WALLACE & MILLER LITE TEAM PENSKE CARRY "BIG PICTURE" FOCUS
INTO THIS WEEKEND'S MBNA PLATINUM 400 AT DOVER DOWNS

DOVER, Del. (May 29, 2002) The way they figure it, Rusty Wallace and his Bill Wilburn-led Miller Lite Team Penske have the consistency part of the puzzle in place. It's leading laps and posting top-five finishes that are the immediate goals entering this weekend's MBNA Platinum 400, the 13th points race of the 2002 season.

"I'll tell you what, there are other teams out there that would do
cartwheels if they had anywhere near the consistency we've enjoyed so far," said first-year crew chief Wilburn of his team which is currently sixth in points entering Dover. "We think we've got finishing these things all figured out. Now we have to focus on getting up there in the top five. Leading laps is so important in the points end of the deal, too. If we'd been able to lead laps in just a couple more races, we'd be sitting third or fourth in the standings right now."

Wilburn is certainly correct with his assessment of his team's ability to finish races so far. The team has been running at the finish in all 12 races completed thus far. The team has finished on the lead lap in all but two races and has completed all but six of the possible laps (4,044 of 4,050) for an incredible 99.9 percent completion average. Only points leader Sterling Marlin has completed more laps than Wallace has.

Wallace has led laps in only two races this season, picking up a total of only 10 bonus points, less than any other competitor currently in the top 10. While he trails leader Marlin by 199 points, he is only 56 behind third-place Mark Martin and only 12 behind fourth-place Jeff Gordon.

At this point last season, Wallace had led in five races and led the most laps in two of those for a total of 35 bonus points. But, he had one DNF and only a 93.4 percent lap completion average. Two seasons ago he had a total of 40 bonus points after 12 races, but two DNFs hampered his points run and saw him with a 96.9 lap completion average.

"We're getting there, I honestly feel that we are," said Wallace, who has seven top-10 finishes entering Dover. "A bunch of these tracks we've run on, the setups have been so critical with the tires that a pound of air can mean so much. We have to step it up in our qualifying so we can be in a better position to lead laps. So far, it seems like we've had somebody starting up front that has a good handling car and he just takes off. Being up front and having that clean air just means everything in the world today."

"We're really proud of the consistency and pleased that the luck seems to have been on our side so far, too," Wilburn added. "We've been able to hang tough and stay on the lead lap and we've gotten some cautions when we really needed them most. But having the luck on your side is all part of it. Go back and look at how much having the luck on your side has played in winning the championships through the years."

Wallace's 36-race Dover career record sports three wins, 10 top-five finishes, 18 top-10 finishes and four pole positions. He started third in last June's Dover race and led early before a loose condition and loose lugnuts proved costly. He fell back to finish 21st, running three laps down at the end. In last fall's race, Wallace started 15th and fought a tight handling condition the entire race. He hung on to finish 11th, completing all 400 laps.

Friday's 1:30 p.m. single round of two-lap qualifying will establish
the 43-car starting field for Sunday's race. Saturday's final "happy hour" practice session is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. till 12:00 noon. Sunday's MBNA Platinum 400 features live broadcasts by FX-TV and MRN radio beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT.