WALLACE JUST WANTS TO LEAD "THE IMPORTANT" LAP AT POCONO
-First Pocono Race Featured Most Lead Changes Of All 2003 Non Restrictor-Plate Races To Date-

LONG POND, Pa (July 21, 2003) - It turns out that the Algonquins were right.

After all, it was that Native American group who named this area "Pocono" - their word for stream, gap or "pass" between mountains - and went on to give that little tidbit of information to William Penn's brethren some 350 years ago.

"Pass" certainly is an appropriate term in discussing last month's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. To date along the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup trail, it was that race among all non-restrictor-plate events that holds the distinction of having by far the most lead changes between the most drivers.

In the June 8 Pocono 500, there were 28 lead changes among 16 different drivers. That is five more lead changes than the second-highest race in that category (the March 9 Atlanta race that featured 23 lead changes among 10 drivers).

When this claim was brought to the attention of Miller Lite Team Penske Dodge driver Rusty Wallace, the four-time race winner and three-time pole winner at Pocono begged to differ with the additional meaning for the word left behind by the tree-eating tribe and bestowed upon the tricky triangular race track.

"Passes and lead changes are not necessarily the same thing and that is certainly the case this season," said Wallace, who won the fastest 500-mile NASCAR race ever run on the 2.5-mile triangular track when he averaged 144.892 mph in winning the July race of 1996. "I'm sure that a lot of those lead changes came when leaders pitted under green or teams stayed out under the yellow to gain track position. But that's still pretty impressive to see that many different lead changes and leaders at Pocono. There are so many different places that you can pass at Pocono. The layout is so unique and I just love racing there. You can pass by motoring on by them down that long straightaway. You can set 'em up and get by them entering and exiting the turns and you can use the low line through the tunnel turn and pick up spots.

"But things have really changed in this sport through the years and especially in the last year or so," continued Wallace, whose last Pocono pole came in June 2000 and last win at the track came in July 2000. "With the harder tires and the importance of the aero (-dynamic) package we have everywhere we go now, it's turning into a situation where track position and fuel mileage strategy is the big factor in winning most of these races. It used to be that we'd get out there every week and the team with the strongest car could lead the most laps, put a real spanking on the field and wind up in Victory Lane at the end of the day.

"Well that's not the case at all today it seems," Wallace offered. "Somebody just pointed out to me the other day that going into Loudon only four races had been won by the guy who led the most laps. I mean, my gosh, that's only four of 18 races - less than a quarter of all the races - (that figure is now only four of 19 races - 21 percent -- after Sunday's New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway). What that tells me is that the big majority of the races these days are being won by strategy in the pits. Guys are going for the track position and it's paying off big time. Look at what happened to us at Chicago. After a (miscue) in the pits, we were up there in third for a restart. We got by the 31 car (Robby Gordon) for second -- had the track position and the clean air - and turned in the fastest laps we ran all race long. We just pulled away from them and left all the guys with the fresher tires behind us. You never could have done that until the last year or so.

"The bottom line is that these days, you gotta' use whatever it takes to win these things and we're finally getting a grip on that fact," said Wallace. "Four tires, two tires, no tires, gas and go -- stretch the fuel mileage -- you name it. It's all about having the right strategy out there today. It's gotten to be next to impossible to lead most of the laps and win the race."

Pocono Raceway has historically played host to races with many lead changes. Wallace's track race speed record win in 1996 (which took 3 hours, 27 minutes and 3 seconds to complete) featured 23 lead changes among 12 drivers. His July 2000 win boasted 25 lead changes among 10 drivers. Interestingly, he did not lead the most laps in either race, but he did in the June 2000 race and could muster only a 10th-place finish.

So what's the strategy for Wallace and his bill Wilburn-led Penske Racing South Dodge Intrepid team going into this weekend's return visit to Pocono Raceway for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500?

"It'll be much of the same I think," Wallace offered. "Strategy and track position will be just as important as it has been all year long. We don't really care about leading the most laps. We just want to lead the most important lap - that last one."

And what about fuel mileage strategy?

"Yeah, you could see a team use fuel strategy and stretch it out to win the race this weekend at Pocono," said Wallace. "But that's a track that you definitely don't want to run out of gas on. Once you pass pit road and hit turn one, you're slap out screwed big time if you run out. If you do run out, that track is so big and so long that they'll have to send Lewis and Clark out to find you."

Wallace's overall career record on the 2.5-mile triangular-shaped Pennsylvania race track sports four wins, nine top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and three poles in 39 races.

This weekend's Pocono schedule calls for Friday practice from 11:20 a.m. until 1:20 p.m., followed by qualifying for all 43 starting spots at 3:00 p.m. The final "happy hour" practice session is set for Saturday from 11:15 a.m. until 12:00 noon. Sunday's 200-lap, 500-mile battle at Pocono begins at 1:00 p.m. and features live coverage by TNT-TV and MRN Radio.

-Rusty Wallace Career Track Records-
POCONO RACEWAY
(2.5 miles)

Date Event Car St Fn Laps $ Won Status
6/8/03 Pocono 500 Dodge 27 16 200/200 $84,957 Running

6/9/02 Pocono 500 Ford 5 9 200/200 89,315 Running
7/28/02 Pennsylvania 500 Ford 8 40 83/175 79,350 Suspension

6/17/01 Pocono 500 Ford 16 16 199/200 80,580 Running
7/29/01 Pennsylvania 500 Ford 22 6 200/200 88,555 Running

6/18/00 Pocono 500 Ford 1 10 200/200 76,690 Running
7/23/00 Pennsylvania 500 Ford 2 1 200/200 125,745 Running

6/20/99 Pocono 500 Ford 14 43 7/200 44,020 Crash
7/25/99 Pennsylvania 500 Ford 17 18 199/200 44,840 Running

6/21/98 Pocono 500 Ford 2 42 13/200 27,915 Engine
7/26/98 Pennsylvania 500 Ford 3 6 200/200 49,990 Running

6/8/97 Pocono 500 Ford 16 22 199/200 28,405 Running
7/20/97 Pennsylvania 500 Ford 39 37 174/200 27,575 Electrical

6/16/96 UAW-GM 500 Ford 19 31 153/200 34,085 Running
7/21/96 Miller 500 Ford 13 1 200/200 59,165 Running
6/11/95 UAW-GM 500 Ford 8 17 199/200 25,255 Running
7/16/95 MGD 500 Ford 22 16 200/200 30,480 Running
6/12/94 UAW-GM 500 Ford 1 1 200/200 84,525 Running
7/17/94 MGD 500 Ford 10 9 199/200 24,460 Running
6/13/93 Champion 500 Pontiac 10 39 4/200 14,285 Engine
7/18/93 MGD 500 Pontiac 18 2 200/200 35,145 Running
6/14/92 Champion 500 Pontiac 10 24 185/200 13,250 Running
7/19/92 MGD 500 Pontiac 19 18 199/200 13,690 Running
6/16/91 Champion 500 Pontiac 9 31 115/200 4,775 Engine
7/21/91 MGD 500 Pontiac 10 1 179/179 34,100 Running
6/17/90 Miller 500 Pontiac 8 2 200/200 37,307 Running
7/22/90 AC 500 Pontiac 8 3 200/200 30,000 Running
6/18/89 Miller 500 Pontiac 1 22 194/200 16,825 Running
7/23/89 AC 500 Pontiac 6 2 200/200 46,875 Running
6/19/88 Miller 500 Pontiac 17 3 200/200 26,500 Running
7/24/88 Summer 500 Pontiac 11 24 189/200 11,175 Running
6/14/87 Miller 500 Pontiac 17 40 14/200 9,525 Engine
7/19/87 Summer 500 Pontiac 14 14 197/200 12,765 Running
6/8/86 Van Scoy 500 Pontiac 7 6 200/200 13,825 Running
7/20/86 Summer 500 Pontiac 11 27 133/150 8,925 Engine
6/9/85 Van Scoy 500 Pontiac 21 13 197/200 9,575 Running
7/21/85 Summer 500 Pontiac 13 33 112/200 4,795 Engine
6/10/84 Van Scoy 500 Pontiac 15 17 197/200 6,530 Running
7/22/84 Like Cola 500 Pontiac 12 6 200/200 10,625 Running
Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Poles $$$$$
Pocono 500 20 1 3 6 3 $728,449
Pennsylvania 500 19 3 6 10 0 738,255

TOTAL 39 4 9 16 3 $1,466,704

Laps completion percentage: 6,539/7,704 = 84.9%

RUSTY WALLACE/MILLER LITE TEAM PENSKE
2003 RACE RECORD/CAREER STATISTICAL BRIEF

Race Race Name Start Finish Laps comp/ Times Led/
Date Location Pos. Pos. Poss. Laps Laps Led $$$ Won Status/Comment

2/16 Daytona 500 38 25 109/109 0/0 185,625 Running/PC-33 pitted late
Daytona Beach, Fla. for oil on windshield
2/23 Subway 400 8 6 393/393 4/182# 103,710 Running/PC-54 was the
Rockingham, N.C. toughest for 2/3rds race
3/2 UAW/Chrysler 400 25 40 174/267 0/0 92,300 Accident/PC-47 crashed Las Vegas, Nevada by No. 4 in turn 1
3/9 Bass Pro/MBNA 500 7 15 324/325 0/0 88,092 Running/PC-43 slapped
Hampton, Ga. wall racing for 5th
3/16 Carolina Dodge 400 13 16 291/293 0/0 83,827 Running/PC-29 tough, but
Darlington, S.C. caution put 2 laps down
3/23 Food City 500 4 14 498/500 1/5 99,882 Running/New PC-60 lost
Bristol, Tenn. 2 laps on green pit stop
3/30 Samsung/R. Shack 500 10 14 333/334 0/0 126,692 Running/PC-51 again
Justin, Texas bitten after green stop
4/6 Aaron's 499 31 37 12/188 0/0 101,567 Accident/PC-33 caught
Talladega, Ala. in lap 4crash/returned
4/13 Virginia 500 5 8 500/500 1/13 91,217 Running/PC-49 tough;
Martinsville, Va. Great stops, then bad
4/27 Auto Club 500 7 3 250/250 2/54 146,917 Running/PC-51 was in
Fontana, Calif. a position to win
5/3 Pontiac 400 17 10 392/392 0/0 91,942 Running/New PC-57
Richmond, Va. Came back from run-in
5/25 Coca-Cola 600 34 12 275/276 0/0 117,542 Running/PC-43 hampered
Concord, N.C. by lug problem & rain
6/1 MBNA Family 400 2 6 400/400 1/41 110,097 Running/PC-54 tough
Dover, Delaware but tick too tight
6/8 Pocono 500 27 16 200/200 0/0 84,957 Running/PC-34 tight
Long Pond, Pa. with no practice
6/15 Sirius 400 17 12 200/200 0/0 93,457 Running/PC-51 was
Brooklyn, Mich. loose most of race
6/22 Dodge/Save Mart 350 7 8 110/110 0/0 99,482 Run ning/PC-39 spun
Sonoma, Calif. Then used fuel mileage
7/5 Pepsi 400 38 28 159/160 0/0 102,592 Running/New PC-58
Daytona Beach, Fla. damaged on pit road
7/13 Tropicana 400 22 32 249/267 0/0 96,042 Running/PC-43 up to 2nd
Joliet, Ill. changed transmissions
7/20 New England 300 11 17 300/300 0/0 91,667 Running/PC-49 tight in
Loudon, N.H. fuel mileage battle

# led most laps

2003 Season Recap: (points events)
Races Led/
Times Led/
Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Laps Led Points Information
19 0 1 7 0 5/9/295 11th/2,198/-650 to 1st (#17)

Lap Completion Percentage 2002 Winnings Average Start: 17.0
5,169/5,464 = 94.6% $2,143,965 Average Finish: 16.8
DNFs: 2

Career Brief:

Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Career $$$ Won
617 54 190 315 36 $36,493,361