WALLACE "LOOKING BOTH WAYS" IN POINTS AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

-Miller Lite Team Penske Driver Focusing On Fifth Spot, But Still Looking Over His Shoulder-

LOUDON, N.H. (Nov. 20)

-One thing that is certain entering Friday's NASCAR Winston Cup season finale at New Hampshire International Speedway
is that Miller Lite Team Penske driver Rusty Wallace will again finish in the top 10 in the 2001 point standings.

But where he finishes depends on the outcome of the controversial return to the 1.058-mile track for the race that was postponed on September 16 in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

"Round and round they'll go, and where they'll stop nobody knows," said crew chief Robin Pemberton, with his unique brand of levity, regarding the points situation entering Friday's race. "Seriously, with the points championship already decided, at least this will add a little bit of suspense to the deal and this race will need that."

Wallace enters Friday's 300-lap, 317.4-mile race, deemed as the "Senseless 300" by many who would rather be spending the holiday weekend with family and friends, seventh in points with 4,372. He is 106 points behind fifth-place Dale Jarrett and only 19 points behind sixth-place Bobby Labonte. But, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is eighth and trails Wallace by a scant three points. Ninth-place Kevin Harvick is only 56 points behind and Jeff Burton, in 10th spot, trails Wallace by only 90 points.

"There are still a lot of spots that are up in the air, that's for
sure," said Wallace, who has finished in the top 10 in points for nine straight years and in 15 of the last 16 seasons. "It's a situation where we're having to look both ways. Of course we're always looking ahead, so we're coming in there focused on getting up to fifth. But we have to be realistic and we know that we could fall all the way back to 10th if we have problems.

"I've always said that the goal each year is winning the championship," said Wallace, who won the 1989 series title and finished runner-up in 1988 and 1993. "If you can't do that, then the most important thing is to win and to finish in the top 10 in the points. That keeps your credibility level way up there and you get to have an active part at the banquet in New York.

"What it amounts to is that we'll go into Friday's race in an offensive mode, doing everything we can to get all the points possible.shooting for fifth. But, we could easily be in a defensive mode by the end of the race, trying to protect what we have. It could prove to be very interesting.

"I'll tell you what, it certainly speaks volumes for the level of
competition we have in this sport," Wallace concluded. "When you've already done 35 of these damned things and there are that many spots yet to be decided in one final race, you've just got to stop and say, 'wow, now that's pretty amazing.'"

Friday's one-day-event schedule calls for an 8:00 a.m. drivers' and crew chiefs' meeting, followed by practice from 8:30 a.m. until 9:15 a.m. The driver introductions begin at 11:30 a.m. and the New Hampshire 300 is scheduled for a 12:00 noon EST start. Live coverage of the race will be provided by NBC-TV and MRN Radio.