WALLACE
& MILLER LITE TEAM CARRY TEXAS-SIZE MOMENTUM INTO T.M.S.
-"Super Test," Bristol Runner-Up Finish & Improved Pit
Crew Have Wallace "Pumped"-
JUSTIN,
TEXAS (March 30, 2004) - Moments after their impressive runner-up finish
in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Miller Lite Dodge
driver Rusty Wallace and crew chief Larry Carter were staring at each
other eye-to-eye on pit road.
"Larry,
if you guys keep giving me the strong cars like we've had and the solid
pit stops like we had here today, I promise you we're gonna win our
share of races," said Wallace, whose second-place finish on Sunday
was his best since matching that at Phoenix on Nov. 10, 2002 (44 races
ago). "We finally have what it takes to win out there. I'm pumped
about the rest of the season."
"And
I promise that we're gonna do everything possible to keep on making
sure you have what you need," replied Carter, who had just experienced
his best-ever finish as a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup crew chief. "The guys
were good on pit road today and they're gonna get better each week.
You drove your heart out and we all appreciate that."
The Bristol
showing, coupled with what Wallace labeled as a "super test"
last week at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, sees Wallace, Carter
and the Miller Lite Dodge team enter this weekend's Samsung/Radio Shack
500 with tremendous momentum.
After
experiencing setbacks in several earlier races this year due to problems
on pit road, Wallace's revamped "over-the-wall gang" for Bristol
performed tremendously. Jay Hackney was brought aboard the team earlier
in the week to change front tires. Donald "D.J." Richardson
moved from the front to the back to change rear tires. The rest of the
lineup remained the same (Dave Littau carried front tires, Andy Brown
carried rears, David Cox jacked, Doug Ingold gassed and Nick Giambruno
served as the gas catch man) and the combination clicked from the very
start.
On the
first pit stop of the day, which occurred under the first caution of
the race on Lap 61, the crew serviced Wallace's Dodge in 13.21 seconds,
the fastest stop the team had enjoyed all season. That kept Wallace
in the lead, set the pace for the remainder of the race (stops of 15.17
seconds, 14.68 seconds, 13.20 seconds and 13.68 seconds) and gave the
team an average of 13.988 seconds for their pit stops for the day.
Compare
that with what occurred at Rockingham last month, where Wallace posted
a seventh-place finish, his best of the year until Sunday. In that race,
Wallace appeared to be headed to his first top-five finish of the season
only to see pit stop problems late in the race take their toll. The
pit stop average for that race (stops of 15.31, 13.51, 14.57, 14.36,
13.62, 15.24 and 17.21) was 14.831 seconds.
"We
had it figured out that our average for all the pits stops this year
entering Bristol was 15.91 seconds and we knew that had to change,"
Carter assessed after his team's Bristol performance. "I said several
weeks back that our goal was to get consistent enough where when something
happens wrong, even a bad stop is around 15 seconds and not 16 or worse.
We were able to do that today in that on our worst stop, we had great
recovery and kept the time down to 15.17 seconds and that's respectable.
This bunch of guys will get faster and more consistent as we continue
to practice and get more races under our belts."
As for
last week's Texas testing, perhaps car chief/chassis specialist Jeff
Thousand's thoughts cast a good overview of the team's expectations.
"Rusty
calls it a 'super test' that we had out there and we all think it was
a good and solid time on that track," said Thousand. "The
thing about it is that it was a lot like Bristol. We definitely weren't
the fastest in testing there in qualifying trim, but we had a good and
solid car with our race package under it. You didn't hear Rusty or any
of us spouting off lap times and all after the Bristol test leading
into that race and look what happened. We're hoping for much of the
same heading into Texas after testing there, too."
Wallace
and team will be racing their "PC-71" Dodge this weekend at
Texas. The chassis debuted at Atlanta earlier this month, where a promising
start was interrupted by transmission problems that led to a 35th-place
finish.
"We
have a lot of faith in this racecar," Wallace said of his mount
for this weekend's Texas battle. "It was a real bullet at Atlanta,
but we got bit by the transmission problems. The guys got me back out
there and when we did, the thing was absolutely flying. We had the fastest
car on the track. We actually had to back off for the leaders to get
by and race for the win because we were running so many laps down after
our trip to the garage. The car showed so much potential at Atlanta
and we think it can be equally strong this weekend at Texas."
Wallace's
feelings for Texas Motor Speedway have certainly changed through the
years.
"Texas
has become one of my favorite tracks," Wallace said when asked
to compare the track with the others on the NASCAR NEXTEL 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
comments about the Texas track speak volumes, especially coming from
a driver who all but called for a complete reconstruction of the fourth
turn area of the track, even "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 area and the fan
support in Texas is unbelievable. It's one of the most important markets
for Miller Lite. 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 top
stock car 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 1 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've been strong enough to
win there, that's for sure. We're bringing in a ton of momentum this
time around and hope we can pull it off."
Friday's
3:00 p.m. (local) qualifying session will establish the starting grid
for Sunday's 334-lap, 500-mile battle. Sunday's $6,767,841 Samsung/Radio
Shack 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway is set to
begin at 12:00 noon local time (1:00 p.m. EST) and features live coverage
by FOX TV and PRN Radio.
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