600TH CONSECUTIVE START FOR RUSTY WALLACE ON SATURDAY:
MILLER LITE TEAM PENSKE DRIVER WANTS RICHMOND WIN
-New Car & California Performance Have Wallace, Wilburn & Team Riding Momentum-

RICHMOND, Va. (April 30, 2003) - Miller Lite Team Penske Dodge driver Rusty Wallace sums up what a win in Saturday's Pontiac Excitement 400 would mean to him and his Bill Wilburn-led Penske Racing South team:

"Now that would be a cool deal," said the six-time race winner and three-time pole winner at Richmond. "That win would certainly tie up a lot of loose ends, wouldn't it?"

Loose ends like breaking a winless streak of 72 races that dates back to April of 2001. Loose ends like continuing his charge back up in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup standings. Loose ends like adding to the enviable statistical record Wallace enjoys on the Richmond track. The loose end list continues on and on.

Oh, and by the way, Saturday's Richmond race will mark Wallace's 600th consecutive start in stock car racing's top division, a streak that dates back to the first race of his rookie season on Feb. 19, 1984 at Daytona International Speedway.

Wallace and crew are coming into Richmond off a third-place finish in last Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. Wallace led two times for a total of 54 laps and appeared to be on the way to breaking the victory drought before having to settle for third. He says that the competitive showing out there is just what the team needs heading into Saturday's Richmond race.

"We were strong there on Sunday and could practically taste the win," Wallace said earlier this week in looking back on the California race which produced his first top-five finish of the season. "When we got the checkered flag and finished third, I immediately got on the radio and thanked the crew for putting a great little hot rod under me. I told them that they did a helluva job all day long in the pits. Billy (Wilburn, crew chief) made that call for the two tires and it was excellent. I congratulated him on using great strategy. The last thing that I told 'em was that we've got a winning team - we just haven't won yet. Later on in the media center, I told all the press guys the same thing -- that we have a winning team that just hasn't won yet.

"I don't think there's a better track for us to be going to than Richmond this weekend," said Wallace, who is now back up to 12th in the point standings and a mere nine points out of the top 10. "I mean even if I could choose where we went next, it'd either be Richmond or Bristol, so I don't have to tell you how much that means for our team morale.

"The great thing for me and the team is that we have another brand spanking new sexy little hot rod ready to hit Richmond with and we're coming in there ready to hit 'em with everything we've got," said Wallace of the new "PC-57" Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid that his team will debut this weekend on the .750-mile track. "We had the chance to stop off at Memphis (Motorsports Park) last Wednesday on the way out to California and get in some testing with it. I'll tell you what - this new car is gonna' be a great little piece and a super car for some of the shorter tracks. Without giving away any of our secrets, let's just say that we came up with a new spring and shock package that we'll be running at Richmond and we have a ton of confidence that we can close the deal there on Saturday night."

Wallace enters Richmond as the track's career statistical leader. The record book shows that in 38 races, he has the six wins and three poles, along with 20 top-five finishes, 25 top-10 finishes and $1,451,655 in career money won. His most recent Richmond win came in the spring race of 1997, while his most recent pole came in the spring race of 2000.

Wallace started ninth and finished 25th last May at Richmond and he started 23rd and finished 15th there last September.

"Last season was kind of an off year for us at Richmond and it was pretty weird," Wallace said of his team's 2002 performances. "There last fall, we kept on having tires go down and that just spoiled what could have been a good finish. There in the spring race, they had put so much sealer down that my car just stayed way too tight. The sealer never wore off and we lost a right-rear tire and then a right front. It was really frustrating because the high groove never came in and everyone was fighting for the same spot on the low side. I think - at least I hope - that the track has worn enough now that we'll see a better situation this time around."

As for making his 600th consecutive start, Wallace prefers to downplay the feat, saying that, "it's just another number. It shows that I've been around a pretty long time and have been fortunate to have stayed in one piece through the years. It's a testament for all the safety features that we have in these Winston Cup cars and especially for the job our guys do at Penske Racing in making these things as safe as possible."

While Wallace shuns the spotlight on his longevity of donning his helmet week in and week out, Wilburn is quick to bestow the accolades on his driver.

"I think Rusty's being a little too humble on making 600 consecutive starts," said Wilburn, who served for a decade as Wallace's front tire changer before assuming his crew chief duties last season. "I think it's a heck of an accomplishment. Maybe he doesn't realize how much it means and what all he's been through, but I do. I mean I've been right there standing in the pits watching and what I've seen has been pretty amazing. To have been there at Talladega back in '93 and seen him flying through the air like the 'famous flying Wallendas' and come right back to race the next week at Sears Point was amazing. Or to see him flip 16 times down the backstretch like he did that year at Daytona and come right back to win at Rockingham the very next week was unbelievable. I would have said that it was impossible to do, but he did it so I guess it's not. Anyhow, he's cutting himself way too short on what an accomplishment those 600 straight races mean.

"As for this week at Richmond, we're all pumped up and optimistic," Wilburn said. "I don't have to tell you how hungry Rusty is to win and that goes for everybody on our team. When you throw in the fact that we have a brand new race car, that puts the momentum up to a new level. Everybody knows the history of Rusty Wallace with new race cars at Richmond. Just think back about 'Midnight,' 'Midnight Rider' and all the others. Chances are that we'll be naming another car right there at Richmond after the race on Saturday night - at least that's the plan."

Saturday's Pontiac Excitement 400 NASCAR Winston Cup event at Richmond International Raceway is set to take the green flag at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The 11th of 36 scheduled races features live coverage by FX-TV and MRN Radio.
# # #

-Rusty Wallace Career Track Records-
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
(.750-mile)
Date Event Car St Fn Laps $ Won Status
5/5/02 Pontiac 400 Ford 9 25 396/400 $85,000 Running
9/7/02 Monte Carlo 400 Ford 23 15 399/400 87,755 Running

5/5/01 Pontiac 400 Ford 2 3 400/400 117,740 Running
9/8/01 Monte Carlo 400 Ford 2 5 400/400 100,895 Running

5/6/00 Pontiac 400 Ford 1 5 400/400 68,625 Running
9/9/00 Monte Carlo 400 Ford 5 34 313/400 42,110 Engine

5/15/99 Pontiac 400 Ford 6 5 400/400 49,450 Running
9/11/99 Exide 400 Ford 3 14 399/400 41,130 Running

6/6/98 Pontiac 400 Ford 22 3 400/400 56,875 Running
9/12/98 Exide 400 Ford 1 7 400/400 45,630 Running

3/2/97 Pontiac 400 Ford 7 1 400/400 86,775 Running
9/6/97 Exide 400 Ford 14 5 400/400 39,050 Running

3/3/96 Pontiac 400 Ford 14 7 400/400 28,375 Running
9/7/96 Miller 400 Ford 10 6 400/400 30,005 Running

3/5/95 Pontiac 400 Ford 3 3 400/400 29,600 Running
9/9/95 MGD 400 Ford 7 1 400/400 64,515 Running

3/6/94 Pontiac 400 Ford 12 2 400/400 39,575 Running
9/10/94 MGD 400 Ford 5 4 400/400 30,780 Running

3/7/93 Pontiac 400 Pontiac 13 2 400/400 31,550 Running
9/11/93 MGD 400 Pontiac 3 1 400/400 49,415 Running

3/8/92 Pontiac 400 Pontiac 12 17 396/400 12,425 Running
9/12/92 MGD 400 Pontiac 3 1 400/400 47,115 Running
2/24/91 Pontiac 400 Pontiac 20 4 400/400 13,050 Running
9/7/91 MGD 400 Pontiac 1 3 400/400 21,700 Running
2/25/90 Pontiac 400 Pontiac 18 6 400/400 15,400 Running
9/9/90 Miller 400 Pontiac 11 5 400/400 19,525 Running
3/26/89 Pontiac 400 Pontiac 2 1 400/400 63,025 Running
9/10/89 Miller 400 Pontiac 6 1 400/400 55,650 Running
2/21/88 Pontiac 400 Pontiac 4 7 400/400 11,790 Running
9/11/88 Miller 400 Pontiac 21 35 18/400 9,650 Accident
3/8/87 Miller 400 Pontiac 12 3 400/400 18,225 Running
9/13/87 Wrangler 400 Pontiac 9 17 373/400 8,155 Accident
2/23/86 Miller 400 Pontiac 6 10 395/400 6,530 Running
9/7/86 Wrangler 400 Pontiac 6 19 371/400 6,960 Running
2/24/85 Miller 400 Pontiac 6 27 89/400 3,755 Accident
9/8/85 Wrangler 400 Pontiac 11 13 397/400 5,495 Running
2/26/84 Miller 400 Pontiac 5 16 396/400 4,025 Running
9/9/84 Wrangler 400 Pontiac 6 11 397/400 4,580 Running
Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Poles $$$$$
Pontiac 400 19 2 11 15 1 $741,790
Monte Carlo 400 19 4 9 11 2 710,115

TOTAL 38 6 20 26 3 $1,451,655

Lap completion percentage: 14,339/15,200 = 94.3%

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

# led most laps

2003 Season Recap: (points events)
Races Led/
Times Led/
Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Laps Led Points Information
10 0 1 2 0 4/8/254 12th/1,140/-333 to 1st (#17)

Lap Completion Percentage 2002 Winnings Average Start: 15.8
2,884/3,159 = 91.3% $1,162,730 Average Finish: 18.3
DNFs: 2

Career Brief:

Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Career $$$ Won
608 54 190 312 36 $35,605,583