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Wallace continues to struggle against Gordon
By B. Duane Cross, CNNSI.com August 27, 2002
2:25 PM EDT (1825 GMT)
Once upon a time, Rusty Wallace was the hard-charging face of Winston Cup. He was the "young gun" before anyone knew there was such a thing. He was Rookie of the Year in 1984, won the Winston Cup championship in 1989 and looked to be NASCAR's poster boy for years to come.
Oh, how times have changed.
Rusty Wallace Credit: Autostock
Wallace insists his driving style hasn't changed; he still wants to run up front and contend for the series' points title. But so do Dave Blaney, Joe Nemechek and any number of drivers.
After years of doing it his way, Wallace is now taking cues from rookie teammate Ryan Newman. "Ryan has been real aggressive in his thought process," Wallace said. "I'd basically say, 'Bah-humbug to that,' but then I see it work and I say, 'Well, now I feel more comfortable trying some of that stuff.'
"So we're going with a real aggressive setup, and I think the wins will come. But, man, it really has changed."
Still, Wallace isn't the same driver who banged fenders with Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and the other good ol' boys who helped launch NASCAR's current upswing. And he isn't for one reason: Jeff Gordon, who is unquestionably Wallace's arch nemesis.
In the five years before Gordon joined Winston Cup, Wallace had 21 wins (10 in 1993 alone), three top-six points finishes and a points championship.
Gordon came on board in 1994 and won a couple of races and finished eighth in points en route to Rookie of the Year accolades. Wallace, meanwhile, won eight times and was third in points that year.
But since 1995, Gordon has 57 victories; Wallace has only 15. Gordon also has four Winston Cup championships, while Wallace hasn't finished better than fourth in the past eight years.
The Sharpie 500 on Saturday night at Bristol was deja vu all over again for Gordon and Wallace. It also was another example of how these two drivers' careers are on different paths.
With three laps to go, Wallace held the lead over Gordon. Rolling through Turn 2, Wallace got loose and Gordon moved up on Wallace's bumper. After that, it was a repeat of 1997.
Flashback to '97: "There's nothing I could do different," Wallace said of the pass made by Gordon. "When I went down the back straightaway, he closed in and kind of gave me a bump. It got me up the race track, he got underneath me and that was it. I'd never lost a race coming off the [final] corner, never."
Fast forward to 2002: "I got hit in the rear end going into [Turn] 3 and knocked sideways and [it] knocked me out of the groove," Wallace explained. "It's the same thing he did to me [before]. That's just racing, I guess.
"I would have liked to win. It's been a long time since I won, but it's been a long time since Jeff won, too, and I know he wanted it real bad."
And therein lies the problem. Wallace, too, should have wanted it "real bad" and driven it like he stole it. While Gordon was riding a 31-race winless streak, Wallace's drought is now 50 races.
"I guess my day is coming," Wallace said. "I tried real hard. I just got nailed in the rear end on the last lap and turned sideways. I didn't expect it."
How could he not?
Wasn't it Nemechek -- Gordon's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports -- blocking the low line in front of Wallace? Wasn't it Gordon on his bumper, the same Jeff Gordon who'd nudged Wallace out of the way five years ago?
"At a short track," Gordon explained, "if you can get to the rear bumper and give him a little tap, it's going to happen. You expect it from them and they should expect it from you."
Once recognized as the driver to beat on short tracks and road courses, Wallace has taken a back seat to Gordon on both venues. And Wallace has never been truly feared on the superspeedways, either. So instead of a career for the ages, Wallace's legacy has been relegated to that of the other 42 drivers who compete against Gordon: Good, but not good enough.
Wallace continues to struggle against Gordon
By B. Duane Cross, CNNSI.com August 27, 2002
2:25 PM EDT (1825 GMT)
Once upon a time, Rusty Wallace was the hard-charging face of Winston Cup. He was the "young gun" before anyone knew there was such a thing. He was Rookie of the Year in 1984, won the Winston Cup championship in 1989 and looked to be NASCAR's poster boy for years to come.
Oh, how times have changed.
Rusty Wallace Credit: Autostock
Wallace insists his driving style hasn't changed; he still wants to run up front and contend for the series' points title. But so do Dave Blaney, Joe Nemechek and any number of drivers.
After years of doing it his way, Wallace is now taking cues from rookie teammate Ryan Newman. "Ryan has been real aggressive in his thought process," Wallace said. "I'd basically say, 'Bah-humbug to that,' but then I see it work and I say, 'Well, now I feel more comfortable trying some of that stuff.'
"So we're going with a real aggressive setup, and I think the wins will come. But, man, it really has changed."
Still, Wallace isn't the same driver who banged fenders with Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and the other good ol' boys who helped launch NASCAR's current upswing. And he isn't for one reason: Jeff Gordon, who is unquestionably Wallace's arch nemesis.
In the five years before Gordon joined Winston Cup, Wallace had 21 wins (10 in 1993 alone), three top-six points finishes and a points championship.
Gordon came on board in 1994 and won a couple of races and finished eighth in points en route to Rookie of the Year accolades. Wallace, meanwhile, won eight times and was third in points that year.
But since 1995, Gordon has 57 victories; Wallace has only 15. Gordon also has four Winston Cup championships, while Wallace hasn't finished better than fourth in the past eight years.
The Sharpie 500 on Saturday night at Bristol was deja vu all over again for Gordon and Wallace. It also was another example of how these two drivers' careers are on different paths.
With three laps to go, Wallace held the lead over Gordon. Rolling through Turn 2, Wallace got loose and Gordon moved up on Wallace's bumper. After that, it was a repeat of 1997.
Flashback to '97: "There's nothing I could do different," Wallace said of the pass made by Gordon. "When I went down the back straightaway, he closed in and kind of gave me a bump. It got me up the race track, he got underneath me and that was it. I'd never lost a race coming off the [final] corner, never."
Fast forward to 2002: "I got hit in the rear end going into [Turn] 3 and knocked sideways and [it] knocked me out of the groove," Wallace explained. "It's the same thing he did to me [before]. That's just racing, I guess.
"I would have liked to win. It's been a long time since I won, but it's been a long time since Jeff won, too, and I know he wanted it real bad."
And therein lies the problem. Wallace, too, should have wanted it "real bad" and driven it like he stole it. While Gordon was riding a 31-race winless streak, Wallace's drought is now 50 races.
"I guess my day is coming," Wallace said. "I tried real hard. I just got nailed in the rear end on the last lap and turned sideways. I didn't expect it."
How could he not?
Wasn't it Nemechek -- Gordon's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports -- blocking the low line in front of Wallace? Wasn't it Gordon on his bumper, the same Jeff Gordon who'd nudged Wallace out of the way five years ago?
"At a short track," Gordon explained, "if you can get to the rear bumper and give him a little tap, it's going to happen. You expect it from them and they should expect it from you."
Once recognized as the driver to beat on short tracks and road courses, Wallace has taken a back seat to Gordon on both venues. And Wallace has never been truly feared on the superspeedways, either. So instead of a career for the ages, Wallace's legacy has been relegated to that of the other 42 drivers who compete against Gordon: Good, but not good enough.