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 “We had a strong car and had ourselves in position many times and just weren’t able to do it." |
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Rusty Wallace
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By Denise N. Maloof, CNNSI.com
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Being a bridesmaid wasn’t what Rusty Wallace had in mind Sunday afternoon, but considering where he started, runner-up status didn’t feel so bad.
Wallace trailed winner Matt Kenseth across the finish line in the Checker Auto Parts 500. It was much better than where he began his day at Phoenix International Raceway, and as the schedule winds down to next week’s finale at Homestead, Wallace is battling for two things -- fourth place in the final points standings and his first win of 2002.
The latter could’ve happened Sunday, if not for the jackrabbit Kenseth.
“We had a strong car and had ourselves in position many times and just weren’t able to do it,” said Wallace, who’s also battling a career-long 61-race winless streak.
Wallace started 29th Sunday after a poor qualifying session. He made up the early deficit with good pit work by his crew, using mostly two-tire stops. Wallace was 25th on lap 20, 10th on lap 40. He hovered in the top 10 for nearly all of the event’s 312 laps, but wasn’t able to beat Kenseth off pit road on the final series of stops.
That last bit of strategy -- played out during the day’s fourth and final caution period on laps 259 to 264 -- illustrated the importance of two-tire changes and aerodynamic advantages. Ever the chassis-tinkerer, Wallace preferred two tires over four all day, both for speed and position. And clean air was paramount.
“I tell you, those first two laps are incredible with how much you can jump out and then maintain that,” said Wallace, who was running third at the time of his last pit stop. “You can just jump out there and get in that clean air and those guys are back there struggling.”
Kenseth won the pit-road race, while Wallace blasted out second. But catching Kenseth proved impossible, even with crew chief Bill Wilburn reciting lap times.
“It was like I’d get a little bit and then he’d get a little bit,” Wallace said of the interval between first and second, a condition that prevailed throughout the race. “It was just going back and forth, and I could pretty well tell it was gonna be a tough deal, unless he popped a motor or blew a tire right there at the end.”
So Sunday’s car -- the same Ford Taurus that finished second in the Brickyard 400 -– will get its third career start at Homestead. Next week, as last week, Wallace said he’d request top power from Penske Racing engine guru Larry Wallace (no relation).
“That’s what I asked for this week,” Rusty Wallace said. “I said, ‘I don’t ask you for a lot, but I do want the very best engine in the house in that 2 car this week, and he said, ‘No problem.’”
As for something to fight for, there’s plenty of motivation. Sunday’s finish means Wallace and rookie Jimmie Johnson are tied for fourth place in the points standings -- 238 behind leader Tony Stewart.
Finishing fourth would equal Wallace’s best showing since finishing fourth in the 1998 season.
“We’ve been talking to a lot of people about what setups they’ve been running down there and what’s been happening,” said Wallace, who didn’t test at Homestead (neither did rookie teammate Ryan Newman). “So we’re going to throw in a big ‘ol barrel and stir it all up and see if we come out with some honey.”
