KANSAS SPEEDWAY HAS QUICKLY BECOME WALLACE'S RACING REFUGE
-Miller Lite Dodge Driver Has Two Top-Five Finishes & 3.5 Average Finish In First Two Kansas Events-

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Sept. 30) - Where in the past it was the short tracks like Bristol and Richmond that proved to be Rusty Wallace's stronghold, that distinction today falls on the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway.

"I've just loved that place from the very first time I saw it and that goes back even farther than the two years we've been racing there," offered Wallace, who visited the construction site on several occasions during the track's building process. "I told Grant (Lynch, Talladega Superspeedway President who supervised the project) and the ISC (International Speedway Corporation, the owners) folks that they had really hit a home run with that place many months before they were up and running.

"It may sound crazy, but I really think that is a big reason why we do so well at Kansas is because we really, really love racing there," continue Wallace, driver of the Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid. "Maybe the fact that it's right there in the heart of the Midwest - a place that was starving for a first-class facility like that - maybe that's a big part of it. But it's not just the location; it's the layout of the track that I really love, too.

"With all that working together, Kansas has really turned into a great track for us. We've had a great shot to win in both races we have run there and at the end of the day, still walked away with a fourth in 2001 and a third there last year.

"We had a super test at Kansas last week (Sept. 23-24) and I think we'll be stronger than ever this time around," said Wallace. "In the big scheme of things, I'd rate this weekend as a major opportunity for us to finally get the job done and head back to Victory Lane.

"I'm really happy with the way our test went," said Wallace. "The track has cured even more and there may be two good grooves this time around. But I still think that the low line will be the quickest way around the place. They've thrown some new Goodyears (tires) into the equation this time around. We'll be running the same rights (-side tires) as we do at Dover and Charlotte. The lefts will be the same as last year, but the rights will be a little softer and quicker. What we saw last week in our testing was a great credit to Goodyear. The tires were super consistent and really durable. It will help make for a great race this weekend and we look to be right there racing for the win."

"We had the (PC-) 51 car there - the same car we raced at Michigan and California - and everyone, especially the driver, was pleased," crew chief Bill Wilburn said of the recent test. "There were 12 other top teams there and I really thought we were on top in both qualifying and race trim. Rusty just loves that track and I think he's more confident going into this race than maybe any other this season. With the competition as strong as it is out there now, that means so much. He knows we should have won the race back in 2001 and could have won there last year. We all know that. So it's almost like going into a Bristol or Richmond, the confidence level is so high on everyone's part."

Wallace led the most laps in the 2001 inaugural Winston Cup race at Kansas Speedway and was leading with less than 40 laps remaining. A pit road speeding penalty dropped him from the lead to the 17th spot for a restart with 32 laps remaining. He mounted a charge that got him back up to fourth before the laps ran out. Wallace started 11th and finished third in last year's Kansas Speedway battle.

"Now that first Kansas race was definitely was one of the big wins that got away," Wallace recalled. "To have led the thing all day like that and have the field covered, then get slapped with a stop-and-go (penalty) for speeding -- it was a hard pill to swallow, that's for sure. Starting way back there just inside the top 20 and coming back strong like that was a heck of a comeback, but it was just so frustrating to get a stop-and-go like that. The track was great. I had a great car all day and the track was super. If I would have had more time, I could have won the thing.

"We continuously fought a tight condition throughout the race there last year, but still came home with a third-place finish," Wallace said. "We did all we could to loosen it up during the day - threw everything we had at it - and it took every bit of that. We learned a lot from that race and last week's test. It will help us a ton back at Kansas this weekend."

Roy McCauley, chief engineer for Wallace, best summed up the relationship between Wallace and the Kansas track:

"You can really see the fire in Rusty's eyes at Kansas," offered McCauley. "He's just so good at that place. He knows it, we know it and everybody knows it. The track layout just suits his style so well. It's banked, but not so much as Chicago (Chicagoland Speedway). It's like a Las Vegas (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) with a tick more banking to it. The place has a distinct fast line around it and Rusty grasped that his very first time out on the track. He's comfortable there and as fast as anybody. Now that in itself is the recipe for success."

This weekend's schedule calls for a two-hour practice session on Friday (11:20 a.m. till 1:20 p.m.), with a 3:05 p.m. single qualifying session to allocate all 43 starting spots for the 400-mile, 267-lap battle. Saturday's schedule calls for practice sessions from 9:30 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. until 12:00 noon. Sunday's Banquet 400 starts at 12:00 noon local time (CDT) and features live coverage by NBC-TV and MRN Radio.

RUSTY WALLACE CAREER TRACK RECORDS
KANSAS SPEEDWAY (1.5-mile)

Date Event Car St Fn Laps $ Won Status

9/27/02 Protection One 400 Ford 11 3 267/267 $270,940 Running
9/30/01 Protection One 400 Ford 11 4 267/267 130,140 Running

Races Wins Top-5 Top-10 Poles $$$$$

TOTAL 2 0 2 2 0 $401,080

Lap completion percentage: 534/534 = 100 percent

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
7/27 Pennsylvania 500 7 11 200/200 3/23 88,107 Running/PC-34 tough
Long Pond, Pa. But too conservative?
8/3 Brickyard 400 14 10 160/160 0/0 175,967 Running/PC-53 was too
Indianapolis, Ind. Tight all race long
8/10 Sirius @ the Glen 5 37 84/90 0/0 78,492 Running/PC-39 brakes
Watkins Glen, N.Y. faded/stuck off track
8/17 GFS Marketplace 400 31 38 105/200 0/0 82,997 Engine/PC 51 hit 8 car Brooklyn, Mich. on pit road; then blew
8/23 Sharpie 500 20 43 87/500 0/0 94,737 Accident/PC-60 moving
Bristol, Tenn. Before crash with No. 15
8/31 Mt. Dew Southern 500 34 36 258/367 0/0 85,172 Running/PC-34 in early Darlington, S.C. crash & returned9/6 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 17 5 400/400 0/0 99,047 Running/New PC-64 was
Richmond, Va. really strong at the end
9/14/ Sylvania 300 11 6 300/300 0/0 106,317 Running/PC-49 came to
Loudon, N.H. front/engine change
9/21 MBNA American 400 14 10 400/400 0/0 98,707 Running/PC-54 tough, Dover. Del. But tight all race long
9/28 EA Sports 500 33 9 188/188 2/11 97,742 Running/PC-58 strong
Talladega, Ala. & got hung out at the end

# led most laps
2003 Season Recap: (points events)
Races Led/
Times Led/
Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Laps Led Points Information
29 0 2 11 0 7/14//329 14th/3,239/-988 to 1st (#17)

Lap Completion Percentage 2002 Winnings Average Start: 17.6
7,351/8,269 = 88.9% $3,123,293 Average Finish: 18.1
DNFs: 4

Career Brief:
Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Career $$$ Won
627 54 191 320 36 $37,500,646