Pennsylvania 500 - Rusty Wallace Notes

WALLACE NOT KEEN ON GEAR RULE EFFECT AT POCONO RACEWAY

Miller Lite Dodge Driver Says "NASCAR Went A Little Too Far" In Gear Limitations On Tricky Triangular Track

LONG POND, Pa. (July 19, 2005) - Many things have changed during the six races since the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series last visited the 2.5-mile triangular-shaped Pocono Raceway. The point standings picture has changed numerous times, with Miller Lite Dodge driver Rusty Wallace climbing from seventh in the standings and 328 points behind the leader up to fourth and 230 out of first.

Stories of Wallace's compelling "Last Call" year should share this week's headlines with the tales of several other drivers' struggles in this exciting 2005 season. However, most of the attention will undoubtedly be focused squarely on NASCAR's gear rule and its affect on the racing at this weekend's return to Pocono Raceway for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.

"I think the jury was still out when we first came to Pocono with the new rule last month, so I pretty much kept my mouth shut about it," Wallace said of NASCAR's off-season decision to standardize gear ratios. "But now we know from experience the big effect the change has had on the competition and nobody I've talked to has much good to say about it. Without us being able to shift gears and with the lower RPM we're pulling, it's a totally different brand of racing at Pocono now.

"I understand what their intentions were, but I think they went too far and I think they know they went too far when it comes to racing at Pocono," Wallace said of NASCAR's mandates calling for 3:89 ratio gears and no overdrive transmissions. "They'll have to change the rules, but with this being my last race there, I'm still taking a 'bite-my-tongue' approach to it all. But I'll guarantee you that there'll be some adjustments made.

"The big thing about it is the new rule has made it where it's just about damned near impossible to pass anybody out there," said Wallace, who started 12th and finished 11th in June's Pocono 500. "In the past, we had enough gear to really get off the corner and that's where much of the passing had been done. Now you just bog down and are pretty much forced to stay single file and hold on to what position you've got out there.

"We used to be able to blast off the third turn and zoom on down that long frontstretch, shifting into overdrive and taking some of the strain off the engine," Wallace stated. "And one of the biggest plusses was being able to make your move underneath someone, diving low and being able to downshift and getting her slowed down going into the first turn. All that has changed now. It's certainly not what we'd prefer competing out there on the track and I'd bet it's not the level of competition expected by the fans up in the stands or those watching the race on TV.

"I read somewhere where (Jeff) Gordon or some other driver said before the June race that the new rule amounts to being Pocono's restrictor plate," said Wallace. "I might have thought that was a little too strong of statement to make back then, but I think we all see now what they meant. It is just that big of difference from the kind of racing we're used to seeing at Pocono.

"But like I said, with this being my final race driving at Pocono, I'd better just take the high road about it all," Wallace said. "After all, it's the same for all the teams out there. We will all be there again this weekend, running under the identical situation. We'll all be out there, frustrated and trying to get all we can.

"It definitely adds to the importance of qualifying well and having great pit stops," concluded Wallace. "Track position has never been more important at Pocono than it is right now."

Wallace is one of the few competitors who can offer the unique perspective of the "to shift or not to shift" issue.

"We won here back in 1991 and nobody was shifting gears back then," said Wallace of his victory in the July 1991 Pennsylvania 500. "We've won three more times at Pocono since and I definitely prefer to shift. The engine guys have made such gains over the years that we have a ton more horsepower and are turning so much higher RPM. I really thought that the combination with the engines, gears and transmissions was working well at Pocono like it was. The guys have really been making these engines pretty much bulletproof and we haven't seen hardly any transmission failures. Like I said, it'll really surprise me if there aren't some adjustments made to the rules regarding the Pocono races."

A quick look at the record book indicates that there is certainly one positive point possibly nurtured by the rule changes - more cars were running at the finish of the June Pocono race than in recent events there. There were 34 cars officially running at the finish of the June race, with 21 drivers running in the lead lap. Only one car was listed as a DNF due to engine failure (Robby Gordon, who also reportedly attempted to shift gears during the race). Compare that to last June's race with 27 cars running at the finish (21 finishing in the lead lap, with six DNFs due to engine failures) and last July's race with only 26 running at the finish (22 finishing on the lead lap, with six DNFs due to engine failures and two due to transmission woes).

Wallace enters his final Pocono race behind the wheel of his Penske Racing South-prepared Miller Lite Dodge with a career track record that boasts four wins, nine top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and three pole positions in 43 races. His most recent win was in the July 2000 race and his last pole came in qualifying for the June race of that same season.

"We'd sure like to add to the success we've had through the years at Pocono with another great run there this weekend," said Wallace. "We're doing all we can to be as consistently competitive as possible every week out there and the big goal is making The Chase come September. Finishing off my Pocono career with a solid finish is certainly what we have in mind."

Wallace and his Larry Carter-led team will be racing their PRS-043 Dodge Charger at Pocono. The "43 car" debuted at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the May 2002 Coca-Cola 600 where Wallace posted a 10th-place finish. In 10 points-paying races since, a third-place finish at Kansas Speedway in 2002 rates as its best performance to date. Wallace 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. The car was completely revamped for its most recent run in the July 10 race at Chicagoland Speedway, where Wallace started 33rd and finished 12th.

This weekend's "impound schedule" calls for Friday practice beginning at 1:20 p.m. Saturday's 12:10 p.m. qualifying session will determine the 43-car starting field, with the cars impounded at the conclusion of time trials. Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 has a 1:40 p.m. EDT start and features live coverage by TBS-TV and MRN Radio.

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