Dodge/Save Mart 350 - Rusty Wallace Notes

RUSTY WALLACE DETERMINED TO NOT MAKE "BIGGEST BLUNDER" AS IN '04
Sonoma Hillside Road Course Holds Many Fond Memories For Miller Lite Dodge Driver

SONOMA, Calif. (June 21, 2005) - Miller Lite Dodge driver Rusty Wallace considers last year's Dodge/Save Mart 350 as the "final blow" in his run to make the cutoff for the inaugural NASCAR NEXTEL Cup "Chase for the Championship." He is determined to make sure this weekend's return to Infineon Raceway does not produce the same results.

"It was about the biggest blunder you could ever make and we certainly paid the price," Wallace said of the scenario that unfolded during the 2004 edition of the race, when he started on the outside pole, but finished 28th in 110-lap battle on the tight 1.95-mile road course. "We were running fourth and had that solid top-five finish wrapped up, but ran out of fuel on the very last lap. We really shot ourselves in the foot out there last year and we're determined to make sure nothing like that happens this time around.

"I don't have to explain what a heartbreaker it was to qualify up there on the front row and run in the top five all day long and see it all fall apart at the very end like that," offered Wallace, whose impressive Infineon Raceway career track record boasts two wins, eight top-five finishes, 10 top-10 finishes and two pole positions in 16 races. "When I look back at last season, I can easily point a finger at that particular race and say, 'hey, that one right there is what probably killed us in our bid to make the chase.' Not only did it do tremendous damage from the statistical end, it probably tarnished the momentum we had. It pretty much put the nail in the coffin I think when it came to our chances of making the deal for the final 10 races last year."

The statistics certainly do back Wallace's claim for the damage last year's race did to his position in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Wallace entered the race, the 16th of the 2004 schedule, 15th in the standings with 1,674 points. He exited in the 16th spot with 1,753 points.

"But the biggest deal didn't involved what position we were in really, but rather the deficit we were to 10th place," Wallace explained. "We came in there with the big goal still being able to make it up into the top 10. By that time last year, the 10th-place guy was hovering right there at the 400-point cutoff point behind the leader, so we just put all of our focus on making the chase by getting back up there in the top 10 by Richmond last September.

"We came into Sonoma (Infineon Raceway) needing to make up only about one full race in points," said Wallace, alluding to the 175 points the current NASCAR point system awards the race winner. "When we left there, it was pretty much out of reach from then on out. I mean, no we never gave up until the very end, but the fact was that realistically it was pretty much over after that race there."

The statistics show that Wallace entered last year's Dodge/Save Mart 350 trailing 10th-place Kevin Harvick by 173 points. He left the California track a whopping 221 points out of the 10th and final "chase" transfer spot.

"We went from hero to a zero all in just that one lap out there last year," said Wallace of the 81-point difference between finishing fourth as he'd hoped and the 28th-place finish that fate dished out. "This deal is so tight this time around that a mistake like that could be suicide in the battle to make the chase. We learned from that mistake we made there last year and we're committed to not letting something like that happen again this time around."

To illustrate just how important 81 points could be, just take a look at the current 2005 point standings entering this weekend's race at Infineon Raceway. Eighth-place Wallace is only 75 points behind third-place Elliott Sadler. On the other side of the standings, Wallace is exactly 81 points ahead of 12th-place Jeff Gordon, who currently would not be eligible for the "Chase" due to not being in the top 10 in the standings and not within 400 points (currently 406 points behind) of leader Jimmie Johnson.

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Brief 2004 race review:

Wallace started the 2004 edition of the Dodge/Save Mart 350 from the second position after turning in a lap of 94.174 mph (76.072 seconds). Jeff Gordon was on the pole, after running Friday qualifying's fastest lap of 94.303 mph (75.968 seconds).

From the drop of the green, Gordon and Wallace raced extremely hard for the lead, allowing third-place starter Kurt Busch the opportunity to sweep underneath and lead the first lap. However, Gordon came back to make an inside move on Busch the next lap in Turn 11 to grab the lead.

The remainder of the race belonged to Gordon, a native of nearby Vallejo, Calif., as he lost the lead only during pitting sequences. He took the lead for the final time when he cleared Casey Mears on Lap 74 and never looked back. He would lead a track record 92 of the 110 laps en route to his eighth career road course win.

The lead lap cars pitted for the final time of the race on Lap 68, during the fourth of the six caution periods of the race. Most teams calculated that they could run between 35 and 39 laps on a tank of fuel, with Wallace's team thinking they could make it 38 laps.

"Go easy on that throttle when you can, Rusty," radioed Larry Carter, crew chief for Wallace's No. 2 team, just before the race returned to green on Lap 70. "We know we can go 38 laps, but we're bound to get a couple of more cautions, so we should be okay on the fuel - just barely, but we should make it."

Wallace was fourth on the restart and got up to third at one point in the remaining laps. Carter was correct with his prediction that there would be additional caution laps to help conserve the fuel, as two more yellows flew for a total of six laps.

That was still just a bit shy of what Wallace needed to make the distance. The running order as the field came through the final turn to take the white flag - indicating one lap to go - was Gordon leading, with McMurray second, Pruett third, Wallace fourth and Waltrip fifth.

Just as he crossed the line to take the white flag, the engine started sputtering as Wallace desperately swerved his Dodge to try to pick up the final drops of precious fuel.

"The damn thing ran out of fuel," Wallace radioed as he slowed to a stop at the top of the hill and saw the remainder of the field blast by him. "I can't believe this - running fourth and run out of fuel on the last lap."

Wallace's bad break saw him fall from fourth all the way back to the first car running a lap down - the 28th finishing spot - in a matter of just the final 1.99-mile circuit around the track.

Gordon crossed the finish line some 1.012 seconds ahead of runner-up Jamie McMurray. Road racer Scott Pruett finished third, with Michael Waltrip fourth and points leader Jimmie Johnson fifth. Road racer Boris Said was sixth, Mears seventh, Mark Martin eighth, Jeff Burton ninth and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top 10.

"We had a really good car, but we just ran out of gas and that was it," Wallace said back in the garage area after the race. "I must not have heard them say it because I didn't know we needed to save fuel. It was just run, run, run, run. They told me we had plenty of gas. I came around turn 11 and it just quit running totally. It passed the line and went up the hill and that was it. We didn't have anything for Jeff Gordon all day, but we had the second or third best car at least. We just came up one lap short, and it's really frustrating."

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With Rusty Wallace competing in his final "Rusty's Last Call" season as a driver on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour, he took time to focus on the past 16 seasons of racing on the Sonoma, Calif., road course:

"When we first went out there (in 1989), for the first couple of years it seemed like it always came down to me and (Ricky) Rudd battling for the win," Wallace recalled. "In the very first race, I won the pole and he had me out in the dirt coming down for the finish of that one. He won it and I finished second. Then the next year, he won the pole and I won the thing. Heck, people think we've stirred up some excitement together in just the last few seasons. The folks who saw those races back then saw some helluva' battles -- running all over each other and dirt flying all over the place. And the records will show that the win there in 1990 was the last win ever for the old Blue Max Team as that deal was coming to an end. That'll always be special.

"Man, it seems like we were right there going for the win in every one of them, so close but we didn't win again until '96," continued Wallace. "That was such a cool race. We dominated the thing all race long. We just killed 'em all. When we took the checkered flag, somebody said on the radio, 'Rusty you just killed 'em out there today.killed 'em all.you better name that thing 'Killer.' We always name our cars after their first wins, so we named that car 'Killer' that day after winning that one. Now that was a special car, too, because we took the thing over to Suzuka (Japan) later that year and won the first international race with it. That was something that I'll always treasure.

"We've always looked at the Sonoma races as something much like a working vacation because we always have such a fun trip when we race there," said Wallace. "We've done so much fun stuff while out in that area. We've done all kinds of neat PR stuff while helping the advance promotion of the race. We've done everything from driving a cab in the streets of San Francisco, to leading a parade of show cars across the Golden Gate Bridge. We've even ridden around with the California Highway Patrol, pulled people over and given them tickets to the races.

"Off the track, it's also been such a blast having the wives and families out to enjoy the area," concluded Wallace. "With all the wineries, great things to see and do and all the super restaurants and places to stay, it's always been one of our favorite stops on the circuit."

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Wallace's PRS-075 Dodge Charger will be dressed in a special Snap-on Tools color scheme this weekend at Infineon Raceway. The paint job prominently features the familiar Snap-on red logo on the hood with the Miller Lite logo and a special Snap-on 85th anniversary logo on the rear quarter panels. The special look for this weekend is part of the Kenosha, Wis.-based tool manufacturer's tribute to Wallace and his "Rusty's Last Call" tour for 2005.

Friday's 3:10 p.m. single round of qualifying will award all 43 starting positions for Sunday's race. Saturday's practice sessions are set for 9:30 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. and 11:10 a.m. until 11:55 a.m. Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350 (110 laps/218.9 miles) has a 12:35 p.m. PDT starting time and features live coverage by FOX-TV and PRN (radio).

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