MBNA America 400 - Joe Nemechek Notes

NEMECHEK THIRD AT NHIS: Joe Nemechek and the No. 25 UAW-Delphi team had a stellar performance on Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway, finishing third after starting 25th. It was the team's fifth top-10 result and second top-five of 2003, including a victory at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in May. The performance marked Nemechek's third career top-five finish at New Hampshire.

UAW-DELPHI HOMETOWN HEROES: Three members of the No. 25 UAW-Delphi team will enjoy a homecoming of sorts when the Winston Cup Series visits Dover (Del.) International Speedway this weekend. Jeff Fabian, rear-tire changer, is from Everett, Pa., northwest of Dover. Gas man Chris Fasulka hails from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., while car chief Ed Guzzo is from Linden, N.J., about 155 miles from the track.

NEMECHEK AT DOVER: Nemechek, driver of the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet, has one top-five and four top-10 finishes in 17 career starts at Dover. He has led in three of those 17 races.

MENTORING BUSCH: On Sept. 8, Nemechek visited Dover for a two-day test with 18-year-old driver Kyle Busch, who will start his fourth career NASCAR Busch Series race at the 1-mile oval on Saturday. Nemechek offered advice to help Busch navigate "The Monster Mile" for the first time.

CHASSIS NO. 2548 FOR TEAM 25: The No. 25 UAW-Delphi team will enter Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 2548 at Dover. The same car was used at North Carolina Speedway in February and at both events at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway this season.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: Nemechek is looking for a change of luck from June's visit to Dover, when the UAW-Delphi team was forced to a backup car after getting together with Ken Schrader in practice.

DELPHI FAST FACT: Every hour of every business day, Delphi ships more than 140 fully assembled and tested cockpits to customers.

PETER SOSPENZO, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 25 UAW-DELPHI CHEVROLET: (WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RACING BACK TO THE CAUTION FLAG?) "I don't think we need to race back to the caution. NASCAR should freeze the field when the yellow comes out and the first car that's one lap down should automatically go to the lead lap. After seeing what happened with Dale Jarrett at New Hampshire, I'd be surprised if NASCAR doesn't do something. It's a good thing his car wasn't on fire any longer than it was because if he were forced to get out with the field racing around him like that, it could've gotten ugly."

SOSPENZO: (ON DOVER.) "Fuel mileage is playing a role in almost every race, so that will probably be a factor. Tires are always important at Dover, too. At the end, it will come down to a fuel mileage race. As far as our team is concerned, we need to keep the fenders on, have a good run and hopefully finish in the top 10. We want to keep the momentum going."

SOSPENZO: (DO YOU THINK NASCAR NEEDS TO REVISE THE RULES REGARDING PIT ROAD?) "Passing isn't really the issue because you can't pass on pit road anyway. If you have a guy going at pit road speed, another car can't go around him without taking a penalty for speeding. I don't think they can change too many rules, but it seems like we have some kind of incident every week. That's just the competitive nature of the sport. Everyone knows how hard it is to pass on the race track, so they're trying to get everything they can in the pits."

SOSPENZO: (ON BRIAN FRANCE BEING NAMED CEO OF NASCAR.) "Obviously, it's the natural progression. There will always be a France in charge. With the changes they've already made, I think NASCAR is heading in the right direction and I know he's had a lot of involvement with that. I'm sure he'll do a great job for the sport. He's had a great role model in his father."

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