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HARRAH'S TEAM SURVIVES WRECK-FILLED RACE
 RICHMOND,
Va. - Larry Foyt and the No. 14 Foyt/Harrah's Racing team survived a
tumultuous race at Richmond International Raceway to finish 33rd in
a rain shortened Pontiac Excitement 400 Saturday night. Joe Nemechek
won the race.
The weekend got off to an unfortunate start on
Friday. Jerry Nadeau, driver of the No. 01 Go Army Pontiac, suffered
serious injuries after a single-car accident during the third
practice session. He is listed in stable but serious condition at
the Medical College of Virginia Hospital.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Jerry and his family," said Foyt.
"If he heals anything like he drives then I expect we'll see him at
the track soon."
After the green flag fell on Saturday night, the
racing action was intense but slowed down due to a race-record 15
cautions.
"It seemed like we were dodging accidents all night," said Foyt.
"Our car was really tight in the center of the corners and it slowed
us down in the early going.
 "We
worked on it during the first few rounds of pit stops and our lap
times really improved. We passed several cars, but then got turned
around on the front stretch and we tore up the rear end of the car.
That kind of ruined our night, but we were able to avoid the
remainder of the accidents and finish the race."
The NASCAR Winston Cup Series has the next weekend
off in honor of Mother's Day. The next event is The Winston All-Star
race on May 17 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North
Carolina. The festivities begin on FX and MRN Radio at 7:30 p.m.
EDT.
Notes & Quotes:
Records:
. Qualifying: 127.389 mph set by Ward Burton on 5/5/2002
. Race: 109.047 mph set by Dale Jarrett on 9/6/1997 (300 miles)
Fun Richmond Facts:
. RIR was reconfigured in 1988 from a half-mile track to its current
configuration.
. The 2003 season marks RIR's 50th anniversary of hosting NASCAR
events at the facility.
. Larry Foyt on Richmond:
 "There
is a reason everyone wishes more speedways like Richmond were
built...because it's fun! The track has two grooves and is wide
enough for us to race side-by-side lap after lap. Racing under the
lights just makes it even more exciting! "Aerodynamics don't
play a very important role at Richmond, but handling and braking are
crucial. The preferred line around the track is at the bottom, but
you'll see some guys making passes around the top. We tested there
before we went to California and it went really well, so the whole
team can't wait to get the car on the track!"
- Larry has competed three times at Richmond International Raceway
in the NASCAR Busch Series. His best finish was 18th in the spring
of 2002.
-A.J. Foyt Racing has had some good qualifying runs
at Richmond over the years with starts of fourth and 10th in the
fall races of 2000 and 2001, respectively. The team finished 12th in
the fall race last year.
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