Lepage Hopes to Rebound at The Rock
by John Phelps
After a disappointing weekend at Talladega, where an engine problem
sent the team to a 43rd place finish, the team is hoping
to rebound as the Winston Cup series visits North Carolina Speedway near
Rockingham. The 'Rock' will host the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400
on Sunday, October 22 and Kevin Lepage hopes to continue his recent strong
run of performances at tracks one mile or more in length.
North Carolina Speedway is a 1.017 mile oval with 22 degree banking
in turns one and two and 25 degree banking in turns three and four. The
track is well suited for Lepage's style and the team is bringing along
their most reliable car. JR #22 has seen action at the spring Rockingham
race as well as both Charlotte races and both Pocono races.
"This thing fits me," Lepage said. "It seems like they built this around me."
Even though Lepage seems like a natural for Rockingham, the team hasn't had the best of luck at the track. In the spring race, Lepage started 28th but battled with a car that never handled the way he would have liked. The team made adjustments to the car and got it dialed in but a questionable penalty by Nascar sent the team to the back of the field. The team never rebounded from that penalty and finished the race in 27th place.
"We haven't had good luck a couple of times at Rockingham," Lepage said.
"But those things were beyond our control and it's just a coincidence
that they both happened at Rockingham. We've had really strong and reliable
cars overall and I'm looking forward to this race. The racetrack really
challenges the driver. You have to understand what combination is going
to give you a car that will last the entire 400 miles. The track can be
demanding on the car and you have to have a setup that will keep you on
the lead lap and handling well enough to have a shot at the top five over
the last 10 laps."
With the season winding down, look for Bobby Labonte to try to extend his points lead as Dale Earnhardt tries to keep the pressure on. The Burton brothers; Ward and Jeff, have run up front at the Rock as have Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. The track qualifying record of 158.035 MPH was set last April by Rusty Wallace.
Practice for the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 gets underway Friday, October 20 at 10:00 AM EDT with first round qualifying to follow at 2:30. Qualifying coverage will be provided by many MRN Radio affiliates. The final Happy Hour practice session is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The field gets the green flag Sunday, October 22 at 12:30 PM; live coverage will be provided by TNN and MRN Radio.
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