Park confirmed as Green's replacement at RCR.

The first silly season driver swap of the year has been completed with the news that ousted DEI driver Steve Park will take Jeff Green's place in the #30 AOL Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

The deal, which is for an undisclosed amount of time but which will probably extend to the end of the current season, will commence with next weekend's 'Winston Open' non-Championship event at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

"Steve is going to give the America Online team a fresh start going into the summer months of the season," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "He's a proven winner in Winston Cup and I know he has what it takes to work with Mike Beam (crew chief) and the rest of the AOL team to get the program headed in the right direction. I've talked with Kevin (Harvick) and Robby (Gordon) and they're both excited about him driving for RCR. "

Park's deal completes a roundabout week for both DEI and RCR, who released Park and 2000 Busch Series Champ Green from their rides after last Saturday's Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond. Green, who clashed with teammate Kevin Harvick and crew-chief Todd Berrier at Richmond, was released from the #30 America Online Chevrolet on Sunday but was announced as the interim replacement for Park in the #1 Pennzoil DEI Chevrolet when Park was released on Monday.

"America Online is committed to winning and we're proud to have Steve Park in the driver's seat," said Richard Taylor, Senior Vice President of Brand Promotions for America Online.

Park, 35, from East Northport New York, is in his fifth full season of NASCAR Winston Cup competition after making his series debut in 1997. Despite missing half of his rookie year recovering from injury and again missing the final part of 2001 and start of 2002 following a nasty Busch Series crash at Darlington, Park has two Winston Cup series victories, in August 2000 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and February 2001 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. In 105 races, Park has 11 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes, and accumulated more than $10 million in earnings. His highest finish in the point standings came in 2000 when he finished 11th.

"To have the opportunity to drive for RCR and America Online is exciting," said Park. "A mentor like Richard and a change of scenery is something I'm really looking forward to. I'm lucky to have a primary sponsor like AOL with their marketing power behind me. My goal is to build consistency and to revitalize the AOL/RCR NASCAR Winston Cup program so we can finish the season on a high note."

In his only full season in the NASCAR Busch Series, in 1997, Park earned three victories, rookie-of-the-year honours, and finished third in the point standings. He also has more than two dozen victories in the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series and the NASCAR Busch North Series.