RUSTY WALLACE "REALLY IN HIS ELEMENT" ON SHORT TRACKS
-Miller Lite Team Penske Wants Win In Martinsville Short-Track Finale
For 2002-

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 15, 2002) ? Miller Lite Team Penske driver Rusty Wallace has been known for his prowess on short tracks, the facilities less than a mile in length, ever since he first climbed behind the wheel of a stock car back in 1973 at Lakehill Speedway near Valley Park, Mo. He is much aware that his most recent short-track win in NASCAR Winston Cup competition came at Bristol, Tenn., in August (26th) of 2000.

He is certainly not totally aware of all the figures. He can't tell
you the exact numbers. Wallace doesn't know that it has been 79 total races since his last short-track win. He doesn't fathom that 13 "bullring" events have passed since he has tasted victory on that type of track.

Amazingly, one person who does know all of those statistics is his crew chief, Bill Wilburn. Although Wilburn was not the crew chief during the last short-track win that came at Bristol two years ago -- he was the best front-tire changer in the business at that time -- he remembers the feeling of domination the team enjoyed in that race and longs to delight in it again.

"It's time for Rusty.for us as a team. to win again on the short
tracks," said Wilburn, the first-year leader of Wallace's team who is fast becoming known for his knack of working the "mental angles" involved in this sport. "In my mind, Rusty Wallace is the best short-track driver there's ever been in this series. He's kicked butt and taken names at every single one of these tracks. We're coming into Martinsville this weekend with the attitude and plan to do just that."

One of the biggest catalysts for Wilburn's special feeling about this weekend's Old Dominion 500 on the .526 mile Martinsville Speedway occurred at.of all places.the half-mile Greenville-Pickens Speedway, the South Carolina bullring whose history dates back to July 4, 1946 when the late Bill France Sr. promoted the first race there.

"We were there testing last week (Oct. 8) in preparation for the
Martinsville race and it just dawned on me," said Wilburn. "He could drive the place backwards, blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back and still beat 90 percent of 'em on a track like that.

"Then it struck me that, hey.he had done just that very thing at that very place.beat 'em right there I mean," Wilburn continued. "It seems like everybody in the garage area goes down to Greenville-Pickens to test or shake down their cars, but how many of 'em have ever really raced there. Not too many of them have, I think. Not only had Rusty raced there before, he kicked major butt there years ago when he was running the short-tracks, in ASA, ALL PRO and all. Rusty was so familiar with the place that he knew the track promoter (Tom Blackwell) on a first-name basis and even recognized the track sweeper guy. It was like a home to him and it was a really neat feeling.

"I said right then and there.'Hey, Rusty is really in his element right here'.so all that has really lit a second fire under us going into Martinsville," said Wilburn. "The deal at Bristol is still on his
mind.I know that even though he doesn't say anything about it. We were in second and closing in on the leader at Richmond when the tire went down.

"Those are two races.two short-track races.that Rusty coulda' been standing right there in Victory Lane.shoulda' won for sure," concluded Wilburn. "So this weekend at Martinsville, it's our last chance of the year to get us one. So you can rest assured that we're pumped up to the max for this one."

Wilburn's references are to the Aug. 24 Sharpie 500 on the .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway where Wallace had the lead and appeared on his way to a win when he was a "love-tap victim" by Jeff Gordon with just three laps to go and he finished second. At Richmond, Wallace was running second and closing in on leader Matt Kenseth when he cut down a right front tire with some 10 laps remaining in the race.

Even though Wallace prefers to expound on his career as being well rounded and encompassing wins on every size track, he certainly has been "success-heavy" on the smaller tracks.

Wallace joined the NASCAR Winston Cup tour full time in 1984. He had recorded more than 200 wins on the nation's short-tracks in the five-year period between 1974-1978 before competing in the USAC Stock Car Series in 1979. He won five races, the rookie-of-the-year title and finished runner-up in the points that season.

He barnstormed the short tracks across the country during the early 80s, winning races from California to Florida, including two ALL PRO Series (now NASCAR Hills Bros. All Pro Series) races on the Greenville-Pickens track. His short-track career culminated when he took the 1983 ASA (American Speed Association) Championship and then turned his focus to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1984.

Since joining the world's most prestigious stock car racing circuit, Wallace has competed in 141 total short-track races. He has won 24 (17 percent) of those races. He has scored 67 top-five finishes, 95 top-10 finishes and 14 pole positions along the way. He won five of eight short-track races in 1993 and finished second in the other three, a feat never matched in modern-day racing.

Wallace's Martinsville record boasts six wins, 15 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes and three poles in 37 races. His most recent pole came in the spring race of 2000 and his last race win there came in the spring event of 1996.

This weekend's schedule calls for practice on Friday from 11:20 a.m. until 1:20 p.m. leading up to 3:05 p.m. qualifying for all 43 starting spots in Sunday's race. Saturday's final practice sessions are set from 11:15 a.m. until 12:00 noon and from 12:45 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. Sunday's 500-lap, 263-mile battle on the .526-mile short track, the smallest track on the circuit, has a 12:30 p.m. EDT starting time and features live coverage by NBC-TV and MRN Radio.