Steve Park's Comeback By-Bethann Puderbaugh Check out ALL our sections and features here!! There is plenty to keep you busy on our main page! Steve Park's 2001 season is probably one he would like to forget. The year started out with the unexpected death of his car owner and friend Dale Earnhardt. The death of Dale touched so many, but the racing community went racing the very next week at Rockingham, because that was what Dale would have wanted. And as the racing community still mourned, Steve Park went onto win that race at the Rock. A fitting tribute to our fallen legend.......and an emotional win for everyone. All things considered, the season was going fairly well for Steve as he was in or hovering around the top 10 every week, until the horrific crash at Darlington. Steve was injured in the Busch Series race at Darlington last September when his car darted into Larry Foyt's path during a caution. Foyt, who was one lap down, was at accelerating to get to the front of the line of lapped cars when Park's car turned into his path. Foyt had nowhere to go. The result was a hard crash into the drivers side of Steve Park's car. The impact was scary and it took a while to get Steve out of the car. The emergency crews had to cut the roof off of the car to get him out and when they brought that blue tarp out I'll tell you what, I was scared out of my mind. Everyone knows that the blue tarp is a bad thing, meaning that the wreck is serious. Steve was taken directly to the Medical Helicopter which took him to the hospital. We were all relieved to hear the news that Steve was going to be ok, but the lingering affects of the crash were more serious than anyone expected, especially Steve. Steve suffered a bruise on the brain that caused blurred, double vision, and slurred/slow speech, that would keep him out of the car for a undertermined amount of time. Steve has had a slow recovery, but he will be back...he is adamant about it. Until Steve is ready to return, Kenny Wallace will be driving the #1 Pennzoil car. This has worked out well for both drivers. ..for Park it gives him the recovery time he needs, for Wallace this is the opportunity of a lifetime. With some of the best equipment on the Nascar circut, Kenny has a great opportunity before him... .a chance to show teams, sponsors, and the fans just how good a driver he really is. Its amazing what you can do with GOOD equipment. Park's recovery was slow, but it has gone very well, his eyesight is back to 95% and with glasses it is 100%. Steve's speech is still slurred/slowed, but with a little time he will be back to normal very soon. Steve is back behind the wheel of the race cars, but will he be back for Daytona? Nobody knows for sure, even Steve. If not it will be soon thereafter..we hope!!!!!! Steve is eager to get back, but doesn't want to rush it, he went out a winner and wants to come back one. He is, and always will be a Winner to me...I came to realize that even in Park never retured, never drove a car again, at least he is still here with us. We should all be thankful for that! So, I say to Steve..take your time, your true fans will stick with you through thick and thin, and we will wait as long as it takes. To anyone who wants to comment on this story or any other story at the site, you can contact me at Bethann@insidethepitbox.com Check out ALL our sections and features here!! There is plenty to keep you busy on our main page! (Editors Note:The views and opinions of our writers are just that, theirs. If you have comments, write to them. We take no responsibility for their articles... Do you blame us?) Article archives Return to the Main Page