RUSTY WALLACE ON A COMPETITIVE TEAR; MILLER LITE TEAM PENSKE DODGE TEAM AMONG TOP THREE HOTTEST DURING LAST FIVE RACES

-Pocono Site Of Four Career Wins & Three Career Poles; Wilburn's 50th Race As Crew Chief-

LONG POND, Pa. (June 3, 2003) - Although it hasn't come with much hoopla, Miller Lite Team Penske Dodge driver Rusty Wallace just might have the hottest team in Winston Cup racing entering this weekend's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Since crashing out of the April 6 race at Talladega, Ala., Wallace and his Bill Wilburn-led team have been on a competitive tear, amassing four top-10 (other a 12th) finishes and a 7.8 average over the last five races. Wallace has zoomed 10 spots up the points ladder during that period, from 18th to eighth. He has completed all but one of the possible laps (1,817 of 1,818 - 99.9 percent) and has led laps in three of those five races.

Only Bobby Labonte (2.4 average) and Jeff Gordon (7.6 average) have better finishing averages during the period. Wallace has gained a total of 733 points during the five races and that is also topped only by Labonte's 865 points and Gordon's 747 points. Other average finishes/total points during that period among the current top 10 drivers: Matt Kenseth (9.4 average & 712 points, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12.8 average & 670 points), Kurt Busch (13.4 average & 652 points), Michael Waltrip (12.8 average & 637 points), Jimmie Johnson (16.6 average & 593 points), Kevin Harvick (18.2 average & 562 points) and Robby Gordon (15.6 average & 602 points).

"It hasn't been fancy and we haven't gotten the headlines, but we've been there up front each and every week," says crew chief Bill Wilburn, who enters this weekend's Pocono race still looking for his first victory as the team leader after 49 races in that position. "They pointed out that this weekend will be my 50th race as the crew chief and we're still after our first win, but my outlook is that if you keep on knocking on that door long enough, you're gonna' knock it down sooner or later.

"We've been right there as a serious threat every week since the Talladega deal (crashed out after 12 laps and finished 37th) and you really can't ask for much more than that," offered Wilburn, whose driver Wallace enters Pocono riding a 75-race winless streak. "Rusty's been really up on the wheel in qualifying and especially on race day. He's definitely not lying down and can and will win races this season. Don't look now, but we've been slowly nipping at 'em bit by bit in the points deal, too.

"The guys had a bad day in the pits at Charlotte (Lowe's Motor Speedway) and that was why we didn't get a top 10 there, but they really bounced back last Sunday at Dover," said Wilburn. "When Rusty compliments you like he did the guys on the radio after the race, you know you've done a great job. Bottom line is that he did - and we did. We had two stops down in the 13.20s (13.20 seconds) and the guys rolled off one at 12.93 (seconds).
That says a lot because all three of those involved track bar adjustments.

"Not only are Rusty and the guys streaking along here, the guys at the shop have been doing a heckuva' job preparing great race cars for Rusty to drive," Wilburn said. "We've used five different race cars during the last five races and that says a lot for our guys working in the fab shop and the prep area. Everyone involved is doing a great job and if we keep it up we'll get our share of wins and be a championship threat before the year is done. All five of the cars are active and we've got a new road course car in the works, too. So when it comes to Rusty's hot rods for the upcoming races, we're in great shape."

So, how do you handle the fact that your Penske Racing teammates, Ryan Newman and his Matt Borland-led team, have recorded two wins and four poles this year and your team is still looking for its first mark in those two columns?

"We're happy for Ryan and the 12 bunch, we all are," said Wilburn, whose relationship with Wallace stretches back to 1984 when Wallace was a rookie driver for the Cliff Stewart team and Wilburn was a young mechanic on the crew. "Since we share everything there is, their success is bound to help the (No.) 2 car in some shape, form or fashion. Rusty admits that things have changed and we're all learning new things each and every day. He's part owner of the team, so he has a vested interest in it all. Like he said last weekend when Ryan won the pole and we started on the outside front row, we certainly wanted to win the pole and hoped nobody would beat us. But if someone did beat us, there's nobody better than the (No.) 12 bunch to do it. We've been a bunch more consistent with our finishes and are sitting up there in eighth in the points and they've fought back from all kinds of problems. Their success can only lead to our success and vice versa, so that's the way that we look at it and the way we handle all of that. What's really gonna' be cool is when we see both cars battling each other right there at the end for the win. The way we're both running, it's bound to happen. It very well could happen this weekend at Pocono."

Wallace's career record on the 2.5-mile triangular track sports four wins, nine top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and three poles in 38 races. He started fifth and finished ninth in last year's Pocono 500. His most recent Pocono win came in the July 2000 race and his last Pocono pole came in the June race that season.

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 Fox-TV and MRN Radio.

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

Date Event Car St Fn Laps $ Won Status
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 19 1 3 6 3 $643,492
Pennsylvania 500 19 3 6 10 0 738,255

TOTAL 38 4 9 16 3 $1,381,747

Laps completion percentage: 6,339/7,504 = 84.5%

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/Radio 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. up in lap 4 crash/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

# led most laps

2003 Season Recap: (points events)
Races Led/
Times Led/
Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Laps Led Points Information
13 0 1 6 0 5/9/295 8th/1,556/-389 to 1st (#17)

Lap Completion Percentage 2002 Winnings Average Start: 16.2
3,951/4,227 = 93.5% $1,482,311 Average Finish: 16.5
DNFs: 2

Career Brief:

Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Career $$$ Won
611 54 190 314 36 $35,925,164