|
|
"We had a great test at Texas last week (March 18-19) and we're really looking forward to this weekend," said Wallace, who started 28th and finished 11th at Texas last year after leading by as much as 3.2 seconds in the late stages of the race. "We'll have the (PC-) 51 car ready to go - the same car we tested. It's a fast little hot rod and we know it can get the job done for us. "That place (TMS) is lightning fast and that'll always be the case. In the test, we focused our attention on mostly the race setup. We got in a bunch of runs of 20 laps or so, so I think we'll really be on top of the game in the race. The 88 car (Dale Jarrett), the 29 (Kevin Harvick) and some others were at the test and I like the way we stood up to their performances. The bottom line is that those guys up front in the points, the 17 and the 97 (Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch) look to be tough at Texas, too, so we have our work cut out for us. "We also got in a couple of runs in qualifying mode, so we'll hopefully get us a good starting spot in the Friday qualifying. I look forward to seeing how we stack up at Texas. We have some pretty high expectations entering this week after the strong run we had there last year." Wallace started 28th in last year's race, but wasted little time in powering to the front. He was up to third when green flag stops were the order on lap 160. He led for the first time of the year during the exchange which saw Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd hit pit road before Wallace. After a caution brought
out by a Dale Earnhardt Jr./Shawna Robinson crash, the lap 191 restart
saw Jarrett lead, with Rudd second and Wallace third. Wallace wasted
no time getting around Rudd for the second spot. He was able to catch
and pass Jarrett for the lead on lap 196 At lap 200, Wallace was running
some of the fastest lap times of the day and was 1.3 seconds in front
of Jarrett. Rudd was third, Jimmie Johnson fourth and Kurt Busch fifth. On lap 220, Wallace was out front by 3.1 seconds over Jarrett, who was having problems getting around the lapped car of Buckshot Jones. Johnson was third as Rudd was slowing. Green flag stops were the order beginning on lap 225, as many of the competitors started running out of fuel…including Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett. Wallace pitted on lap 231 for four tires and fuel. The 14.7-second stop was just what he needed to keep his momentum going, although several competitors had made stops during the last caution and could go several additional laps before they had to pit. Wallace was able to get around then-leader Tony Stewart on lap 238, which put him back into the lead lap after his stop and could have been the most important move of the race for the Miller Lite team. Robbie Gordon's crash in turn two on on lap 239 brought out the fifth caution of the race and produced a situation where only six drivers remained in the lead lap. Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Jimmy Spencer, Wallace and Mike Skinner made up the top five for the restart with only 88 laps remaining. Wallace began to develop a loose condition with less than 60 laps to go and eventually fell back to finish 11th. "That was a really weird deal there at Texas last year," Wallace explained. "We had a car that took off like a rocket ship at one point. It was a car capable of winning, that's for sure. The handling just went totally away and we didn't find out what the problem was until we got the car back to the shop. What happened was that the lower monoball bearings gave up and that allowed the A-frame to move about freely -- that's about the easiest way to explain it. That affected the caster, camber, toe-in -- you name it -- everything relative to the right-front suspension was affected." While Wallace is expecting a great performance from his Bill Wilburn led team and another exciting race for a standing room only crowd this weekend at TMS, he is not expecting the controversy that plagued the facility during its first few years. "It's become one of my favorite tracks," Wallace said when asked to compare the track with the others on the Winston Cup tour. "It may have started off a little slow, but it's one of the best stops and biggest races on the circuit today." Wallace's TMS boasts speak volumes, especially coming from a driver who called for a complete reconstruction of the fourth turn area of the track, using dynamite if necessary, after crashing out of the inaugural race back in 1997. "They (speedway management) took their lumps the first couple of years, but they knew they had problems and they fixed them," said Wallace. "For the sponsors, it's always been an important market and the fan support in Texas is unbelievable. The last couple of years, we've had some helluva good races there and that race just keeps getting bigger and bigger. "I've loved that area of the country, the fans and all, from day one," Wallace said. "Fort Worth is one of the most fun towns we visit during the year. Now the track has been running problem-free and producing some great races for the fans. It's definitely one of the most important weekends of the season." Wallace's reference to the track getting off to a "slow start" was a kind way of describing the scenarios at the speedway during the Winston Cup Series' first two visits. In 1997, torrential rain eliminated much of the parking around the facility. The controversial fourth turn area produced several horrendous crashes with Wallace among the victims. The turn was eventually reconstructed and now presents few, if any, problems. In 1998, a water seepage problem with the turn one asphalt was the big negative issue. The drainage system under the track was upgraded following that race and no difficulties have risen since. "First we learned how to finish the Texas races," Wallace said. "Then we learned how to lead the Texas races. We were strong enough to win the thing there last year, that's for sure. We're looking to win us a Texas race this time around," Sunday's Samsung/Radio Shack 500 NASCAR Winston Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway is set to begin at 12:00 noon local time (1:00 p.m. EST) on FOX TV and PRN Radio.
Date Event Car St Fn Laps
$ Won Status Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Poles $$$$$ TOTAL TMS EVENTS 6 0 2 2 0 $699,490 Lap Completion Percentage: 1,830/2,004 = 91.3%
Race Race Name Start Finish
Laps comp/ Times Led/ 2/16 Daytona 500 38 25 109/109
0/0 185,625 Running/PC-33 pitted late # led most laps 2003 Season Recap: (points
events) Lap Completion Percentage
2002 Winnings Average Start: 14.2 Career Brief: Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s
Poles Career $$$ Won
|
THE OFFICIAL
RUSTY WALLACE WEBSITE
WWW.RUSTYWALLACE.COM
COPYRIGHT © RUSTY WALLACE, INC.
Photographs © Steven Rose, Motorsports Memories Phtography
"Kick Start My Heart" © Mötley
Crüe. Used with permission.
All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.
Site not running properly? You may need to upgrade
PLEASE REPORT ANY PROBLEMS TO THE WEBMASTER