MBNA 400: A Salute to Heroes - Rusty Wallace Notes

NEW POINTS SYSTEM ALREADY WEIGHING IN ON WALLACE'S MIND
-Miller Lite Driver Focusing On More Wins Entering Dover, But "It's Eye-Opening"-

DOVER, Delaware (June 1, 2004) - It is only 12 races into the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, but the series' new "Chase for the Championship" point system is already getting Rusty Wallace's attention.

"Well, it's on my mind at least a little, I'll admit, but we're not worrying about that right now," said Wallace, driver of the Miller Lite Dodge out of the Penske Racing South stable. "When you look at what happened to us Sunday at Charlotte (Lowe's Motor Speedway), the new deal is eye-opening, to say the least.

"We raced our guts out for that 10th-place finish, but when you look at the big picture, it was like one step forward and half a step back as far as the points go," offered Wallace, as he considered NASCAR's new "playoff system" introduced this season. "We came into the (Coca-Cola) 600 14th in the standings, but we were under 400 (396 points) out of first. We came out of there up a spot (to 13th) back toward the top 10, but now we're more than 400 (now 417 points) out. So, under the new deal, we picked up a spot, but lost out on making the cut. We realize that there's a ton of racing to do before that really matters, but it does show you what can happen."

Under this year's system, after the first 26 races, all drivers in the NASCAR Top 10 and any others within 400 points of the leader will earn a berth in the "Chase for the Championship." All drivers in the "chase" will have their point totals adjusted. The first-place driver in the standings will begin the chase with 5,050 points; the second-place driver will start with 5,045, etc. Incremental five-point drops will continue through the list of title contenders.

"Right now we're really not focusing on anything but getting us some more wins, more top fives and top 10s," said Wallace, who now has one win, three top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes on the season. "But, you can't help keeping a watchful eye on that end of the deal (point standings) because it's so important to make the cut either by finishing in the top 10 or by closing the gap to less than 400.

"We have some great tracks coming up for us in the next few weeks and we're looking to put some more big numbers on the board beginning this weekend at Dover," said Wallace, whose Dover International Speedway career record boasts three wins, 10 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes and five pole positions in 40 races. "If we can get the finishes we're confident that we'll be capable of getting the next few weeks, the points situation will take care of itself. It's really too early to get overly concerned, but it certainly does add some new suspense into the equation, doesn't it?

"The new deal could be totally mind-blowing by the time we get to Richmond in the fall and see who makes the cut and who doesn't. We just need to stay focused and keep doing what we're doing. The guys are giving me some great racecars and engines. Our pit crew reeled out two stops down in the 12-second bracket there on Sunday night. Larry Carter is proving just how good a crew chief he is and is making all the right calls on pit road. We just have to keep it up and keep our nose to the grindstone and we 'll be okay."

Wallace started on the outside pole and finished sixth last spring at Dover. He started 14th and finished 10th in the fall race on the "Monster Mile."

"We've had more than our share of great memories racing at Dover, that's for sure," said Wallace, who won three straight races there during the 1993-1994 seasons. "The fall win there in 1994 over (Dale) Earnhardt is one I'll always remember. We fought it out all race long and had the lead when the caution flag flew at the end. We were running out of gas and had a flat rear tire at the same time, but we still won the thing. There we were being pushed by the crew into Victory Lane, with the gas tank bone dry and a flat right rear tire with all the rubber shredded completely off the wheel. It was a special win. We've come close in several races since then, but just came up a little short at the end. In both races last year, we wound up just a little too much on the tight side to get the job done."

Friday's single round of qualifying at 2:40 p.m. will fill the field for Sunday's race. Saturday's final "Happy Hour" practice session is set for 11:10 a.m. until 11:55 a.m. This Sunday's 400-lap, 400-mile MBNA America 400 at Dover International Speedway starts at 1:00 p.m. EDT and features live coverage by FX-TV and MRN Radio.

Notes of Interest:

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Rusty Wallace's record at Dover International Speedway boasts three wins, 10 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes and five pole positions in 40 races. He holds the track qualifying record of 159.964 mph (22.505 seconds), set in taking the pole for the September 1999 race. Rusty leads all active drivers with five poles and eight front-row starts in 40 races at Dover. He is ranked second all-time to David Pearson, who had six poles at Dover. Three of Rusty's Dover poles have occurred in the last nine races there.

--Rusty could be found in the front of his team transporter downing plenty of fluids after Sunday night's grueling 600-miler at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He was hot and tired, but bothering him the most? "My rear end. The track is so bumpy and we just didn't have enough padding in our seat," Rusty said after posting a hard-fought and well-deserved 10th-place finish. "It feels like I've been riding on the end of a jackhammer for the last five hours. I 'll guarantee you that we go back and make sure we have plenty of padding in the seats of all of our cars."

--Stuff worthy of a video? - Rusty was to spend Tuesday afternoon on a golf outing in the North Carolina mountains - members of his golfing party included current Cup crew chief Larry Carter and Barry Dodson, crew chief during his 1989 championship season, who now serves as team manager for his RWI Racing organization. "Talk about some stories being told. Man, the bull will be knee-deep, I'll guarantee you that," Rusty said on Tuesday morning. "When the day's done, I'll bet we wished there was a video of it all. I can see it now - the "Larry and Barry Show."

--Rusty and team using chassis 54 this weekend - it has been the workhorse on the one-mile tracks - led most laps & finished 6th at Rockingham spring of 2003 - outside pole & finished 6th Dover last spring - started 14th & finished 10th Dover last fall - raced once this year, at Rockingham where it started 4th & finished 7th .

--"I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow." -Woodrow Wilson