Park Not Happy: Steve Park said Friday he is not a second-rate driver and will not be “strung along” by Dale Earnhardt Inc. or any other Winston Cup team. Park’s future at DEI has been clouded since his return to the series at Darlington, S.C., in March of this season. He suffered a serious head injury from a wreck in the BGN race at Darlington last September. “If they have ideas or Plan A of what they want and it don’t work out, I’m not going to be around for them to fall back on. If they decide I’m good for the team and we’re going to stick together and try to win races, then that’s fine,” Park said. Park said he is a “free agent” as far as next season goes. He said until June 15, DEI had the right of first refusal as far as signing a contract. Now, he is free to sign with DEI or another team. “They talked about a one-year deal. With a one-year deal, this time next year we’ll be in the same exact boat and that don’t interest me,” Park said. “Either I’m the driver and you have the confidence that I can get the job done, or get somebody else.” See full story at ThatsRacin.com and see A candid talk with driver Steve Park.(7-5-2002) UPDATE: Even though Pennzoil is coming back for another year as sponsor of the #1 car, driver Park’s future is still being evaluated. Park told the Associated Press Friday that he’s unhappy with his role at DEI.(Atlanta Journal Constitution)(7-6-2002)
