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Thursday, September 6
Wallace has strong Richmond resume
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com
| |  | | | Wallace |
Perfection perceived isn't always perfection achieved.
But don't tell that to Rusty Wallace, who has been as close to perfect as any
Winston Cup driver can be when it comes to racing at Richmond (Va.)
International Raceway, site of this Saturday night's Chevrolet Monte Carlo
400.
Wallace enters Saturday's race, the 26th of 36 races on the Cup schedule and
the second visit to Richmond this year, as R.I.R.'s undisputed king: In 35
starts at the Virginia three-quarter mile elongated oval, Wallace has six
wins (twice as many as all other active Cup drivers), 19 top-five finishes,
25 top-10 finishes and three pole positions. He's failed to finish a race at
Richmond only twice in his career.
It's no wonder Wallace calls Richmond "the perfect racetrack." It offers just
the right combination of elements that make Wallace look so forward to racing
there twice each season. When asked recently if he had the opportunity to
build any type of racetrack anywhere in the country, Wallace replied "I'd
build another Richmond" without a split-second of hesitation.
"It's just the perfect size," Wallace said. "It offers super competition,
great side-by-side racing and there's plenty of room for everybody. I think
everybody loves Richmond.
"Even R.P. (team majority owner Roger Penske) really loves the place. He'll
be up there in the spotters' stand before the night race starts and says just
how great it would be to have a bunch of the Richmond tracks scattered out
across the country."
Wallace goes so far to say that if he had to choose a favorite racetrack on
the Winston Cup circuit, he couldn't pick just one: he'd rank the racetracks
at Richmond and Bristol (Tenn.) in a dead-heat for No. 1 in his book.
"I guess it's true that I really do have two very favorite tracks, if that's
possible," Wallace said. "Bristol has always been a great track for me and
with winning my first race there, all the success we've had, it has to rate
as super special.
"But, the fact is that I really love coming to Richmond to race and it's
extra special, too. The track is a great track to race on and the fans in
that area are some of the best around. Richmond is one of the most fun towns
we visit."
Wallace heads into Saturday night's race with a head of steam. He's had three
top-6 finishes and three top-9 qualifying efforts in his last six outings. He
currently sits in eighth place in the Winston Cup standings, just behind Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and slightly ahead of Kevin Harvick.
And while Wallace has just one win this season (at California), he is eager
to return to Richmond and put together not only another winning effort, but
do it in a fashion that he has grown accustomed to at the legendary Virginia
racing facility, with four of his six wins there having been dominating
victories.
"It'd sure be nice to get back to Richmond and put the whole deal together
again, dominate and win," said Wallace. "We've had a lot of dominant wins at
Richmond and we can do it again. I'm sure of that."
Wallace almost added to his victory string at Richmond in spring's Pontiac
400 back on May 5. After starting on the outside of the front row, Wallace
again dominated, eventually leading five times for 276 laps (nearly 70
percent of all laps). A red-flag caution period brought the race to a
temporary halt with only a few laps remaining. When racing resumed, Wallace
was in good position to grab the checkered flag. Unfortunately, so, too, were
Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.
The race came down to a two-lap shootout that Stewart wound up winning, much
to Wallace's chagrin. To add salt to his wounds, Wallace banged fenders with
Jeff Gordon on the second-to-last lap, lost a few split seconds of momentum
and ultimately settled for a third-place showing.
"I really hated giving up the victory, but Tony really had a great car,"
Wallace said after that race. "In long runs, his car was hooked up better. On
the caution flag there, everything cooled down, we were about to run out of
gas, and I got a good shot at him again.
"So I come off of turn four and got past Gordon, got alongside him going into
(turn) one, my car pushed up a little bit, we got together, banged around, he
went on, got away and finished second and I finished third."
It may not have been the kind of finish Wallace is accustomed to at Richmond,
but he gets another chance towards achieving that goal Saturday night. He
already perceives perfection. Now it's just a matter of going out and
achieving it again, and Wallace is more than ready to do just that in perfect
fashion.
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski covers Winston Cup for ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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