Jeff Gordon?
John
Springfield
I have enormous respect for both of them. I can't say one's better than the other, it's comparing apples and oranges. Noone can ever replace Dale Sr., but you can't ignore what Jeff has accomplished during his time in the sport. To give you an answer, though, I'll say this. Until Gordon has seven Winston Cup championships, I'll have to go with Dale Sr. He gave me a lot of advice, and he is the one that convinced my dad to let me move up to Stock Cars. Without his and little E's help, I wouldn't be doing what I am today.
Hank it seems as though each year brings another big change for your team, this year the switch to Dodge. Do you feel like these changes are distracting, does the team seem to adjust real well in your opinion? I am always anxious to see what you can do out there and I wish you great success!
Kelly Boland
Leesville, SC
Thank you for the kind wishes. No, the change to Dodge hasn't been distracting. The only time a change was really distracting was at the end of the 2000 season, when I basically didn't have a job for a few weeks. That was VERY distracting! As far as the team adjusting, they've done a great job. We've been fortunate that we haven't had any turnover during the offseason, so we've got a team that's been together for awhile. We knew we were going to build new cars after last season, so it was just a matter of building Dodge's instead of Chevy's.
How many other Busch teams will be running Dodges next season? Will Dodge have the "one-team concept" like they do in Winston Cup?
Stacy
Greenville, SC
I know there's at least one or two other teams that are using Dodges, but my teammate Casey Mears and I are the only two that are going to run all 34 races in the Dodges, as far as I know.
It's a little different with the Busch teams than it is with the Cup teams. Dodge is not giving us the financial support at this time that they gave the Cup teams. So no, there's not a "one-team" concept right now. Hopefully, we can run well and maybe that will cause Dodge to want to be more involved in what we're trying to do.
I've asked a lot of people and no answer yet; what is the bore and stroke on the Dodge Nascar Winston Cup motor? Good luck this year. You were one of my favorites last year. Did your Chevy have the front end looks of a Hudson?
Ellis (mopar-or-nocar) Brasher
Rusk (in east) Texas
Ellis, I'm afraid you're going to have to ask someone else. I really don't know the answer to that one, sorry.
Do you have any pets?
S. Matlock
Indiana
No, I don't have any in North Carolina. But, my dad and I lease some land in Kentucky, and there's a mule that we keep on the land over there. His name's "Dick", and he's my buddy. He loves Honey Buns! Feed him a Honey Bun and he's the happiest guy in the world. I ride him around when I'm over there. I have to watch out, between the Bluegrass music and riding a mule, I'm going to come off sounding like a hick!
Hank, who's the better driver, you or your brother "Catfish?"
Tommy Gunn
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
I think Bill's really good, he just needs a break. I've got more experience driving Busch cars, but he's got me beat with youth and enthusiasm. I think that, with equal experience, he might be able to take me. I don't know, maybe we need to get a couple of equal cars and race each other, kind of like an IROC deal. I guarantee you, the one that lost would never be able to live it down.
Hank,
Congrats with the wedding! I was wondering, now that you're married does Dale Jr. tease you about it?
Joanna
Yucaipa, CA
Thanks for the congratulations. Yeah, he likes to give me a hard time, but not just about being married. He pretty much busts on me about everything. He just can't find a woman that will put up with him, that's why he's not married yet!
Hey Hank I'm a huge fan just wondering what music groups do you like?
Shannon
Mi.
Thank you for being a fan. Pearl Jam, Matthew Goodband, Alison Krauss and Union Station, you name it.
Hello Hank! What are your feelings about having Winston Cup drivers race in the Busch series weekly ??
Would you like to see some restriction on just how many races a year they could run with you ??
Best of luck this year... From a Maine fan:
Megan
Central Maine
Thanks for sending good luck my way. Having Cup drivers in the Busch races is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you get the chance to compare yourself to some of the best drivers in the world when you get to race against someone like a Mark Martin or Jeff Gordon. How will you ever know how good you are until you test yourself against the best, you know? On the other hand, especially back in 1999 when 60 cars were showing up each week, a lot of Busch drivers were going home every weekend, and I was one of them a few times. Guys like Jason Jarrett and Justin Labonte, who just needed more experience and seat time to be really good drivers, were going home and it probably hurt their chances of keeping a sponsor. Now that there's less cars showing up trying to make the race, I don't see it as being as big of a deal as it was a couple of years ago. Nowadays, we need to fill the fields with 43 cars, so the more, the merrier!!
Hank, do you like to fish as much as your old man? How often do you and your dad go fishing together? Do you like to hunt? What are your other hobbies? Best of luck this year!
Reggie
North Carolina
I can't say I like to fish as much as my dad does. Otherwise, I might have tried to make a career out of it like he did. My younger brother Ben is fishing on the B.A.S.S. tour, though, so he probably loves it as much as my dad does. Dad and I really don't fish together that often, just because it's so hard to get our schedules to sync up. We see each other at the track more than anywhere else, he comes to almost every race. When we fish, it's kind of tough. My dad's a LOT more serious about his fishing than I am. I see fishing as a way to relax. You know, eat a pack of crackers, drink a Coke and chill out. If I catch a fish or not doesn't make that much difference to me. Dad wants to catch as many big fish as he can, so he's a little more uptight about it than I am. Let's just say we've got two different "fishing styles." I love to hunt, I've tried to spend as much time as I can in the woods during the past couple of months. Dad and I have gone hunting together several times in the past few months. Other than that, I love to goof off on my computer, The other hobby I've just gotten into is making movies. My brother and I both got video cameras for Christmas, so we've been filming a lot of stuff. I got all the software to edit the footage on my computer. I can add music, sound effects, all kinds of stuff. It's a lot of fun. We mess up a lot of shots from laughing so much, but we have a good time. Thanks for the question, and for the good luck.
Any plans for a Hank III in the near future?
Jules
Not in the near future. I definitely want to have a family somewhere down the road, but it's not something Wendy and I are planning on anytime soon.
Do you have any names for your cars? If so, how do you come up with the names?
Walt Scott
W. Va.
Yeah, we have names for some of our cars. One's called "Bullet," for being so fast, another's called "Patches," because it's been patched together so many times. We've actually sold Patches, so that one's a memory now. I don't name them, to be honest with you. The guys in the fabrication shop at Welliver-Jesel name them. You never know where the name's going to come from. It could have something to do with how the car's performed, or maybe something unusual about the car. You never know. I don't worry too much about naming them, I just drive them. I usually refer to them by their chassis number, or by where we've raced them in past, or by where we're going to race them. Right now, we've got a bunch of new cars, so we have a "Daytona car", a "Rockingham car" and a "Vegas car." There's one that's called "the blue car," because it was painted blue for a couple of races last year. That's not a very exciting story, but it's true.
Why the switch to Dodge this year?
Bowtie Bob
Stanton
Well, I can tell by your name that you're probably not real pleased about us switching. I didn't have a whole lot of input in the decision, to be honest with you. Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy about the switch, but it was a decision that Wayne Jesel and my crew chief, Gary Cogswell, made together. Basically, we knew we were going to build new cars during the offseason and get rid of some of the older equipment at the shop. Wayne has a company called Jesel Valvetrain Innovations, that makes engine parts for a lot of NHRA Pro Stock, Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck teams. So, Wayne and his people have been involved in the development of the Dodge engine from the get-go. Wayne liked what he saw, because Dodge was able to start their engine design from a blank piece of paper. Wayne says that Chevy is still working off an engine design from the 50's. So, the newer engine design played a part in it. Also, the Dodge Intrepid is a newer body design than any of the other manufacturers. Wayne and Gary believe that the newer technology that's in the Dodge has the potential to make it a better car at this time. Since we were building new cars anyway, it was just as easy for the guys to build Intrepids as it was to build Monte Carlos. I'm excited to see what the Dodge can do, but it's a little strange to be in anything other than a Chevy.
