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'Needing a boost' Wallace returns to Bristol looking to turn fortunes aroundPosted: Thursday March 20, 2003 11:28 AMUpdated: Wednesday March 26, 2003 5:37 PM
By Chad Austin, SI.com It's a scene Rusty Wallace would like to forget. Looking to end a 50-race winless skid, Wallace led last fall's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway with three laps left. With two to go, Jeff Gordon drove up to Wallace's bumper, nudged his way past and went on to end a long winless drought of his own. "Yeah, I did [get tired of seeing the replay of the encounter with Gordon]," Wallace said. "I get along with the kid pretty good, but I tell you that boy has cost me a lot of money. He's caused me a lot of problems, no doubt about that." And those problems have continued for Wallace, who is still waiting to reach Victory Lane since getting bumped out of the way by Gordon in August. Wallace's winless streak now stands at 67, but if there is a track where Wallace has proven he can win at, it's Bristol, where the Winston Cup series returns for Sunday's Food City 500. "We're needing a boost right now, and we think we can get it at Bristol this weekend," said Wallace, who leads active drivers and is tied for second all-time with nine career wins on the .533-mile oval. "The thing about it is that we've been running great all year long so far, but just don't have the record to show for it. We just haven't had the luck, and I think maybe I've been a bit too aggressive in some instances." Wallace looked like he had the car to beat in the season's second race at Rockingham, where Wallace led a race-high 182 laps before finishing sixth. The next week at Las Vegas, Wallace finished 40th after an accident with Steve Park. In Atlanta, Wallace was running fourth but smacked the wall in a solo incident and finished 15th. Last week at Darlington, Wallace fell behind during a green-flag pit stop and immediate caution. He finished 16th. Though Dodge teams have had some early struggles in 2003, Wallace says Penske Racing's switch from Ford to Dodge hasn't been an issue. "I look at the performance of the car, and the performance of the car has been really, really good," Wallace said. "I've got myself behind now because of some dumb things, and I've been driving extra hard because I've got a really good car. The car has been exceptionally fast, and I'm driving it to its potential. I drove a little too hard a couple of times now." Wallace, who is 20th in the points standings, insists he isn't frustrated by the winless drought or his bad breaks so far in 2003. "No, I'm not frustrated, Wallace said. "I'm very determined. I'm driving hard, and I'm determined. I'm not in much of a Mr. Nice Guy mood. I just want to get the wins and the finishes knocked for my team, my sponsors and my partners and get it right. It's getting ridiculous right now. We've got a team that should be winning every damn race. We have the funding and everything to get it done. "I'm going to go to Bristol and try to win my 10th race at Bristol and try to get myself back up in the points." And what if an old nemesis is lurking around at the end? "I'm sure Jeff will be right in the middle of that hunt somewhere," Wallace said. "He always runs up front at Bristol, so hopefully we'll race hard, and you never know, I might encounter him along the way."
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Jeff Gordon -- Ranks second only to Wallace with career wins at Bristol among active drivers with five. Four of those five wins have come in the spring event (1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998). Has finished eighth or better in 13 of the last 16 races at the track.
Kurt Busch -- Finished in the top six in both Bristol races last year. Bumped his way past Jimmy Spencer to win the 2002 spring race, which was his first Winston Cup victory. Coming off an epic late-race duel with Ricky Craven at Darlington.
Dale Jarrett -- Has finished ninth or better in 11 of the past 16 races at Bristol. Won the fall 1998 event, which came in the middle of a stretch of six consecutive top-five finishes at the track. Finished 29th in last year's spring event at Bristol and 28th in the fall.
Brett Bodine -- Bodine will drive a memorial car honoring the late Alan Kulwicki, the 1992 Winston Cup champion. Kulwicki died 10 years ago in a plane crash en route to Bristol. Bodine's sponsor, Hooters Restaurants, also sponsored Kulwicki.
Flattery -- Darlington Raceway: "The Lady in Black" made its case to keep both its races with fantastic finishes in both the Winston Cup and Busch events. Ricky Craven's win over Kurt Busch was the closest since NASCAR started electronic timing in 1993.
Flag -- Bill France: After last weekend, why even consider taking a race away from Darlington? Plus, one of France's top lieutenants is opposed to the idea. Jim Hunter served as the track president before becoming NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications.
Flattery -- Dale Earnhardt Inc. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3rd), Michael Waltrip (4th) and Steve Park (19th) all rank in the top half of the points standings. Looks like the preseason boast that one team will be a factor each week is holding true to form.
Flag -- Sterling Marlin: A year ago, Marlin went to Bristol in the spring coming off a win at Darlington and leading the points standings. He's struggled to duplicate that success in 2003 with just one top-10 finish. He's 24th in the points but vows he'll get things turned around.
