WALLACE WANTS TO MAKE BEST OF "FINAL OPPORTUNITIES"

-Miller Lite Team Penske Still Looking For Pole; More Race Wins-

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Oct. 30)

-- Miller Lite Team Penske driver Rusty Wallace views this weekend's Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at North
Carolina Speedway as the first of several "final opportunities" for the 2001 season.

"It's the logical way of looking at things," said Wallace, whose
impressive career record on the 1.017-mile Rockingham, N.C., track boasts five wins, 12 top-five finishes, 19 top-10 finishes and two pole positions in 35 visits. "With three races left for the year: four counting the senseless return to Loudon, we have to look at poles and wins. That's what's left out there to get.three opportunities for poles.four opportunities for wins.seven final opportunities for the 2001 season altogether."

Possibly one of the biggest mysteries of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup season so far is associated with Wallace and his Robin Pemberton led team's qualifying effort. Entering last year's final Rockingham race, Wallace had blown the competition away as far as qualifying goes. He had recorded an amazing eight pole wins along with two outside poles.

"It's baffling and frustrating to say the least," Wallace said of the
situation that sees him still looking for his first pole of the year
entering this weekend's competition at Rockingham. "The new harder Goodyear tire has thrown us a curve ball like nothing we ever expected. All those great proven setups we've had in the past.well, we've just had
to basically junk 'em all and start from scratch. We had all those
poles last year and come back into Rockingham without a single darn pole. Now that's pretty weird when you stop and think about it.

"We've had quite a few missed opportunities this year, though," Wallace continued. "We've had a ton of second-place starts. It seems like we've been able to put the big numbers up there in qualifying and (Jeff) Gordon or somebody comes along and knocks us off the pole at the very last minute. I've already made the trip into the media center way too many times this season after qualifying to talk about starting from the outside pole. Hopefully this weekend at Rockingham, we can go back in
there and talk about finally winning a pole this year."

Wallace has started from the inside-front-row spot four times this
season, the last coming in the September race at Richmond under the exact scenario of which he explained. If the record book has any basis, Rockingham should offer Wallace his best remaining opportunity to win a pole.

Wallace holds the North Carolina Speedway track qualifying record of 158.035 mph (23.167 seconds), set in qualifying for the February event last season. That fact may offer a morale boost, but Wallace remains realistic about the prospects for this weekend.

"We set that track record last year on the old Goodyears, so I don't know how much we should be all jacked up about that," Wallace offered. "It's always good to have that in the back of your mind.that you were able to qualify that well and the record books shows that.but the fact is that we struggled there in qualifying in the spring and started way back there. The good thing though is that we now have the notes to go on. We can look back and learn from that."

Wallace started 33rd on the grid at Rockingham in February. He went on to finish seventh for his 19th career top-10 finish on the 1.017-mile track.

"We're bringing the exact same car back to Rockingham and that'll help because it should respond immediately to what we did learn then," Wallace said of his PC-29 Miller Lite Ford Taurus race car. "We got better and better as the race went along in February. We're looking for much improvement on both ends this weekend at Rockingham."

This weekend's schedule calls for practice on Friday from 11:20 a.m. until 1:20 p.m. prior to the single round of qualifying to determine all 43 starting spot's for Sunday's race at 3:05 p.m. (live coverage on CNN-Si and MRN Radio.) Saturday's activities features practice from 10:15 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. and final practice from 12:00 noon until 12:45 p.m. The annual Union 76 World Pit Crew Championship is scheduled after a 200-mile NASCAR Grand National Series event. Sunday's Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 (400 miles, 393 laps) has a 1:00 p.m. EST starting time and features live coverage by TNT-TV and MRN Radio.