Conversation: Steve Park

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In a NASCAR career that has seen him visit the highest of highs and the verge of the abyss of death, this week for driver Steve Park touched two wide limits.

	Steve Park

On Monday, in a meeting with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated executive vice president Ty Norris, Park discussed the prospects for his No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet. In the end, despite his status as DEI's first full-time Winston Cup driver, Park agreed that a change was in everyone's best interest.

One day later, the 35-year-old Park was called by Winston Cup team owner Richard Childress, who formerly employed Park's mentor, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. On Thursday, Park was announced as the driver of Richard Childress Racing's No. 30 AOL Chevrolet.

Park talked with NASCAR.com's Dave Rodman on Friday to discuss the struggle he's endured since he was nearly killed in a crash at Darlington Raceway in 2001, the shock of his release from DEI, his delight at becoming re-aligned within a racers' milieu and exactly what Dale Earnhardt's death meant to him.

Can you describe your range of emotions this last week?

I really don't think you can describe it. I think that range of emotions should be described over the last year and a half. You go from trying to make your comeback and really struggling. Then, you have to be in the media's eye to where you're possibly losing your job, losing your sponsor, not running good on the race track and that just weighs you down -- it beats you down.

Finally it comes to the point that you do lose your job and that you've reached the all-time low in the last year and a half. Then, to be picked up by RCR is huge. To have Richard Childress as a car owner behind you and AOL, a great sponsor is a whole different feeling of support.

It revitalizes your confidence to the point that you think maybe you're not as bad as you might be led to believe by people. I think the possibilities are unbelievable.

Do people in the grandstands or even people in the media have any clue what it's like to function, as it were, under a microscope?

	Steve Park and Michael Waltrip. Credit: Autostock

It's hard to say, because I'm not a media person. How you're judged is by your last performance and that's a business that I've been in for quite a long time. As I've said in the past, the only way to quiet the critics is by winning races and running good again.

I don't race to finish 18th -- I never did. I race cars to be in a position to win and to be competitive week in and week out. I think if your car is only capable of finishing 15th that's where you need to finish with it. But if it's capable of winning you had better win. I'm not going to be happy until we're competitive.

Did any doubt ever enter your mind about what you were doing, after you were fired?

Not really. The only doubt that crossed my mind was how to get back to winning races. You obviously can't do that sitting in the pits without a ride. I never doubted myself and my ability. I feel 100 percent. I've been through a lot in the last year and a half and I think people wondered if I came back too early or not.

I honestly feel that I didn't come back too early. I feel great and I'm working hard on getting back to the point that we can run competitively and win races. Then all of a sudden that door slammed shut (at DEI).

What was the time frame for the disconnection from DEI? Was it a surprise to you?

For me, it came out of the blue. There was no timeframe -- no performance that was required to keep your job. It was never like, 'You've got to finish in the top-15 the next 10 races to keep your job.' It was more like, 'Let's let this new team gel together and move forward and don't listen to what the media has to say and your job's secure with us.'

That's what we did, moved forward. We won the pole two weeks ago but in business, I guess sometimes change is needed in order to succeed. I guess they felt that a change was needed and now, I totally agree. At first, it caught me totally off guard, but with how it all ended up I'm thankful for the years I got to spend at DEI and now I am extremely looking forward to the time I'll have at RCR.

Everything happens for a reason, I'm a true believer in that and I totally feel God was looking out for me. As one door closed, another opened up and we're looking forward to taking advantage of it.

Ty and I met Monday night and it wasn't a heated argument. We talked about the performance of the team and what we needed to go forward and we agreed that parting ways was what we needed to do. We both knew a change was in order because obviously sticking together wasn't working out, especially the last two weeks.

They still haven't named a permanent replacement to drive the 1 car. Ron Fellows is going to run the road course races, so obviously they didn't have a plan in place at the time of my demise. Jeff Green is a friend of mine and I think he'll do a good job for them.

Did Richard Childress call you, or did you call him -- and how tough of a decision was it to accept RCR's offer?

	Credit: Autostock

I hate to say it, but I wanted to have a day without a job, if that makes sense. I was really honored that Richard called, and he and I talked about that, but when you think about it, it all transpired in a day.

You go from losing your job with DEI and one day later you get a call from Richard Childress. I just felt like I needed a day to figure out if this was really happening. I was just getting over the shock of losing one ride, but then I needed to get over the shock of getting called by Richard, so I just wanted to make sure it was the right decision for Steve Park and for all the parties involved.

If you think about it, I went to work for Dale Earnhardt five or six years ago and just that in itself is so positive. As it's gone downhill in the last year to this point, to be picked up now by Richard Childress, who used to own Dale Earnhardt's car, is just amazing to me. Just to have that leadership, that team and that sponsor all believing in what you can do is a credit to what they're all about.

How would you describe your previous relationship with Richard Childress?

	Credit: Autostock

I have the utmost respect for Richard. I got to meet him probably seven years ago. I almost went to work for him in the Truck Series when Mike Skinner was moving up to the Cup Series, and that's how I met Dale. Through that meeting I kinda bypassed the Truck Series and went right into the Busch Series with Dale Earnhardt.

Our relationship is long-standing and with everything we've been through I think it shows what kind of character Richard has. I think it's good for me because I've said in the past that if you did something right Richard will pat you on the back, but if you did something wrong he'll kick you in the pants if he has to.

To have that guidance, which is very similar to what I had with the late, great Dale Earnhardt -- well, in (Earnhardt's) absence I've just struggled for that. Dale actually took me from a young, aggressive driver from the Northeast and tutored me to become what you see today.

I actually lost my mentor when Dale passed away and now I feel like I'm getting that back by going to RCR, where I'll have Richard in my corner, to have a mentor back again. Richard has said to me, 'We don't need to go out and win the first race. We need to run competitive and finish in the top-15, then move up to the point where the wins will come.'

I think we see what he's done with Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon and I'm looking forward to the same thing. I'm looking forward to him being able to mentor me in every aspect that he's done in the past. I mean, he's even mentored Dale Earnhardt, so what better position could you be in?

Do you feel like the pressure at RCR will be no different than the pressure at DEI was?

	Credit: ASP

I think it will be totally different. Just from the standpoint of having Bobby Hutchens as the team manager and R.C. as the owner. Bobby used to race Modifieds just like I did and I've known him for a long time. I think with Richard and Bobby it's almost refreshing to have people like that in place that not only motivate the team from within, but also as mentors are able to pull you to the side and either pat you on the back or kick you in the butt.

I think if you're talking about parts of the race car, or aerodynamics, who better to understand that than Richard Childress and Bobby Hutchens? It's almost refreshing to be a part of that team and to have those kinds of people on your side. There's a lot of potential within the team to do great things so it's really different than what I've gone through in the last year. The last three days have been like a revitalization.

As far as pressure -- there wasn't any pressure from the race team. The pressure came from the media. They were really stuck on me losing my job. I commend them because they saw it coming a lot more than I did. I wouldn't put myself in that mindset, of losing my job. I just wanted to win poles and win races. I thought my job was secure because we were getting a new race team up and running with a new crew chief. We were trying to get it to gel and come together and we just never got that chance.

If getting back with real racers is so important, did some of the magic at DEI vanish when Dale Earnhardt was killed?

I think so. We've struggled since Dale's passing. We came out and won Rockingham, while Paul (Andrews) was still there. But slowly, with the demise of Paul and numerous people we had on the team leaving, we struggled. I got hurt and then came back and people that we did have were gone and I didn't know where they went.

They (DEI) stuck with me just as much as I stuck with them and Pennzoil was a great sponsor for me through it all. We were in a rebuilding process and (they) still are. Even though the sponsor is the same the whole team we had on that Pennzoil car was brand new -- from the crew chief all the way down. We knew we needed changes last year because we didn't have the people we needed to win. With that change we needed time to work it out, and things just weren't working out.

Being able to look back on it now, knowing how extremely happy I am to have landed where I landed, I can't think of things working out any better.

How do you anticipate coming out of the box with Mike Beam and the AOL guys?

We're looking to be optimistic. We're not going to sit here and say we're going to change teams and come out and win in Charlotte, but knowing that you have the support of a great owner and a sponsor, we just need to be competitive and we need to be consistent. We're 32nd in the points right now and we just need to get back up to where we need to be and to be competitive week-in and week-out.

Do you have anything to prove to anyone?

I think coming out and running competitively with Mike and the AOL team is the only statement I have to make. I don't blame the media for nothing. They've done their job and their homework and they probably saw it coming and I applaud them for that.

Now, our main focus is just to be competitive at first and we need to bring some continuity and competitiveness to that team. If that's 15th or 18th that's fine, because that's going to develop into top-10s, top-fives and the wins will come. We're not forced into that and there's no number we have to achieve to keep a job. We just need to be competitive, finish out this year and see what the long term brings.

Coming and going into rides is part of motorsports, but you had been with DEI for seven years. Is there any hurt involved in leaving?

I wish them the best. I had a lot of good years there, with wins and poles, and a lot of good times. I wouldn't trade any of them for nothing in the world. Now all I can do is look forward and looking forward with RCR and AOL looks awfully bright, if not brighter.