Park had sustained a serious head injury in September 2001 at Darlington Raceway. With his racing future in doubt, Steve was given the opportunity to get back behind the wheel by Michael Gaughan, father of fellow Craftsman Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan. He was able to produce a 3rd place finish at Las Vegas last year, but a win eluded the team. Friday nights win brought Parks career full circle.
Park was in second place with 5 laps to go when leader Mike Bliss suddenly slowed. A former series champion, Bliss was filling in for another former series winner Mike Sprague who had broke his heel in an accident at home. Sprague started the race from that back of the field after Bliss had qualified the truck. After a caution on lap 4, Sprague was carried from the truck as Bliss strapped in. Re-starting from the back of the field, Mike Bliss had worked himself to the front of the field in a dominating fashion. He was leading with 5 to go when the engine sputtered to a stop, out of gas.
Park took over the lead with a full 2 second lead over 2nd place Bobby Hamilton and went on to take the checkered flag.
FINISHING ORDER
1 25 #62 Steve Park Dodge Jasper Engines & Transmissions 185/5 100 Running
2 18 #04 Bobby Hamilton Dodge Bailey's 170/0 100 Running
3 22 #99 Ricky Craven Ford Superchips 165/0 100 Running
4 7 #50 Todd Kluever * Ford Shell ROTELLA T 160/0 100 Running
5 16 #1 Ted Musgrave Dodge Mopar 155/0 100 Running
6 10 #88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet Menards 150/0 100 Running
7 6 #2 Jimmy Spencer Dodge Team ASE 146/0 100 Running
8 13 #6 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 147/5 100 Running
9 4 #12 Robert Huffman Toyota Toyota Tundra 138/0 100 Running
10 17 #46 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet Chevrolet Silverado 134/0 100 Running
11 28 #4 Casey Atwood Dodge Bailey's 130/0 100 Running
12 8 #23 Johnny Benson Toyota TRD 132/5 100 Running
13 3 #17 David Reutimann Toyota NTN Bearings 124/0 100 Running
14 14 #14 Rick Crawford Ford Circle Bar Motel/RV Park 121/0 100 Running
15 9 #10 Terry Cook Ford Power Stroke Diesel 118/0 100 Running
16 12 #22 Bill Lester Toyota Rally's 115/0 100 Running
17 32 #15 Kerry Earnhardt * Chevrolet Kraft Foods/Stater Bros. 112/0 100 Running
18 1 #5 Mike Skinner Toyota Toyota Tundra 109/0 100 Running
19 33 #07 Sean Murphy * Chevrolet Auto Air Colors 106/0 100 Running
20 29 #8 Deborah Renshaw Dodge Easy Care Service Contracts 103/0 100 Running
21 21 #77 Brendan Gaughan Dodge American Racing Wheels 100/0 99 Running
22 11 #16 Jack Sprague Chevrolet Chevy Trucks 102/5 99 Running
23 5 #38 Brandon Whitt Toyota Cure Autism Now/McMillin Homes 94/0 99 Running
24 36 #59 Robert Pressley Dodge Lucas Oil/Harris Trucking 91/0 99 Running
25 34 #21 Mike Harmon Chevrolet Global Pigeon Supply 88/0 94 Running
26 30 #02 Kelly Sutton Chevrolet Team Copaxone 85/0 94 Running
27 2 #75 David Starr Chevrolet Spears Manufacturing 92/10 77 Accident
28 15 #30 Chad Chaffin Toyota Toyota Tundra 79/0 59 Engine
29 20 #18 Chase Montgomery Dodge Bobby Hamilton Racing 76/0 58 Running
30 23 #9 Shigeaki Hattori * Toyota AISIN / AISIN AW 73/0 41 Accident
31 31 #29 Brad Keselowski Ford SUBcrews.com 70/0 39 Running
32 24 #19 Regan Smith * Chevrolet Xpress Motorsports 67/0 37 Engine
33 19 #13 Tracy Hines Chevrolet ThorSport Racing 64/0 19 Engine
34 35 #24 Wayne Edwards Chevrolet Mighty Motorsports 61/0 11 Oil Leak
35 27 #08 Ken Weaver Chevrolet 1-800-4-A-Phone 58/0 3 Accident
36 26 #66 Todd Bodine Toyota BowTech Archery/Sportcoins.com 55/0 3 Accident
* Denotes Rookie
Steve Park takes the checkered flag in the American Racing Wheels 200