Wallace

SONOMA, Calif. -- Rusty Wallace, sixth in points after 16 Winston Cup races, has never been considered timid. But now, he says it's time to really start bearing down.

"I've kind of taken a conservative approach that has been netting me those sixth through 10th-place finishes," he said. "I haven't been near as aggressive with some of the new things going on."

He said some drivers, including teammate Ryan Newman, had experimented successfully with chassis and suspension adjustments he thought were "too far off the beaten path."

"But now that I see it working, I'm more apt to start the second half of the season by getting on the aggressive side of things," he said. "I think the wins will come and the top 5s should start coming."

He finished 27th in Sunday's Dodge-Save Mart 350, the last car on the lead lap.

New name, new events?
Sears Point changed its name over the weekend to Infineon Speedway -- a German company with Mario Andretti as its spokesman.

With Europe's love for Formula One and Andretti's racing background, does that mean open-wheeled competition is returning to wine country?

"As the landscape changes in motor sports, I'm sure there will be changes in motorsports events that will come here over the years," Steve Page, the raceway president and general manager said. "A nice wishy-washy answer for you."

At a reception later, Andretti was a little more forthright.

"When you have so much support, obviously you have to have the facilities," the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner said of the renovated track.

"When you have the field, you can get the players."

Double duty
Tony Stewart won the pole on Friday for the Dodge-Save Mart 350, took part in happy hour Saturday, then headed to Altamont Raceway Park in nearby Tracy for a USAC Western States Sprint car race.

Stewart set a record in qualifying to win the pole, finished second in the heat and won the feature on a last-lap pass.

"It was fun racing," he said. "We ran in front of maybe 6,500 fans and maybe a couple dozen of them asked for my autograph. It was just good racing."

He crossed the line second on Sunday, just behind Ricky Rudd.

Double Duty II
Jim Inglebright, who won Saturday's Featherlite Southwest Series Snap-On Tools-Jelly Belly 200, made his first foray into Winston Cup racing on Sunday.

"I thought I ought to get some experience in a Cup car," he said before the race.

He raced 109 laps on Sunday, and finished 32nd one lap down.