QUALIFYING DAY REPORT
SAMSUNG/RADIO SHACK 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY - JUSTIN, TEXAS
FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2003

PRACTICE INFORMATION:

A disappointing finish last Sunday at Bristol sees Rusty Wallace and his Miller Lite Team Penske 17th in the point standings coming into this weekend's action here at Texas Motor Speedway.

"Two weeks in a row we got bit by pitting and having the caution come out to get us laps down," Rusty told Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Jeff Wilson during his daily debriefing (for his diary in the newspaper here today. "We had a top-five car there and only got a 14th out of it. Hopefully we can get things really going in the right direction here on Sunday (in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500)."

Rusty was in town late yesterday afternoon and headed to the Miller function at the Fort Worth brewery. He was able to make it by Del Frisco's in the downtown area for dinner before heading back to the hotel out here by the track. Good friend Mike Tarwater, administrator with University Hospital back in Charlotte, joined Rusty for the trip out this time.

After enjoying partly cloudy skies and afternoon highs in the upper 70s here yesterday, the front came through last night and saw the temperature drop some 20 degrees.

The conditions when practice started here this morning at 11:20 a.m. were mostly cloudy skies, a strong northerly wind and the temperature around 50 degrees.

At the midpoint of the two-hour session, Jerry Nadeau's 27.870-second lap was the fastest, with Rusty's Penske Teammate Ryan Newman's 28.009 second, Jimmie Johnson's 28.015 third, Jeff Gordon's 28.023 fourth and Bobby Labonte's 28.132 fifth. Rusty was 23rd on the chart with a 28.420.

With 30 minutes remaining, Nadea's time was still tops, with Ryan's 27.986 second, Johnson's and Gordon's earlier laps third and fourth and Joe Nemechek's 28.031 fifth. Rusty had made another run, but failed to go any faster than his earlier attempt.

With some 20 minutes remaining in the session, Rusty avoided what could have been disaster. After making a run, he pulled his Dodge back into the garage and said he thought he had a tire going down. A quick inspection found a pop-rivet in the right rear tire and the air pressure down to less than 12 pounds. A blowout here with the tremendous speeds the cars carry into the turns could have been bad news.

By the time practice concluded, the clouds had vanished and the sun was shining brightly. The top five speeds remained the same as earlier.

"The track really slowed down with the clouds moving out and the sun really getting it heated up," Rusty said in the transporter immediately after practice. "We ran in the 40s and hope to get down into the 30s in qualifying. Those last few runs we made, we were just scuffing in tires. We're still looking for speed, but I'm sure we'll be better in qualifying than what we showed on the board (27th) at the end of practice."

Rookie Jack Sprague is the first of 45 drivers expected to make qualifying runs here this afternoon. Of the final top five fast drivers, Gordon goes out 11th, Johnson 27th, Nadeau 37th, Ryan 42nd and Nemechek last. Rusty is scheduled out 20th in the order.

After qualifying began, Bobby Labonte, the Texas favorite, was seventh to make his run. He clocked in with a 27.095 (193.504 mph) to wow the crowd and competitors alike. He then had to watch for roughly the next 90 minutes as the remaining competitors took their shots at his time.

Some were close. Gordon ran a 28.092. Bill Elliott lapped the track at a 28.082. Rusty was strong with his 28.148 (191.843 mph). Johnson ran a 28.016. Nadeau clocked in with a 28.033. Elliott Sadler was certainly a threat with his 27.934. So was Ryan with his 27.959 (193.140 mph).

But when the session concluded, it was still the younger Labonte brother on the pole. Sadler will start second, with Ryan third, Johnson fourth and Nadeau fifth. Elliott, Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Joe Nemechek and Rusty (starting 10th) complete the top-10 starters for Sunday's race.

Sunday's Samsung/Radio Shack 500 has a 1:00 p.m. EST (12:00 noon local CDT) starting time and features live coverage by Fox and PRN Radio.

* * *

POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:

QUALIFYING DAY REPORT
SAMSUNG/RADIO SHACK 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY - JUSTIN, TEXAS
FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2003

After rather lackluster days last Sunday at Bristol, the Mobil 1-backed teams of Miller Lite driver Rusty Wallace and ALLTEL driver Ryan Newman arrived here at Texas Motor Speedway hoping to get "re-launched" in Sunday's Samsung/Radio Shack 500.

While Rusty's 14th-place finish last Sunday bumped him up a couple of spots to 17th in the point standings, Ryan's 22nd-place finish dropped him to 15th. Both teams are hoping for great performances on Sunday, which could help to have them both in the top-10 in points within the next race or two.

Rusty was in town late yesterday afternoon and headed to the Miller function at the Fort Worth brewery. He was able to make it by Del Frisco's in the downtown area for dinner before heading back to the hotel out here by the track. Good friend Mike Tarwater, administrator with University Hospital back in Charlotte, joined Rusty for the trip out this time.

After enjoying partly cloudy skies and afternoon highs in the upper 70s here yesterday, the front came through last night and saw the temperature drop some 20 degrees.

The conditions when practice started here this morning at 11:20 a.m. were mostly cloudy skies, a strong northerly wind and the temperature around 50 degrees.

At the midpoint of the two-hour session, Jerry Nadeau's 27.870-second lap was the fastest, with Ryan's 28.009 second, Jimmie Johnson's 28.015 third, Jeff Gordon's 28.023 fourth and Bobby Labonte's 28.132 fifth. Rusty was 23rd on the chart with a 28.420.

With 30 minutes remaining, Nadea's time was still tops, with Ryan's 27.986 second, Johnson's and Gordon's earlier laps third and fourth and Joe Nemechek's 28.031 fifth. Rusty had made another run, but failed to go any faster than his earlier attempt.

With some 20 minutes remaining in the session, Rusty avoided what could have been disaster. After making a run, he pulled his Dodge back into the garage and said he thought he had a tire going down. A quick inspection found a pop-rivet in the right rear tire and the air pressure down to less than 12 pounds. A blowout here with the tremendous speeds the cars carry into the turns could have been bad news.

By the time practice concluded, the clouds had vanished and the sun was shining brightly. The top five speeds remained the same as earlier.

"The track really slowed down with the clouds moving out and the sun really getting it heated up," Rusty said in the transporter immediately after practice. "We ran in the 40s and hope to get down into the 30s in qualifying. Those last few runs we made, we were just scuffing in tires. We're still looking for speed, but I'm sure we'll be better in qualifying than what we showed on the board (27th) at the end of practice."

Rookie Jack Sprague is the first of 45 drivers expected to make qualifying runs here this afternoon. Of the final top five fast drivers, Gordon goes out 11th, Johnson 27th, Nadeau 37th, Ryan 42nd and Nemechek last. Rusty is scheduled out 20th in the order.

After qualifying began, Bobby Labonte, the Texas favorite, was seventh to make his run. He clocked in with a 27.095 (193.504 mph) to wow the crowd and competitors alike. He then had to watch for roughly the next 90 minutes as the remaining competitors took their shots at his time.

Some were close. Gordon ran a 28.092. Bill Elliott lapped the track at a 28.082. Rusty was strong with his 28.148 (191.843 mph). Johnson ran a 28.016. Nadeau clocked in with a 28.033. Elliott Sadler was certainly a threat with his 27.934. So was Ryan with his 27.959 (193.140 mph).

But when the session concluded, it was still the younger Labonte brother on the pole. Sadler will start second, with Ryan third, Johnson fourth and Nadeau fifth. Elliott, Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Joe Nemechek and Rusty (starting 10th) complete the top-10 starters for Sunday's race.

Sunday's Samsung/Radio Shack 500 has a 1:00 p.m. EST (12:00 noon local CDT) starting time and features live coverage by Fox and PRN Radio.

RUSTY'S QUOTES:

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid)
"I'm real happy with this Dodge. The Dodge folks have really been working hard with us, and we just need to get a break in the race. We didn't practice that fast, but we picked up about three tenths in practice. I think the track is in real good shape. I see a second groove coming in. I know there will be two lanes of racing and maybe even three, especially in turns three and four. Last year I had two lanes going on, and the year before I had two lanes going on. Last year we came here and led the race all day long and got loose at the end. I've got a good car. I tested here, and I like our chances. I think the track is in great shape. I think the tire is a little too hard for the track since the track has seasoned in. We'll get through this race but the next time we'll have to soften the tire. You know you're going to run fast and qualify fast. We made a lot of changes. When we ran that .40 today (in practice), I knew we could run in the .30s, but we were changing the track bar and sway bar and tires. We got the car back where we needed it to be, but I knew I was going to have to run it extra hard in turn one and turn three. I had to stay off the brakes and arc it in the corners real deep. I did all that and it worked out. Cold temperatures, I'm used to 100 degrees at Darlington when it's 300 degrees inside the car. Cold temperatures don't bother me at all."