Given how he has moved so quickly up the performance ladder since being released by Ultra Motorsports, and based upon his runner-up finish at Phoenix, it's quite possible Wallace's first win may be right around the corner.

"We feel we're capable of winning a race before the year is out," Wallace said. "Rockingham would be as good a place as any to do that.

"The track has its nuances and peculiarities, just like any other track, but it's certainly tameable. At least one team has tamed it every time they've run a race here, and Peter (Sospenzo, crew chief) and these guys have put some incredible cars out there before.

There's no question Wallace is driving a more potent and better-prepared car for Penske than he did with Ultra. That will certainly work to his advantage, particularly Sunday, due to the abrasive nature of the racing surface at the 1.017-mile Rockingham oval. Simply put, The Rock can be one of the most trying places on a car and driver, particularly when it comes to tire wear.

"They easily had the best car on the track at Rockingham in this race a year ago, leading most of the laps and just kicking everyone until they had an alternator go bad on them at the end of the race," Wallace said.

Tires notwithstanding, Rockingham's exaggerated D-shaped layout can be deceiving. It looks relatively easy from the grandstandd, but actually piloting a stock car around it is an entirely different thing.

"Tire management is very important at a track like Rockingham," Wallace said. "The first thing a driver can do to manage tires is help get the car handling really well. Through all your practices and long runs you've got to be able to say, 'I think the car is running the very best it can drive.' It needs to be as free as it can drive without pushing and without being loose, just rolling through the corner.

"A good qualifying run Friday can go a long way in helping you on Sunday, but good tire management will end up being the key to the race on Sunday. That's what we're counting on for this Mobil 1 Taurus team."

Besides the recent improvement he's enjoyed, Wallace has also experienced a confidence boost. While with Ultra Motorsports, he enjoyed just four top-10 finishes -- the highest being sixth-place in the season-opening Daytona 500 -- in 21 starts. Since joining Penske, Wallace has a second- and eighth-place finish in four starts, and nearly had two additional top-10s.

"We have to keep putting good cars out there and we have to keep running well," he said. "We have to keep knocking down those incredible pit stops like the guys have been. If we keep doing that, we honestly feel we'll win a race this year.

"Our goals this week at Rockingham are the same as they were at Phoenix last week, Talladega the week before that, and Martinsville and Charlotte before that. We want to put together a good car, run up front and show what we're capable of doing."

And that's Wallace's "I'll Show You" philosophy in action.