USG Sheetrock 400 - Rusty Wallace Notes

WALLACE'S "CHASE TO MAKE THE CHASE" CONTINUES AT CHICAGO

Miller Lite Dodge Driver Content To "Just Keep On Knocking Down Those Top-Fives And Top-10s"

JOLIET, Ill. (July 5, 2005) - Miller Lite Dodge driver Rusty Wallace says his strong finish in last Saturday night's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway carries much more significance than it might at first appear to hold.

"That was big, really big," says Wallace of his fourth-place finish in his final race as a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver on the 2.5-mile track known as the "World Center of Racing." "Yeah, it was really cool to have finished fourth in my last race there, especially adding to the top-10 we had back in the Daytona 500, but that only scratches the surface.

"It could have been the most important fourth-place finish I've ever had," said Wallace of only his seventh top-five finish at Daytona in 45 career starts. "We're determined and committed to make this 'Chase for the Championship' and finishing fourth at Daytona was a monumental step for us in our chase to make the Chase.

"Through the years, we've had some great runs at Daytona, especially since the July date became a night race," offered Wallace, who has posted three top-fives and four top-10s in the seven points-paying night races held at the track. "But, that track and the restrictor-plate races in general have really thrown us curve balls during the years in our efforts to do well in the points. So that's why I say that the fourth-place finish there at Daytona on Saturday night was so important. We fought back from a loose handling condition early in the race and made wholesale changes to get the car better. We pulled a spring rubber out of the right rear and the car really woke up. We finally got the car to come around there at the end and it paid dividends with another top-five finish.

"That's what we're focused on, continuing to just keep on knocking down those top-fives and top-10s and keep our momentum going in the points end of it," said Wallace, now up to fifth in the standings, 205 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson and only five points behind fourth-place Elliott Sadler. "We're counting the races down and I sure like the look of those point standings right now. We're going to make that Chase and then we're going to give it everything we've got those last 10 races and see where we stack up after Homestead."

With nine races remaining to determine which teams make the cut for the Chase - either by being in the top 10 in the point standings or within 400 points of the leader at the conclusion of the Sept. 10 race at Richmond, Va. - Wallace and his Larry Carter-led team now turn their attention to Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

"It seems like we keep on getting stronger and stronger every time we go back to Chicago and we look to keep our momentum rolling," said Wallace, who started 20th and finished 11th in last year's edition of the race.

"We were tight at the beginning of the race and worked to free the car up," Wallace recalled of last year's battle. "We made air pressure and track bar adjustments and got the car running almost consistently as fast as the 20 car (dominant winner Tony Stewart). We got up there in fifth or sixth spot and tried to tweak a little more out of it with more air pressure and track bar changes, but that made it way too loose. When we went back the other way, it was tight again. That cost us a top 10 finish because the car handling the way it did allowed the 29 car (Kevin Harvick) to get by us there at the end.

"It was a pretty solid run all day long for us, but we should have been way up there in the top 10 when the checkers fell. I remember that we had a four-tire call at the end and it was definitely the right way to go. I got trapped in the middle, and a car got underneath me and we lost a couple of positions there. But, the biggest thing I screwed up on was when I was sitting there running sixth. I drove down into Turn 1, and I got up alongside a car and got super loose and barely saved it. I went on, but I lost about three positions there. But, coming in at the very end there, with about 20 laps to go, to put four tires on was definitely the right call. That got us back up in there and almost got us the solid top-10 finish that we should have gotten.

"Overall, we've been much stronger than the record shows at Chicago," said Wallace, who was 17th in the point standings after 17 races last year, trailing then leader Johnson by a whopping 710 points. "We had a solid top-10 run going in the first race there in 2001 and had a tire going down late in the race. We had a motor problem in 2003 that took away another sure top-10 finish (finished 32nd). We're expecting to be right there in the thick of things this weekend."

Wallace and crew will be racing their PRS-043 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend at Chicagoland. The "43 car" debuted at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the May 2002 Coca-Cola 600 where Wallace posted a 10th-place finish. In nine points-paying races since, a third-place finish at Kansas Speedway in 2002 rates as its best performance to date. Wallace last raced the car in the May 21 NASCAR NEXTEL "All Star" Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he started third and finished 13th after getting caught up in a crash triggered by Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman's spin in the final segment of the event.

This weekend's schedule calls for Friday practice from 11:20 a.m. CDT till 1:20 p.m., leading up to the 3:00 p.m. single round of qualifying which will establish Sunday's starting lineup. Saturday's final "Happy Hour" practice session is set from 11:10 a.m. till 11:55 a.m. Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400 (267 laps/400.5 miles) features live coverage by NBC-TV and MRN Radio beginning at 2:00 p.m. CDT.

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