Race 2 Win: Dodge Charger 500 - Rusty Wallace Notes

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Dodge Charger 500 - Rusty Wallace Notes

WALLACE HOPES NIGHTTIME IS "RIGHT TIME" AT DARLINGTON
Miller Lite Dodge Driver Hoping To Taste Victory In 43rd - And Final - Race At Historical Track

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 3, 2005) - Extraordinary things seem to happen after the sun goes down along the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup circuit. Miller Lite Dodge driver Rusty Wallace is hoping it is under that scenario this weekend that he can finally defeat the demanding old Darlington Raceway.

Wallace has competed at the historical South Carolina track 41 additional times since he first raced there in NASCAR's premier series competition on April 15, 1984. Now 21 taxing seasons later in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series on this demanding 1.366-mile egg-shaped track, Wallace is still chasing that first elusive Darlington win. He thinks his breakthrough win at the "Track Too Tough To Tame" could come in Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500. The 1989 series champ and 55-race winner is committed to making sure his final "Last Call" season as a driver is a memorable one. Saturday night's race will mark his 43rd - and final - Darlington race behind the wheel of his Miller Lite Dodge.

"I know it may sound pretty odd coming out of my mouth, but I am really looking forward to Saturday's race at Darlington," said Wallace, currently 13th in the series point standings after nine races, but only 31 points out of sixth and a mere 10 points out of 10th. "I think everyone out there knows how much I love the night races. The fact that this is the last time I'll race at Darlington and with the race being run in the nighttime, all the emotions will be running high.

"We have a great car ready to go for Darlington," Wallace said of his PRS-078 Dodge Charger. "We're racing the same car that we debuted at Bristol last fall. We led a bunch of that race and had a great shot at winning the race before we ran out of gas. We got way behind and got caught up in a crash after that. We brought it back out at Atlanta earlier this year, but got caught up in someone else's mess right at the start of the race. The guys have run it back through the shop since then and it's like a brand new car we'll have there this weekend. At the end of this one, there's nothing I'd like more than to be able to wheel that baby right on into Victory Lane and let the big celebration begin.

"We've been running at Darlington forever it seems and even I am floored that we still haven't won there," said Wallace, whose Darlington career record sports 11 top-five finishes and 20 top-10 finishes. "There is a first time for everything I've always believed. Through the years, I've really enjoyed racing there and we've come close to winning at Darlington in several races. We've finished second there twice and have a ton of thirds, fourths and fifths."

Wallace looks for the old and weatherworn surface at Darlington to offer something different this weekend than what has occurred so far this season.

"It's a track where you slide all over the place because the surface really wears the tires real bad, but it's also a track where you can make a lot of passes," said Wallace. "The aero push doesn't come into effect much there. I think you saw really good racing at Rockingham when we were still running there. You see really good racing at Darlington because the track wears the tires so bad and all that grip goes away, and the guys get sliding around and chasing and the racing comes back like it used to be. When you think about all of that and then add the fact that we'll be racing under the lights, you'd have to be comatose to not get excited about Darlington this Saturday night."

Larry Carter, crew chief for Wallace's Miller Lite Dodge effort, thinks the atmosphere will definitely work to his driver's favor.

"It'll be a case of Darlington at dark and you know what that means," Carter said as he started to grin. "Rusty will be up on that wheel just like he is at Bristol and at Richmond. We were talking the other day and I think it has really registered with him that this is his last chance to beat that old track. I'll guarantee you that if desire has anything to do with it, we'll be right there battling for that checkered flag at the end of this one."

This weekend's Darlington NASCAR NEXTEL Cup action kicks off on Thursday with practice sessions from 5:10 p.m. until 6:10 p.m. and from 7:15 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Friday's 5:10 p.m. qualifying session will establish the starting grid for Saturday's 367-lap, 501.3-mile battle, with all cars impounded at the conclusion of qualifying. Saturday's Dodge Charger 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Phoenix International Raceway is set to begin at 7:10 p.m. EDT time and features live coverage by FOX TV and MRN Radio.

Notes of interest:

Hard to believe, but Sunday's 22nd-place finish at Talladega was his best since the fall race of '03 at Talladega. That's especially interesting, considering that he was on the lead lap and completed all possible laps in both races there last season (leading to a 33rd in the spring race and a 26th in the fall event). "Yeah, and they made it a point to tell me that it was my best finish as crew chief for Rusty Wallace at Talladega," chuckled crew chief Larry Carter on Monday afternoon at the sprawling Penske Racing South complex near Mooresville, N.C. "It's a credit to our team, though, when you look back at what happened and the big picture side to it. After we crashed and finally got the car back to the garage, we were under the red flag and couldn't touch it. While we were under the red, we got a full plan together to get the thing repaired and back out on the track. When it went back to yellow, we executed that plan and had Rusty back out there before any of the others. That paid off big time. Just like I told 'em all yesterday, if you'd told me that we'd be able to finish 22nd right after the crash happened, I'd told you that you needed serious mental help. What we wound up being able to pull off down there was damage control to the max."

Rusty & team testing Tuesday & Wednesday of this week (May 3 & 4) at Richmond International Raceway in preparation for the May 14 Chevy American Revolution 400 on that three-quarter-mile layout.

Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500 will mark Rusty's 43rd - and final - Darlington race behind the wheel of his Miller Lite Dodge. "I know it may sound pretty odd coming out of my mouth, but I am really looking forward to Saturday's race at Darlington," said Rusty, currently 13th in the series point standings after nine races, but only 31 points out of sixth and a mere 10 points out of 10th. "I think everyone out there knows how much I love the night races. The fact that this is the last time I'll race at Darlington and with the race being run in the nighttime, all the emotions will be running high.

"We've been running at Darlington forever it seems and even I am floored that we still haven't won there," said Rusty, whose Darlington career record sports 11 top-five finishes and 20 top-10 finishes. "There is a first time for everything I've always believed. Through the years, I've really enjoyed racing there and we've come close to winning at Darlington in several races. We've finished second there twice and have a ton of thirds, fourths and fifths."

Rusty and crew racing their PRS-078 Miller Lite Dodge at Darlington this weekend. "We have a great car ready to go for Darlington," Rusty said of this particular car. "We're racing the same car that we debuted at Bristol last fall. We led a bunch of that race and had a great shot at winning the race before we ran out of gas. We got way behind and got caught up in a crash after that. We brought it back out at Atlanta earlier this year, but got caught up in someone else's mess right at the start of the race. The guys have run it back through the shop since then and it's like a brand new car we'll have there this weekend. At the end of this one, there's nothing I'd like more than to be able to wheel that baby right on into Victory Lane and let the big celebration begin."

Rusty expecting great racing at Darlington this weekend: "It's a track where you slide all over the place because the surface really wears the tires real bad, but it's also a track where you can make a lot of passes," he said of the weathered and worn 1.366-mile egg-shaped ribbon of asphalt. "The aero push doesn't come into effect much there. I think you saw really good racing at Rockingham when we were still running there. You see really good racing at Darlington because the track wears the tires so bad and all that grip goes away, and the guys get sliding around and chasing and the racing comes back like it used to be. When you think about all of that and then add the fact that we'll be racing under the lights, you'd have to be comatose to not get excited about Darlington this Saturday night."

"Be bold in what you stand for and careful what you fall for." -Ruth Boorstin

News and Results | Point Standings | 2005 Schedule | 2005 Teams | 2004 Schedule and Results