Subway Fresh 500 - Rusty Wallace Notes

WHOSE TIME IS IT TO WIN AT P.I.R.? PERHAPS IT'S RUSTY'S
-Miller Lite Dodge Driver Rusty Wallace Expecting Another "Good And Solid" Performance At Phoenix-

AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 20, 2004) - "Good and solid."

Miller Lite Dodge driver Rusty Wallace has been using that exact terminology - those very adjectives - quite often during the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. His most recent rendering comes in describing his Larry Carter-led team's preparation for this weekend's Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

"We had a good and solid test at Phoenix last week (April 11-12) and are really looking forward to this weekend," said Wallace, who finished 10th at Texas on Sunday and climbed from seventh to third in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. "We had two cars there for the test and they both ran really well. We had to decide which car to concentrate our effort on, so we went with the California car (PRS-086 that debuted with a 10th-place finish on 2/27 at California Speedway) and focused on getting it ready to race. At the end of the day, we were convinced that we have a good and solid little hot rod ready to race at Phoenix.

"Phoenix has always been a great track for us," offered Wallace, whose "good and solid" 2005 record now boasts four top-10 finishes and six top-15 finishes in the seven races. "We're certainly looking for more success this time around. We only have one win there so far, but have run well enough to have won four or five races through the years. It has always seemed like we've been able to call on that track to give us a real boost when we needed it most. I keep telling people that it's probably because of the success I had back in the early years in USAC and all, on tracks like Milwaukee and others. Whatever it is behind our success, it just always seems that we can head out there to Phoenix and we really get our mojo workin'."

Wallace certainly does have a "good and solid" record on the one-mile flat track that was carved out of the foothills of the Estrella Mountains. He has competed in all 17 races at Phoenix, scoring one victory (1998) and eight top-10 finishes. He finished seventh at Phoenix last fall Wallace has led 868 laps at PIR, almost twice as much as the second-place driver in total laps led (Mark Martin with 471). He has led 16.5 percent of all the laps since the Cup tour first visited PIR in 1988, when the late Alan Kulwicki recorded his first career series victory.

Not only does Wallace excel at P.I.R. on race days, his qualifying record there is also "good and solid." He has posted 15 top-10 starts in 17 races at Phoenix. Wallace has scored three poles and is tied with Ryan Newman for the most poles there. His only starts outside the top 10 came in two of his last three races there. Overall, he has a 6.9 starting average in 17 races at Phoenix, the best of all drivers with more than two starts there.

Wallace's "good and solid" 2005 season has him the highest up in the point standings that he has been since he ranked third after the Talladega race in April 2002. That was through the ninth race of that season. Under the old "Non-Chase" format, Wallace finished seventh in the final standings that year. Currently, he trails points leader Jimmie Johnson by 237 points and is 102 points behind second-place Greg Biffle. Wallace ranked 11th in the point standings after seven races one year ago.

"With this weekend's race being another one of the 'impound races,' we won't be focusing that much on qualifying, but rather trying to get our car super fast on the long runs," offered Wallace. "I think we can start up front and be a factor all race long this weekend. We've got four top 10s in the first seven races, but we haven't won yet and that's what we really want to do right now. Our goals are to win and be a part of 'The Chase.'"

This weekend's Phoenix NASCAR NEXTEL Cup action kicks off on Thursday with practice sessions from 2:55 p.m. until 3:55 p.m. and from 6:15 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Friday's 3:10 p.m. (local) qualifying session will establish the starting grid for Saturday's 312-lap, 500-kilometer battle, with all cars impounded at the conclusion of qualifying. Saturday's Subway Fresh 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Phoenix International Raceway is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. local time and features live coverage by FOX TV and MRN Radio.

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