Park expected to return at Darlington

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Officials from Dale Earnhardt, Inc., are expected to announce Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway that driver Steve Park will make his return to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series March 15 at Darlington Raceway.

Park, 34, who has been sidelined since suffering a head injury last Sept. 1 in a NASCAR Busch Series crash at Darlington, successfully completed a two-day test at Darlington Wednesday and turned laps “faster than he had ever run there,” according to a DEI spokesman.

After an intense period of therapy, Park returned to a race car when he tested a Legends Car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in January. After that, he progressed from testing his No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet at the half-mile Caraway Speedway in Asheville, N.C., then to Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval.

After posting impressing speeds there, he took part in a test by driver Kenny Wallace, who has substituted for him since he was injured, at Atlanta then did the whole Darlington test. Wallace, who signed a contract for the full season with DEI despite expecting Park to return at some point, attended the test at Darlington.

On Tuesday, Park clocked a best lap of 29.80 seconds, an average speed of 165.020 mph around the 1.366-mile oval. The best lap that day was rookie Jimmie Johnson’s 29.66 / 165.799 effort. That was well off Ward Burton’s Darlington’s Bud Pole Qualifying record of 28.295 / 173.797 set in 1996.

Wednesday, everyone improved and Park’s best lap was 29.17 seconds, 168.584 mph. Johnson was again the fastest at 29.15 / 168.670. Drivers Jeff Burton and Casey Atwood were slower than Johnson and Park on the final day of testing before next weekend’s Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.

In his last race at Darlington, one year ago, he qualified 13th and finished second to Dale Jarrett. He was injured in a freak accident during the South Carolina 200 when Larry Foyt struck him behind the driver’s door while the field was under caution.

Park suffered a deep brain bruise and was hospitalized for two days before beginning his recovery.

Park plans to be at AMS Sunday for the MBNA America 500. According to a team source, he has satisfied all concerns his doctors or NASCAR might have regarding his return to the cockpit.