DHL 400 - Rusty Wallace Notes

WALLACE EXPECTING "THINGS" TO "CALM DOWN" AT MICHIGAN
-Track's Active Statistical Leader Cites Michigan's History Of "Non-Weird" Racing"-

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 15) - After the last two races along the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour produced a total of 22 caution periods that saw an unbelievable 24.5 percent of the laps (147 of 600) run under the yellow flag, Miller Lite Dodge driver Rusty Wallace expects the scenario to be much different in this weekend's DHL 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

"I really think things will calm down a whole lot this week at Michigan and I'll be totally shocked if they don't," said Wallace, whose five wins and 15 top-five finishes lead all active drivers on the 2.0-mile track. "The last two weeks have produced enough weirdness, controversy and torn-up racecars for a quarter of a season, let alone just the two races'

"Michigan has always been a pretty calm place, with all the excitement centered around fuel mileage, pit strategy and track position," said Wallace, who has led 847 laps at Michigan in 40 races, the most laps led by any active competitor. "It's just not a place where all the crazy stuff happens. It's a non-weird track. I mean, about the weirdest stuff you'll see is maybe something like us actually winning one of 'em on fuel mileage like we did back in '96. Us winning on fuel mileage is about as likely to happen as a blizzard in the Bahamas.

"Michigan is known as a track where you have to have a great handling racecar and plenty of horsepower to get down the straightaways," offered Wallace, currently 15th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings and 102 points out of 10th. It's also a place where a lot of the races have been won on fuel mileage and pit strategy.

"It's a track that usually doesn't have many cautions during the races and that's what produces those fuel-mileage deals," said Wallace, who started 17th and finished 12th at Michigan last June. "I remember the 88 team (Dale Jarrett) winning one of them several years back (June 13, 1999) that went wire-to-wire without a single caution."

Wallace is certainly correct in his assessment that the Michigan track isn't known for having many caution laps run. In the 10 races completed there dating back to Jarrett's 1999 caution-free victory, only 13.8 percent (269 of 1,956 laps) have been run under the yellow flag. A total of 57 cautions have flown during that period (average of 5.7 cautions per race), with the most recent race held there last August offering the most caution laps (46) during those 10 races.

Wallace's take on the unusual happenings during the two most recent races on the tour, events that produced record low average race speeds:

"Gosh, I'll tell you, it must be a situation where the moon is aligned with some of the evil stars or something weird like that," chuckled Wallace, when reached by phone Tuesday morning in Phoenix. "Man, with all the crashes, controversial calls and unusual stuff going on, you just wonder what could happen next.

"Our situation is a good example of the weirdness. At Dover, we had survived most of crashes and were able to fix what little sheet metal damage we had - and then we get slapped with a stop-and-go board penalty on pit road toward the end of the race. That cost us a possible top-five finish.

"Then at Pocono last Sunday, we're in there fighting hard for a solid finish - only to see the brakes completely fade in the tunnel turn when we got into the 15 car (Michael Waltrip). I can't believe that happened and hate it for him and us. We've had some brake problems in the past at places like Watkins Glen and at Martinsville, but never at Pocono. It just shows you how weird things have gotten.

"I think it's a good thing that we're headed back to Michigan this weekend," Wallace concluded. "It's the perfect place for everything to get calmed down and back to normal."

The Michigan speedway has been the site of several "firsts" during Wallace's 20-year career on stock car racing's most elite tour. He claimed his first career Cup pole in qualifying for the June 1987 race at MIS. His win in the June 1988 event marked his first oval track superspeedway victory. His win in the June 1996 race came after getting superb fuel mileage and rates as his lone "fuel mileage victory" to date. Wallace's career record at MIS sports five wins, 15 top-five finishes and 20 top-10 finishes in 40 races. His first career Winston Cup pole also rates as his lone top qualifying spot earned at the Michigan track.

Friday's single round of qualifying at 3:10 p.m. will set the starting field for Sunday's 400-mile, 200-lap battle at MIS. Saturday's final "Happy Hour" practice session is set for 11:10 a.m. till 11:55 a.m. Sunday's DHL 400 has a 1:30 p.m. EDT starting time and features live coverage by FOX-TV and MRN Radio.

Notes of interest:

--24.5% of laps have been run under caution in last two races on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour (and a whopping 34.3% in final half of those races) - only 13.8% of Michigan's last 10 races run under yellow -- "Gosh, I'll tell you, it must be a situation where the moon is aligned with some of the evil stars or something weird like that," chuckled Rusty about the recent happenings. "Michigan has always been a pretty calm place, with all the excitement centered around fuel mileage, pit strategy and track position. I really think things will calm down a whole lot this week at Michigan and I'll be totally shocked if they don't." (see more in release)

--Rusty is current active statistical leader at Michigan with five wins and 15 top-five finishes in 40 races. He also heads the lap-leader chart among active drivers, leading 847 laps.

--Rusty's Miller Lite Dodge is among a dozen cars running special "Father's Day" color scheme this weekend at Michigan. Fathers who will be at MIS for the DHL 400 will be invited to the drivers' meeting as well as introduced with their sons during pre-race ceremonies. Each driver who participates in the Father's Day program also is eligible for a $25,000 bonus. The prize will be awarded to the highest finishing driver, who will then present it to his father or Dad's favorite charitable organization. Additional information can be found online at: http://dbserver.iscmotorsports.com/MISpeedway/headlines.cfm

--What's that? The Bristol car at Michigan? "We're racing the 73 car this weekend at Michigan - the same car we broke out of the box with the second-place finish at Bristol," said crew chief Larry Carter. "Guess it just shows that we're possibly headed toward a situation where you'll have just the speedway cars and then cars for everywhere else except maybe for the road courses and a Martinsville - not a set deal for different cars at the short tracks, the intermediates and the superspeedways. The aero-package is so important everywhere we go these days." Rusty started the new 73 car in the fourth spot at Bristol back in March and led 100 laps en route to his runner-up finish.

--Steve Wallace getting "ton of experience" this season - Steve Wallace, Rusty's 16-year-old aspiring racing son, started sixth and finished seventh in the 25-car field UARA 150-lapper at Lonsome Pine (Va.) Speedway on Saturday night. Steve is running the entire 16-race series in quest of gaining experience and possibly earning the rookie-of-the-year award. He is currently eighth in the series points and running second (of seven drivers) in the rookie points. "He's getting a ton of experience competing against some darned good drivers like Lee Tissott and Jason York," Rusty offered. "Those guys have a lot of years under their belts and Steve's been able to hold his own with them. He's proving that he has a bright future ahead, that's for sure." Next race for the younger Wallace is the 150-lapper at Coastal Plains Raceway near Jacksonville, N.C., on June 26.

--"Now there's nothing so deep as the ocean. And there's nothing so high as the sky. And there's nothing as unwavering as a woman - when she's already made up her mind." -Lyle Lovett