Childress tabs Park for No. 30 car

ATLANTA (SI.com) -- Steve Park has been named the driver for Richard Childress Racing's No. 30 America Online Chevrolet.

Park will debut for RCR on May 17 in The Winston Open at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Park, who spent the past six seasons driving in the Winston Cup and Busch series for Dale Earnhardt Inc., was fired Tuesday by DEI. He replaces Jeff Green, who was dismissed by RCR on Monday, two days after arguing with car owner Richard Childress following a wreck with teammate Kevin Harvick.

Ironically, DEI hired Green on an interim basis after releasing Park.

"Steve is going to give the America Online team a fresh start going into the summer months of the season," Childress said Thursday. "He's a proven winner in Winston Cup and I know he has what it takes to work with [crew chief] Mike Beam and the rest of the AOL team to get the program headed in the right direction. I’ve talked with Kevin and Robby [Gordon] and they’re both excited about him driving for RCR."

Park, 35, is in his fifth full season of Winston Cup competition after making his series debut in 1997. He has two victories, 11 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes. His highest finish in the point standings came in 2000 when he finished 11th.

"To have the opportunity to drive for RCR and America Online is exciting," Park said. "A mentor like Richard and a change of scenery is something I'm really looking forward to. I’m lucky to have a primary sponsor like AOL with their marketing power behind me. My goal is to build consistency and to revitalize the AOL/RCR NASCAR Winston Cup program so we can finish the season on a high note."

Park has had a tumultuous two years since Earnhardt's 2001 death. Six months after Earnhardt was killed in a wreck during the Daytona 500, Park was seriously injured in an accident at Darlington.

Park bruised his brain and was sidelined seven months. After he returned to the No. 1 Chevrolet in March 2002, he struggled through poor performances while ignoring speculation he wasn't healthy enough to be back in the car.

DEI gave him a one-year contract extension to take him through this season, but there was speculation he wouldn't make it to the end of the deal. After winning the pole two weeks ago at California Speedway, Park blasted his critics.

"Amid all the media rumors about me losing my job ... our contract's up at the end of the year," he said. "I guarantee you I plan being in that car until the end of the year."

But he wrecked on the first lap and finished 41st. He also wrecked out of Saturday night's race in Richmond and is 33rd in the standings with just one top-10 finish.

Earnhardt put Park in the first Winston Cup car he fielded in 1998. He eventually expanded to a three-car operation, hiring son Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip, and made DEI one of the top teams in NASCAR.

 

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