RUSTY WALLACE: "ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN" IN FINAL FOUR RACES
-Miller Lite Team Penske Driver Remains Optimistic Even Though He Is
Still 174 Points Out-

HAMPTON, Ga. (Oct. 23, 2002) Miller Lite Team Penske driver Rusty Wallace refuses to give up in the quest for his second NASCAR Winston Cup Championship, even though he finds himself fourth in points and trailing leader Tony Stewart by 174 points with only four races remaining entering this weekend's NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Anything can happen and I know that from experience probably better than anybody," said Wallace, who enters Atlanta 92 points behind second-place Jimmie Johnson and 51 behind third-place Mark Martin. "Just when I thought I'd seen it all from being involved in tight points battles before, we're right there in the middle of this thing this year and it's been the weirdest one of them all.

"Ever since Sterling (Marlin) lost the lead, it's been wacky to say the least," Wallace offered. "I mean (Tony) Stewart's been the only guy to hang on to the lead for any amount of time at all. We still think we have a shot at it because it continues to look like the guys up front keep on trying to give it away.

"When you look at what's been going on in the last few races, you have to continue to have in the back of your mind that anything can happen. Who'd have ever thought that the two points leaders would have taken each other out like they did in the Talladega race.even before the thing got started. That was bizarre to say the least. Things leveled off at Charlotte and all the points guys finished right there up front.

"But then at Martinsville last Sunday, if you'd told me that we could finish ninth and still have only one of the points guys (Johnson, who finished sixth) finish in front of us, I'd probably ask you what you'd been smokin'. As it turned out, ninth was good enough to gain points on all of them but one. And when you see somebody like (Jeff) Gordon start up there on the front row and see the kind of day he had on a track where tons of people thought he'd win, that just adds to my belief that anything can happen with four races left.

"Atlanta is one of those tracks where you never know what'll happen," said Wallace, whose career record at Atlanta includes two wins, eight top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and three pole positions. "When they reconfigured the place a few years back (for fall race of 1997), they made it lightning fast and things can happen so quickly there now. With the speeds we're running there now, you've pretty much gotta' be on the defense all race long. It's really easy to get caught up in somebody else's mess. I know the 20 and the 18 cars (Joe Gibbs Racing entries of Stewart and Bobby Labonte) have been super strong there in
recent years, but I also remember that they've both been hit by
mechanical problems there, too, so you just never know what to expect.

"We just hope we can get in a good qualifying lap and get a good spot on pit road," Wallace said. "Then we'll get out there and try to keep our nose clean and give it all we've got. What shakes down when it's all over could be very interesting. That surely is the way it's been going for this last quarter of the season.

"And to tell you the truth, it's gonna' be kinda' weird going to
Atlanta and it not be the final race of the season," Wallace concluded. "I'll never forget winning the championship there back in '89.but I'll also remember losing 'em there the way we did several years. Hopefully, our luck will take a good swing there with us still having three more races to go after Sunday."

Wallace started 38th, but battled back to a strong sixth-place finish in the spring Atlanta race. In last fall's NAPA 500, he started 27th and finished 12th. All of his Atlanta wins and poles came on the old track configuration. His fourth-place finish in the spring race of 1998 has been his strongest showing in the 10 races since the track received the facelift.

In Wallace's four previous seasons as a bonafide points contender, the scenarios looked like this for him with four races remaining: In 1988, he was second in the standings, trailing Bill Elliott by 109 points. He would go on to finish second to Elliott, losing the title by only 24 points. In 1989, he led Dale Earnhardt by 35 points. He would hang on to the lead and win his only championship to date by a mere 12 points over Earnhardt. In 1993, he trailed Earnhardt by 72 points with four races remaining and would lose the title to his friend and rival by 80
points after falling back as far as 126 points. In 1994, he was second in the standings with four events to go, trailing Earnhardt by 208 points. His 32nd-place finish in the Atlanta finale that year dropped him to third in the final rundown, allowing Mark Martin to take the runner-up spot behind Earnhardt. Wallace was 487 points behind Earnhardt.

This weekend's Atlanta schedule calls for practice on Friday from 3:20 p.m. until 5:20 p.m., with qualifying for all 43 starting positions set for 7:05 p.m. that evening. Saturday's schedule calls for practice from 9:30 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. and from 11:15 a.m. until 12:00 noon. Sunday's 500-mile, 325-lap race starts at 12:30 p.m. EDT.