Compton to drive Foyt's No. 14
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 4, 2002
2:28 PM EST (1928 GMT)
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Third-year NASCAR Winston Cup driver Stacy Compton will try to put a veteran’s spin on competing in two top NASCAR series in 2002.
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Stacy Compton
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Compton, 34, was named Friday by A.J. Foyt Racing to a one-year term as the driver of the team’s No. 14 Conseco Pontiacs in the Winston Cup Series. The Hurt, Va., native previously was nominated for a full NASCAR Busch Series campaign by ST Motorsports.
“I’m extremely excited to work with Team Conseco and to work for a racing legend like A.J. Foyt,” Compton said. “A.J. Foyt is a guy that I watched growing up. He was one of those drivers in the same class as Petty or Earnhardt, in that you knew when the green flag dropped, he was going to be coming, and when the checkered flag dropped, he was going to be there and it was going to be exciting.”
Compton’s effort will mirror that of 2001 Winston Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick and he can only hope to be anywhere near as successful. Harvick won the Busch Series championship in his sophomore season.
After being named to replace Dale Earnhardt in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolets after Earnhardt’s death in the season-opening Daytona 500, Harvick went on to finish ninth in Winston Cup points.
Compton moved to the Winston Cup Series with Melling Racing in 2000 after three years in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. His highlights there included his first two Bud Poles in 2001 and a front row starting spot for the 2001 Daytona 500, where he finished 10th.
Compton made his Busch Series debut in ST’s No. 59 Kingsford Chevrolet in the 2001 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finished 10th.
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A.J. Foyt
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“Stacy has certainly shown that he has the ability to be competitive on the Winston Cup level and I’m pleased that he’ll be driving for us this year,” Foyt said. “More important than that, my team is excited about working with Stacy.
“I don’t care if it’s Indy car or NASCAR racing, a race team has to find the right chemistry and pull together to be successful. For the past two years we’ve been laboring to put the right people in the right places to take this team to the next level.
“With Stacy as our driver, I believe we’ve taken a big step up in our ability to perform consistently in 2002 and beyond.”
In its two years, Foyt’s Winston Cup team has struggled through four drivers. Mike Bliss, Dick Trickle and Rick Mast piloted the car in 2000, while Ron Hornaday was the driver in 2001.
Bliss qualified for only one of the season’s first four races and was released. Trickle qualified 12th and 21st at Darlington and Bristol before Mast got into the car. He finished 20th in his debut but then missed three of the next four races and ultimately had two top-10 finishes in 24 starts in the No. 14.
Hornaday missed four races this season and had seven top-15 starts. His only top-10 finish was ninth at Las Vegas.
Compton is quick to point out the parallels between Foyt Racing and his own Winston Cup career.
“We’re both in our third year of Winston Cup,” Compton said. “I don’t care who you are, when you enter your first year you just don’t have a clue about what goes into Winston Cup racing.
“During the second year you feel like you’ve gotten your feet wet, and you’ve got a feel for the tracks and how they react to sun and shade -- and that’s really your first year of experience. Then you come to where we are now, in the third year, and we’ll be going back to tracks where we’ve run 500-, 1000-plus miles. I feel like we’ll be ready to compete.”
Compton is optimistic about the elements that Foyt has put into place for the 2002 season.
“A.J. has put all the resources in place for us to be very competitive, from the in-house motor program to the personnel that are in place, to the way the Busch Series team will be able to work with the Winston Cup team.”
Foyt’s son Larry will once again compete in the full Busch Series from the same facility that houses the Winston Cup operation. In his 2001 rookie season, Foyt made 32 starts in the Busch Series and finished 22nd in points after recording a best finish of 12th, at Talladega Superspeedway.
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