The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

NASCAR LIVE DRIVER Q&A

Every week we will sit down with a driver for a little Q & A session. I'm your host Eli Gold and this week's driver is the driver of the #83 Ford for Fulton Motorsports Steve Fulton.

ELI GOLD : Steve, you just finished 5th in the Busch Clash filling in for DW. How was that experience?

STEVE FULTON : Thanks for having me on the show Eli, it's an honor to be here. Um, I am still pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. Last year at this time I was in the shop back home working on a late model watching the Busch Clash on TV. The experience was awesome and I am ever grateful to Darrell Waltrip for giving me that opportunity.

ELI GOLD : You got out front for a lap and hung in the top-5 most of the race. Did you ever think you could have won that race?

STEVE FULTON : DW's car was driving good and I was just working the draft and lucked up to get to the point but when I saw Dale coming to pass I won't lie that I felt intimidated seeing that black car in the mirror. Once he got past I was content on riding behind the man but when that white flag flew I just had to give it a shot and go for the W. It cost me a few spots in the end but the reward for that risk would have been sweet.

ELI GOLD : DW announced he would definitely be back in the car for the 500. What is your team's outlook on the big race?

STEVE FULTON : I sure hate not being able to stay in that seat but it will be good to get back over to my team and focus on practice and qualifying. We haven't had any speed down here in winter testing or practice so we are looking for anything we can get. Our goal is to just make the race but right now it's not looking good but we have another practice session to work on things and you never know we may surprise ourselves.

ELI GOLD : Thanks for sitting down with me Steve, good luck this year and hopefully you can challenge for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award.

STEVE FULTON : It's been my pleasure Eli, I hope we can surprise some people this year. Thanks for having me.

Driver: Steve Fulton
Hometown: Belews Creek, NC
Experience: Rookie
Team: 83 | Ford | Fulton Motorsports

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

Daytona 500 at DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY®
Caution Flags: 5 (20 laps)
Lead Changes: 33 (19 drivers)
Weather: Clear, 57 °F, North 14 mph

1997 Daytona 500 Race Results
POS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	START	LED	PTS	BONUS
1	Ricky Rudd	10	100	22	16	180	5
2	Dale Earnhardt	3	100	13	2	175	5
3	Rick Mast	75	100	29	0	165	0
4	Chad Little	97	100	34	0	160	0
5	Michael Waltrip	21	100	11	1	160	5
6	Bobby Hamilton	43	100	39	0	150	0
7	Robert Pressley	29	100	35	10	151	5
8	Rusty Wallace	2	100	8	0	142	0
9	Jeff Gordon	24	100	15	1	143	5
10	Bobby Labonte	18	100	10	0	134	0
11	Jimmy Spencer	23	100	14	0	130	0
12	Derrike Cope	36	100	20	0	127	0
13	Sterling Marlin	4	100	9	20*	134	10
14	Terry Labonte	5	100	7	6	126	5
15	Brett Bodine	11	100	27	0	118	0
16	Mike Skinner (R)	31	100	30	0	115	0
17	Jeff Burton	99	100	5	1	117	5
18	Ernie Irvan	28	100	16	0	109	0
19	Ted Musgrave	16	100	6	0	106	5
20	Geoff Bodine	7	100	25	10	108	5
21	Morgan Shepherd	1	100	33	0	100	0
22	John Andretti	98	100	24	0	97	0
23	Kyle Petty	44	100	12	0	94	0
24	Johnny Benson	30	100	21	2	96	5
25	Steve Grissom	41	100	2	0	88	0
26	Mark Martin	6	100	1	8	90	5
27	Jeremy Mayfield	37	100	19	1	87	5
28	Ricky Craven	25	100	17	5	84	5
29	Lake Speed	9	100	36	1	81	5
30	Bill Elliott	94	100	3	8	78	5
31	Robby Gordon (R)	40	100	43	4	75	5
32	Ken Schrader	33	100	26	0	67	0
33	Bobby Hillin	77	100	31	0	64	0
34	Joe Nemechek	42	100	28	0	61	0
35	Dick Trickle	90	100	38	0	58	0
36	Dave Marcis	71	100	42	2	60	5
37	Larry Pearson (R)	15	100	41	0	52	0
38	Steve Fulton (R)	83	99	40	1	54	5
39	Dale Jarrett	88	99	4	0	46	0
40	Ward Burton	22	99	18	0	43	0
41	Kenny Wallace	81	99	37	0	40	0
42	David Green (R)	96	99	32	0	37	0
43	Darrell Waltrip	17	99	23	1	39	5

DID NOT QUALIFY
8 | Hut Stricklin
35 | Todd Bodine

RICKY RUDD WINS SEASON OPENER IN DAYTONA BEACH, FL

Daytona Beach, FL | Race 1/32

Ricky Rudd took the checkered flag and captured his first ever Daytona 500 trophy. He edged out Dale Earnhardt who again comes up empty in The Great American Race. Sterling Marlin dominated the early running before green flag pitstops and cautions shuffled him back to a 13th place finish.

Mike Skinner came home 16th as the highest finishing rookie. Eli Gold will have more with your winner Ricky Rudd on NASCAR Live this Tuesday night at 9pm. We will see you in Rockingham for the GM Goodwrench 400.

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

NASCAR LIVE DRIVER Q&A :

Eli Gold: Welcome to the program Ricky, Congratulations on your win Sunday.

Ricky Rudd: Thanks Eli, it doesn't get any better than that. I've been coming to Daytona since the 70's and finally pulled it off.

Eli Gold: You also have a streak of 14 straight seasons with at least one win. I bet it feels good to get that win out of the way early on.

Ricky Rudd: Yeah it does. There was one season we didn't get a win until the last week. Hopefully this is just the first of many wins this year and we can contend for that championship.

Eli Gold: Do you think you have a good shot at the title?

Ricky Rudd: I think I have a good shot at it. We ran 6th in points last year so we just need a little more consistency and we should be right there with them guys when we get to Atlanta in the fall. The day I don't think we have a shot to win the title anymore is the day I need to ride off into the sunset. Thats the goal of my team each and every year.

Eli Gold: Well, we wish you the best of luck the rest of the way Ricky, congrats again on winning the 500 and we hope to talk to you again soon.

Ricky Rudd: Thanks again Eli, I hope we are doing a championship interview in November!

Driver: Ricky Rudd
Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Experience: 21st Season | 18 Career Wins
Team: #10 | Tide | Ford | Rudd Performance Motorsports

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

FULTON MOTORSPORTS WEEKLY RECAP

Daytona Beach, Florida | Race 1/32

Finsihing in 5th in the Busch Clash was a great run but we weren't in our team car. It still showed we could run with the big boys given the equipment. It also gave us confidence as we tried to qualify for the DAYTONA 500.

We were 14th in the first practice in the draft but we were still looking to pick things up in our qualifying trim if we wanted to have a shot to make the field. We have no points from last year to fall back on these first five races so it is goal #1 to just make the race.

We ended up qualifying 40th and although that is not good for us it was a win. We were in the show and that was a success for us. Now we knew we had a car that could handle in the draft and showed that with the 4th quickest time in final practice. We were really confident going into the 500 and eager to get a good run.

The race was going great we had worked our way up to the top-10 by the halfway point. We stayed in the top-10 until green flag pit stops started about lap 70. We stayed out to get a lap led and then got caught up in someones wreck just after our pit stop causing us to lose a lap. We didn't have enough time to get the lap back and limped home to a disappointing 38th place finish.

All in all it was a good week as we made the show, but once you get up to the top-10 you feel bad when things fall apart. Oh well, on to Rockingham.

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

GM Goodwrench 400 at NORTH CAROLINA SPEEDWAY®
Caution Flags: 4 (16 laps)
Lead Changes: 7 (6 drivers)
Weather: Cloudy, 51 °F, North 10 mph

1997 GM Goodwrench 400 Race Results
POS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	START	LED	PTS	BONUS
1	Johnny Benson	30	197	4	97*	185	10
2	Jeff Burton	99	197	6	1	175	5
3	Rusty Wallace	2	197	8	0	165	0
4	Dale Jarrett	88	197	2	0	160	0
5	Ernie Irvan	28	197	9	0	155	0
6	Bill Elliott	94	197	12	0	150	0
7	Ricky Craven	25	197	15	0	146	0
8	Mark Martin	6	197	3	1	147	5
9	Jimmy Spencer	23	197	17	0	138	0
10	Derrike Cope	36	197	27	21	139	5
11	Ricky Rudd	10	197	21	0	130	0
12	Michael Waltrip	21	197	22	0	127	0
13	Ken Schrader	33	197	11	0	124	0
14	Sterling Marlin	4	197	16	0	121	0
15	Ted Musgrave	16	197	10	0	118	0
16	Steve Grissom	41	197	20	0	115	0
17	Ward Burton	22	197	25	0	112	0
18	Kyle Petty	44	197	19	0	109	0
19	Joe Nemechek	42	197	29	0	106	0
20	Bobby Labonte	18	- 1L	14	0	103	0
21	Brett Bodine	11	- 1L	24	0	100	0
22	Bobby Hamilton	43	- 1L	30	0	97	0
23	Darrell Waltrip	17	- 1L	26	0	94	0
24	Robert Pressley	29	- 1L	36	0	91	0
25	Dale Earnhardt	3	- 1L	5	0	88	0
26	Larry Pearson (R)	15	- 1L	40	0	85	0
27	Dick Trickle	90	- 1L	38	0	82	0
28	John Andretti	98	- 1L	23	0	79	0
29	Robby Gordon (R)	40	- 1L	35	0	76	0
30	Jeff Gordon	24	- 1L	1	75	78	5
31	Rick Mast	75	- 1L	32	0	70	0
32	Jeremy Mayfield	37	- 1L	18	0	67	0
33	Dave Marcis	71	- 1L	42	0	64	0
34	Lake Speed	9	- 1L	43	0	61	0
35	Chad Little	97	- 1L	34	0	58	0
36	Todd Bodine	35	- 1L	37	0	55	0
37	Terry Labonte	5	- 1L	7	2	57	5
38	Kenny Wallace	81	- 1L	41	0	49	0
39	Mike Skinner (R)	31	- 2L	28	0	46	0
40	David Green (R)	96	- 3L	39	0	43	0
41	Bobby Hillin	77	- 6L	31	0	40	0
42	Steve Fulton (R)	83	- 6L	33	0	37	0
43	Geoff Bodine	7	DNF	13	0	34	0

DID NOT QUALIFY
1 | Morgan Shepherd
8 | Hut Stricklin

JOHNNY BENSON WINS GM GOODWRENCH 400

Rockingham, NC | Race 2/32

With Daytona in the rearview mirror the NASCAR Winston Cup teams rolled into Rockingham, NC for the GM Goodwrench 400. Jeff Gordon captured the pole with Dale Jarrett starting alongside. Gordon led most of the early part of the race but got trapped a lap down when the first caution flew during green flag pitstops.

Derrike Cope paced the field for a stretch in the middle of the race but a bad pit stop shuffled him back and Johnny Benson dominated the last half of the race taking the lead for good with 97 to go. The 1996 Rookie of the Year is looking like he has what it takes to have a long career here in the Winston Cup Series.

The top rookie finisher was Larry Pearson who drives the 15 car for Bud Moore Engineering. Only one car failed to finish and that was the 7 of Geoff Bodine who retired with an undisclosed engine problem. Next up is the short track in Richmond, VA for the Pontiac Excitement 400. Don't forget to check out Eli Gold with NASCAR Live every Tuesday at 9pm on MRN Radio.

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

NASCAR LIVE DRIVER Q&A :

Eli Gold : Tonight's guest on the show is the driver of the Pennziol Pontiac, Johnny Benson. Congratulations on your first career win Johnny, how are you feeling about it?

Johnny Benson : Thanks for having me Eli. I'm feeling accomplished right now. We have a good team and some good resources for success and when you put it all together on Sunday it feels incredible.

Eli Gold : Jeff Gordon looked strong early on but you really dominated the 2nd half of that race. This wasn't just a fluke, you led the most laps and won by a big margin.

Johnny Benson : Yeah, luck is a factor in this thing sometimes. If Jeff hadn't had his problems we would probably have run 2nd to him but thats why we run the race and never give up. Our car was fast right off the truck and we qualified 4th so we like to think we were meant to be up there.

Eli Gold : You won Rookie of the Year honors last year and now are a winner in the Winston Cup Series. Any advice to the 1997 rookie class?

Johnny Benson : Just keep working at it. We started off rough last season and even missed a race early on. But we kept going and found some success late in the year and finished 21st in the points.

Eli Gold : Thanks for tuning in this week everyone. Remember we are here on MRN radio every Tuesday with a new driver to spotlight so be sure to tune in and we will see you in Richmond.

Driver: Johnny Benson
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Experience: 1 Year | 1996 Rookie of the Year
Team: 30 | Pennzoil | Pontiac | Bahari Racing

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

FULTON MOTORSPORTS WEEKLY RECAP

Rockingham, North Carolina | 2/32

Knowing that we had to qualify to get in we spent first practice strictly on qualifying trim. Although it's hard on this game to get a clean track for your mock qualifying run we were able to put down a good lap for us that ranked 36th overall and would put us in the race if we could back it up in qualifying.

We really drove hard in qualifying and picked it up slightly from practice and were able to get a 33rd place starting spot for the race Sunday. Final practice we used for race trim and we were just slow as can be and had the 40th best time in Happy Hour. Looked like it was going to be a long race.

We started off pretty good in the race and was running in the top-30 up until the tires fell off and we dropped like a rock...at The Rock. A caution was going to help us gain some positions but we got black flagged for passing under the yellow and had to serve a penalty under green. That put us down 3 laps and from there it was just try and stay out of everyones way. I guess the only positive is we didn't finish last, thanks Geoff Bodine!

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

Couple of tough results for Steve driving his own car, but as you said it'll be a grind this first season for him. Nice to see him have success in DW's #17 during the Busch Clash though, shows that he's a talented driver and just needs the equipment.

Ricky Rudd winning the 500 and then Johnny Benson winning in the #30 is wild, I love it! Also loving the winners' interviews with Eli Gold following the race.

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

Couple of tough results for Steve driving his own car, but as you said it'll be a grind this first season for him. Nice to see him have success in DW's #17 during the Busch Clash though, shows that he's a talented driver and just needs the equipment.

Ricky Rudd winning the 500 and then Johnny Benson winning in the #30 is wild, I love it! Also loving the winners' interviews with Eli Gold following the race.

Yeah, the first year is going to be rough just making every race. I like having the pressure of qualifying for the race. As for the Eli Gold bits, I enjoy doing that kind of thing so I'm glad you enjoyed it. It will be different drivers each week once we have someone get mulitple wins. That way nearly all the drivers get a "bio" and "air-time".

I will add in the points standings every 4 races to keep everyone up to date on the points.

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

Pontiac Excitement 400 at RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY™
Caution Flags: 3 (12 laps)
Lead Changes: 4 (2 drivers)
Weather: Clear, 85 °F, South 1 mph

1997 Pontiac Excitement 400 Race Results
POS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	START	LED	PTS	BONUS
1	Bobby Labonte	18	200	1	94	180	5
2	Rusty Wallace	2	200	3	106*	180	10
3	Terry Labonte	5	200	7	0	165	5
4	Bill Elliott	94	200	8	0	160	0
5	Ernie Irvan	28	200	15	0	155	0
6	Ted Musgrave	16	200	21	0	150	0
7	John Andretti	98	200	29	0	146	0
8	Jeff Burton	99	200	2	0	142	0
9	Jimmy Spencer	23	200	23	0	138	0
10	Ward Burton	22	200	19	0	134	0
11	Dale Jarrett	88	200	11	0	130	0
12	Mark Martin	6	200	6	0	127	0
13	Kyle Petty	44	200	10	0	124	0
14	Steve Grissom	41	200	17	0	121	0
15	Geoff Bodine	7	- 1L	18	0	118	0
16	Michael Waltrip	21	- 1L	9	0	115	0
17	Derrike Cope	36	- 1L	25	0	112	0
18	Sterling Marlin	4	- 1L	24	0	109	0
19	Darrell Waltrip	17	- 1L	27	0	106	0
20	Ricky Rudd	10	- 1L	20	0	103	0
21	Bobby Hamilton	43	- 1L	31	0	100	0
22	Dale Earnhardt	3	- 1L	5	0	97	0
23	Mike Skinner (R)	31	- 1L	28	0	94	0
24	Jeremy Mayfield	37	- 1L	14	0	91	0
25	Robert Pressley	29	- 1L	39	0	88	0
26	Rick Mast	75	- 1L	33	0	85	0
27	Jeff Gordon	24	- 1L	4	0	82	0
28	Chad Little	97	- 1L	35	0	79	0
29	Brett Bodine	11	- 1L	22	0	76	0
30	Johnny Benson	30	- 1L	16	0	73	0
31	Dave Marcis	71	- 1L	37	0	70	0
32	Joe Nemechek	42	- 1L	26	0	67	0
33	Robby Gordon (R)	40	- 2L	36	0	64	0
34	Morgan Shepherd	1	- 2L	38	0	61	0
35	Todd Bodine	35	- 2L	32	0	58	0
36	David Green (R)	96	- 2L	30	0	55	0
37	Kenny Wallace	81	- 2L	34	0	52	0
38	Ricky Craven	25	- 4L	13	0	49	0
39	Ken Schrader	33	DNF	12	0	46	0

DID NOT QUALIFY
8 | Hut Stricklin
9 | Lake Speed
15 | Larry Pearson (R)
77 | Bobby Hillin
83 | Steve Fulton (R)
90 | Dick Trickle

BOBBY LABONTE WINS AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series visited it's first short track of the season. Bobby Labonte won the pole and the race that was dominated by him and Rusty Wallace. Bobby was able to pull away late to get his first victory on the young season.

Mike Skinner was the top finishing rookie with his 23rd place finish while Ken Schrader was the only car in the garage area at the end. Next week the pace picks up again as we head to the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway where the test speeds were faster than Daytona and Talladega! Should be an interesting weekend of racing, see you there!

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

NASCAR LIVE DRIVER Q&A

Eli Gold : Welcome to this episode of NASCAR Live. Tonight's guest is fresh off his win in the Pontiac Excitement 400 and he is the driver of the Joe Gibbs Pontiac, Mr. Bobby Labonte. Nice to get that win for Pontiac I bet?

Bobby Labonte : Yes, it's always good when you can get your brand a win in their sponsored event. The Pontiacs have come out fast this year, with us and Johnny each getting wins. We have been playing catch up to the Ford's and Chevy's for years so it's good to come out strong.

Eli Gold : Your brother won the title last year, is it your turn?

Bobby Labonte : Too early to tell, but we have the equipment to do it that's for sure. If we can stay on the good side of luck then we have as good a shot as anyone in the garage area.

Eli Gold : This weekend we are heading to Atlanta where you won last fall. Might we see back to back wins?

Bobby Labonte : Well, if we were going back to the same track I would be more optimistic but they reconfigured that place and we are all going in as rookies this weekend. We tested a little this winter there and I will say it is FAST. Should be interesting to see who gets the first win at the "new" Atlanta.

Eli Gold : You heard it here folks, you need to tune in this Sunday for the Primestar 500 at Atlanta. New configuration and lots of speed are on the menu. See you there, thanks for tuning in to NASCAR Live.

Driver: Bobby Labonte
Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX
Experience: 5th Season | 1991 Busch Series Champion
Team: 18 | Interstate Batteries | Pontiac | Joe Gibbs Racing

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

FULTON MOTORSPORTS WEEKLY RECAP

Richmond, Virginia | Race 3/32

When we started practice we were dead last on speed. We were able to post a time good enough to get us into the race in practice. We just needed to execute in qualifying because there was no room for error and with no points to fall back on it's a pressure cooker.

My plan on qualifying is usually lay down a "safe" lap on the first lap to get heat in the tires and then put down the "money" lap on lap 2. It worked well in Rockingham because I was able to execute. I goofed at Richmond. I overdrove turn 1 and had no chance of getting back to the time needed and did not qualify.

Part of me wanted to restart the session but I'm riding this one out. Just know I should have been in that race. The next 3 races are at tracks I'm not too confident in Atlanta, Darlington and Texas so I was needing this race to get some points for us. We have some tracks this year where we can run good so we have to capitalize on those tracks. I feel Richmond was one of those but I messed up the lap.

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

Primestar 500 at ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Caution Flags: 1 (4 laps)
Lead Changes: 7 (5 drivers)
Weather: Clear, 54 °F, North 2 mph

1997 Primestar 500 Race Results
POS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	START	LED	PTS	BONUS
1	Jeff Gordon	24	164	1	86*	185	10
2	Mark Martin	6	164	5	17	175	5
3	Dale Jarrett	88	164	3	57	170	5
4	Terry Labonte	5	164	2	0	160	0
5	Jeff Burton	99	164	7	0	155	0
6	Rusty Wallace	2	164	10	0	150	0
7	Ken Schrader	33	164	4	0	146	0
8	Ted Musgrave	16	164	9	2	147	5
9	Ricky Rudd	10	164	22	0	138	0
10	Michael Waltrip	21	164	21	0	134	0
11	Johnny Benson	30	164	20	0	130	0
12	Ricky Craven	25	164	19	0	127	0
13	Kyle Petty	44	164	8	0	124	0
14	Dale Earnhardt	3	164	11	0	121	0
15	Geoff Bodine	7	164	14	0	118	0
16	John Andretti	98	164	6	0	115	0
17	Derrike Cope	36	164	23	0	112	0
18	Bill Elliott	94	164	18	0	109	0
19	Mike Skinner (R)	31	164	29	0	106	0
20	Bobby Labonte	18	164	15	0	103	0
21	Ward Burton	22	164	24	0	100	0
22	Sterling Marlin	4	164	27	0	97	0
23	Jeremy Mayfield	37	164	12	0	94	0
24	Darrell Waltrip	17	- 1L	17	0	91	0
25	Ernie Irvan	13	- 1L	13	2	93	5
26	Morgan Shepherd	1	- 1L	33	0	85	0
27	Brett Bodine	11	- 1L	25	0	82	0
28	Hut Stricklin	8	- 1L	39	0	79	0
29	Larry Pearson (R)	15	- 1L	31	0	76	0
30	Kenny Wallace	81	- 1L	41	0	73	0
31	Chad Little	97	- 1L	36	0	70	0
32	Rick Mast	75	- 1L	32	0	67	0
33	Dick Trickle	90	- 1L	40	0	64	0
34	Bobby Hillin	77	- 1L	38	0	61	0
35	Todd Bodine	35	- 1L	34	0	58	0
36	Bobby Hamilton	43	- 1L	28	0	55	0
37	Dave Marcis	71	- 2L	37	0	52	0
38	Robby Gordon (R)	40	- 2L	42	0	49	0
39	Joe Nemechek	42	- 2L	30	0	46	0
40	Steve Grissom	41	- 2L	16	0	43	0
41	Robert Pressley	29	- 2L	35	0	40	0
42	Jimmy Spencer	23	- 2L	26	0	37	0

DID NOT QUALIFY
9 | Lake Speed
83 | Steve Fulton (R)
96 | David Green (R)

JEFF GORDON WINS AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Atlanta, GA | Race 4/32

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series rolled into Atlanta Motor Speedway with uncertain expectations with the new configuration. The fans were treated to great racing and blazing speeds. Jeff Gordon broke through after a rough start to the 1997 season edging out Mark Martin to claim the Primestar 500 trophy.

Mike Skinner was your top finishing rookie for the 3rd time in 4 races this season. He is really putting some distance on the rest of the rookie competition as the others are just struggling to make the races.

There were no DNF's this week as everyone's engine was able to handle the load of near 200 mph speeds on this 1.5 mile track. Next week we head down to Darlington, SC for the Transouth Financial 400 at the Track Too Tough To Tame.

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Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

NASCAR LIVE DRIVER Q&A

Eli Gold: Good evening everyone, welcome to the show. Tonight we have Atlanta winner Jeff Gordon here to talk about his win. Jeff, it's been a rough start to the year. How does it feel to get that first win?

Jeff Gordon: Yeah Eli, we have really struggled this year with just some bad luck. Finally Sunday we were able to actually get the finish we deserved for having the best car. I feel like we had Rockingham won but just got caught a lap down and couldn't ever recover.

Eli Gold: You won the title in 1995 and were runner up last year. You were the pick to win the title coming into this year. Has the rough start affected your team?

Jeff Gordon: If you have to have bad luck you want it in February and not October. We have dug ourselves a hole this year but I am confident we can pull out of it. It's never fun playing catchup but we have the best team in that garage and we will keep our nose to the grindstone.

Eli Gold: Most of the fans have been booing you the last year or so. They seem to be enjoying your struggles in 1997.

Jeff Gordon: As long as they are making noise I'm doing something right. I hope they like the sight of the rainbow because they are going to see a lot of it this year!

Eli Gold: Alright folks! Jeff said he hears you and enjoys you no matter if you cheer or boo. Keep an eye out for him in Darlington as he always runs good there. See you next time!

Driver: Jeff Gordon
Hometown: Vallejo, CA
Experience: 5th Season | 1995 Champion
Team: 24 | Dupont | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports

[sgf83]

Re: The Career Of Steve Fulton(Nascar Racing 2002 Season) 2nd Attempt

#83 FULTON MOTORSPORTS WEEKLY RECAP

Atlanta, Georgia | Race 4/32

It was going to be tough making the show in Atlanta. My best setup could only put us 41st in the practice session. Good enough to get in but we were loose getting into the turns so we had little room for error. Kind of a theme for this year not having any room for mistakes.

Well, we ran a decent lap this time the speed just wasn't there and the computer drivers ran quicker than they practiced so we missed the show for the 2nd straight week. It's no fun watching, but I feared Atlanta and Texas would be tough for us. Darlington is a track I think I can qualify for but not confident in the race. After that is Bristol and I have it circled as a "good" track so I'm looking forward to that.