| | Rusty Wallace knows just what it will take to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Now, like the rest of the Winston Cup aces, he's hoping to find it before they wave the green flag Sunday to start the
Carsdirect.com 400.
"You've got to have the total package," Wallace said. "You need good handling, a strong motor, a good qualifying run, fast pit
stops, track position and maybe even throw in a little luck."
|  | | Rusty Wallace relays some information about his Ford to a crew member. |
Although he hasn't won in NASCAR's first two visits to the desert, the 43-year-old former Winston Cup champion has been
impressive. Wallace was third in 1998 in the inaugural race for the
series in Las Vegas. He finished ninth last year.
A victory Sunday would be a milestone 50th for Wallace, who was upbeat as he began preparations for the $4.1 million race, the
third of 34 on the schedule.
"It's a great track to race on," Wallace said. "It has a little bit of Phoenix, a little bit of Fontana and a little bit of
Richmond built into one.
"You can pass at the top, you can pass at the bottom, you just have to have a lot of horsepower."
That hasn't been much of a problem this season. Wallace's Roger Penske-owned Taurus wound up fourth at Daytona and 11th on Sunday at North Carolina Speedway. He's fifth in the points after a finish
of eighth last season.
Wallace has finished in the top 10 in each of the last seven years, and his run of at least one victory per season has reached a
series-best 14 years. Only record-holder Ricky Rudd, who failed to win last year for the first time in 17 seasons, Darrell Waltrip and
Dale Earnhardt have done better in NASCAR's modern era.
But Wallace shouldn't be concerned with that record right now. It's a long season, and his place as one of the great short-track
racers and best road-course driver in history, gives him a good chance to win at least one of eight races in those disciplines.
Jack Roush, car owner for defending Las Vegas champion Mark Martin, believes Wallace has special qualities that lend themselves
well to short tracks and road courses.
"Rusty Wallace knows more about a chassis than practically
anybody," Roush has said.
Wallace is fifth on the career short-track list with 22
victories. Overall, he is tied with Jeff Gordon for 11th place in
career wins. He leads with six career victories on NASCAR's two
road courses.
But Las Vegas is not a short track or a road course. It's a
1.5-mile trioval, flat and fast, where setups mean as much as
horsepower. Wallace had plenty of each in 1998.
"We led a bunch of laps in our Elvis car, and Jeremy was there
all day long and he finished fifth," Wallace said of teammate
Jeremy Mayfield. "I think we can do even better than that this
time around."
Wallace didn't test this year at the track, but is encouraged by
what Mayfield did in his run.
"They were super in full race trim," Wallace said. "They
focused on race setup, and we're confident we can work together and
get both cars up front."
That was a problem for Wallace last year, and he knows part of a
driver's package is doing well from the moment the car is unloaded
on Friday morning to the moment it rolls back on the truck Sunday
evening.
"Last year, I really messed up in qualifying and that got us
way behind," said Wallace, who started a dismal 37th. "During the
race, we spent all day just trying to catch up."
But when things looked their bleakest, Wallace proved that luck
is as important as some parts on the car.
"If we hadn't gotten the caution, that race could have turned
out real ugly for us," crew chief Robin Pemberton said of a
late-race yellow. "There were six or seven guys who could have
gone the distance on fuel, and we were going to have to pit
again."
But Wallace isn't counting on good fortune as he tries for the
30th time to reach his golden victory. His prescription is starting
near the front, having the car purring on the track and the crew
acing the pit stops.
A little good luck isn't so bad, either. | |
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