Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Rusty Wallace Notes

WALLACE & TEAM LOOKING TO CONTINUE SHOWING STRENGTH AT T.M.S.
-Miller Lite Dodge Displaying Texas-Size Tenacity During 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Season-

FORT WORTH, Tex. (April 13 2005) - The most current edition of the Webster's Unabridged Dictionary should definitely carry this entry:
te·na·cious (t?-n?'sh?s) adj.
1. Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view.
2. Holding together firmly; cohesive: a tenacious material.
3. Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive: tenacious lint.
4. Tending to retain; retentive: a tenacious memory.
5. Rusty Wallace and his Larry Carter-led Miller Lite Dodge team in 2005 competition.

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Once again in last Sunday's Martinsville race, Wallace and his Larry Carter-led Miller Lite Dodge team showed a level of tenacity they hope will lead to them becoming eligible for the "Chase For The Championship" come September.

After leading 47 laps earlier in the race, Wallace was running third during the seventh caution of the race. After taking on four tires and fuel, Wallace was slapped with a speeding penalty while exiting the pits. The end result sent him back to the rear of the field and he was 24th in the order for the Lap 189 restart.

But, just as has occurred on a weekly basis so far during the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, Wallace and crew fought back the adversity and responded with a fifth-place finish in the Advance Auto Parts 500. Now that's the definition of tenacity!

"That said a lot about our team and the level of determination we all have," Wallace said on Monday as he reflected on Sunday's race. "We never give up, no matter what setbacks we face. They said we were speeding, so we must have been. Their system is supposed to be pretty bulletproof now, so we must have gone over the limit somewhere while trying to get back out. All I know is that the 97 car (Kurt Busch) blew by me like I was standing still. Regardless, the big important fact was that we were able to bounce back from the deal and finish fifth.

"I really think we have our total act together this year and Sunday's run offers all the proof you could ever need," Wallace continued. "We got behind - way behind - and still managed to get pretty much all we could out of the day."

Sunday's fifth-place run moved Wallace up to seventh in the NEXTEL Cup point standings. He is only three points out of fifth and a mere eight points behind fourth-place Mark Martin.

After turning in their best finish of the year at Martinsville, Wallace and crew can't wait to get back to Texas Motor Speedway for this weekend's Samsung/RadioShack 500.

"We had us a pretty good test out at Texas last week and think we'll really be strong in the race," Wallace said of last Tuesday's test at the demanding 1.5-mile track. "The thing about it is that I get to liking the place better and better every time we get out there and our performance on the track shows that we have really made a lot of progress.

"We started 10th and finished fifth out there last year and hope to do even better this time around," said Wallace. "We logged a lot of notes off of last year's race and what we saw in the test. We know how much that track can tighten up and you have to stay on top of it the entire entire race. It was pretty incredible of what all we had to do to the car in last year's race. It just got too tight all day long. I can't believe how loose we had that car. We raised the track bar an inch, took six rounds of wedge out, let four pounds of air out of the right front tire and put three pounds in the right rear, and it just got right at the end of the race. We kept working on it. It was a good team effort to keep working on the car and make it quick. We'll be ready for 'em again this weekend, that's for sure."

Wallace and team will be racing their PRS-035 Dodge this weekend at Texas. The car has not been used this year and was raced only one time in 2004. The car debuted in the spring race at Bristol in 2001 and its strongest finish to date was fifth in the August Bristol race that season. The chassis is about all that is the same from those days, as the car has been completely rebuilt as a 2005 Dodge Charger.

Wallace's Dodge will feature a special Kodak color scheme this weekend at Texas.

"It's all dressed up in their popular and familiar cool-looking Kodak yellow colors and I think the fans will love it," Wallace said. "We ran the Kodak colors last August on the road course at Watkins Glen and had a lot of fun with it. It'll be a blast to do it again this weekend at Texas."

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Wallace's feelings for Texas Motor Speedway have certainly changed through the years.

"Texas has become one of my favorite tracks," Wallace said when asked to compare the track with the others on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour. "It may have started off a little slow, but it's one of the best stops and biggest races on the circuit today."

Wallace's comments about the Texas track speak volumes, especially coming from a driver who all but called for a complete reconstruction of the fourth turn area of the track, even "using dynamite if necessary," after crashing out of the inaugural race back in 1997.

"They (speedway management) took their lumps the first couple of years, but they knew they had problems and they fixed them," said Wallace. "For the sponsors, it's always been an important area and the fan support in Texas is unbelievable. It's one of the most important markets for Miller Lite. The last couple of years, we've had some helluva good races there and that race just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

"I've loved that area of the country, the fans and all, from day one," Wallace said. "Fort Worth is one of the most fun towns we visit during the year. Now the track has been running problem-free and producing some great races for the fans. It's definitely one of the most important weekends of the season."

Wallace's reference to the track getting off to a "slow start" was a kind way of describing the scenarios at the speedway during the top stock car series' first two visits.

In 1997, torrential rain eliminated much of the parking around the facility. The controversial fourth turn area produced several horrendous crashes with Wallace among the victims. The turn was eventually reconstructed and now presents few, if any, problems.

In 1998, a water seepage problem with the Turn 1 asphalt was the big negative issue. The drainage system under the track was upgraded following that race and no difficulties have risen since.

"First we learned how to finish the Texas races," Wallace said. "Then we learned how to lead the Texas races. We've been strong enough to win there, that's for sure. We're bringing in a ton of momentum this time around and hope we can pull it off."

Friday's 3:00 p.m. (local) qualifying session will establish the starting grid for Sunday's 334-lap, 500-mile battle. Sunday's Samsung/Radio Shack 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway is set to begin at 12:00 noon local time (1:00 p.m. EST) and features live coverage by FOX TV and PRN Radio.

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Notes of interest: