BUSCH: Talladega: Stacy Compton preview

The Team: #59 Kingsford/Johnsonville Chevrolet, NASCAR Busch Grand National Series

The Race: Saturday, April 20, 2002 -- Talladega 300 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama -- 113 laps/300 miles

The Track: Billed as being the biggest, fastest and most competitive motorsports facility in the world, Talladega Superspeedway holds many of the NASCAR records for speed. The 2.66-mile, tri-oval track has 33 degrees banking in the turns, 18 degrees in the tri-oval and 2 degrees on the backstretch.

TV/Radio: FOX 2:00 pm ET / MRN 12:30 pm ET

Compton at Talladega: Compton does not have any starts at Talladega as a Busch Series driver, but has been there four times driving for Melling Racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Last year he captured two Bud Pole Awards at Talladega, with an 11th-place finish in the fall race.

Compton onTalladega: "Good equipment helped me win both Bud Pole Awards at Talladega last season. Good horsepower and a solid aerodynamic package make a huge difference at these superspeedways. RCR has given us motors that have proven to be very stout so far this year, and the #59 Kingsford/Johnsonville team has put together an aero package that is excellent. Daytona showed us what this car can do and we are looking forward to running it at Talladega."

Crew Chief's Comments: "We're taking the car we ran at Daytona in February. It was a top-five car at Daytona until a cut tire put us a lap down. I feel good about our aerodynamic and shock package, we will be giving Stacy a car that should be very competitive at Talladega." Steve Plattenberger

Last Year at Talladega: Mike McLaughlin in the No.20 Pontiac won last year's Busch race at Talladega with a 0.125 margin of victory over Jimmy Spencer. The Bud Pole Award went to Joe Nemechek. The race had five cautions for 23 of the 113-lap event. There were 13 lead changes among eight drivers.

Double Duty: In addition to his Busch Series ride, Compton is also running the full NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule in the No. 14 Conseco Pontiac owned by A.J. Foyt Racing. He had his best finish of the season last week at Martinsville finishing 18th.

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