Rusty makes his 600th start Saturday!

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600TH CONSECUTIVE START FOR RUSTY WALLACE ON SATURDAY:
MILLER LITE TEAM PENSKE DRIVER WANTS RICHMOND WIN
-New Car & California Performance Have Wallace, Wilburn & Team Riding Momentum-


RICHMOND, Va. (April 30, 2003) - Miller Lite Team Penske Dodge driver Rusty Wallace sums up what a win in Saturday's Pontiac Excitement 400 would mean to him and his Bill Wilburn-led Penske Racing South team:

"Now that would be a cool deal," said the six-time race winner and three-time pole winner at Richmond. "That win would certainly tie up a lot of loose ends, wouldn't it?"

Loose ends like breaking a winless streak of 72 races that dates back to April of 2001. Loose ends like continuing his charge back up in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup standings. Loose ends like adding to the enviable statistical record Wallace enjoys on the Richmond track. The loose end list continues on and on.

Oh, and by the way, Saturday's Richmond race will mark Wallace's 600th consecutive start in stock car racing's top division, a streak that dates back to the first race of his rookie season on Feb. 19, 1984 at Daytona International Speedway.

Wallace and crew are coming into Richmond off a third-place finish in last Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. Wallace led two times for a total of 54 laps and appeared to be on the way to breaking the victory drought before having to settle for third. He says that the competitive showing out there is just what the team needs heading into Saturday's Richmond race.

"We were strong there on Sunday and could practically taste the win," Wallace said earlier this week in looking back on the California race which produced his first top-five finish of the season. "When we got the checkered flag and finished third, I immediately got on the radio and thanked the crew for putting a great little hot rod under me. I told them that they did a helluva job all day long in the pits. Billy (Wilburn, crew chief) made that call for the two tires and it was excellent. I congratulated him on using great strategy. The last thing that I told 'em was that we've got a winning team - we just haven't won yet. Later on in the media center, I told all the press guys the same thing -- that we have a winning team that just hasn't won yet.

"I don't think there's a better track for us to be going to than Richmond this weekend," said Wallace, who is now back up to 12th in the point standings and a mere nine points out of the top 10. "I mean even if I could choose where we went next, it'd either be Richmond or Bristol, so I don't have to tell you how much that means for our team morale.

"The great thing for me and the team is that we have another brand spanking new sexy little hot rod ready to hit Richmond with and we're coming in there ready to hit 'em with everything we've got," said Wallace of the new "PC-57" Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid that his team will debut this weekend on the .750-mile track. "We had the chance to stop off at Memphis (Motorsports Park) last Wednesday on the way out to California and get in some testing with it. I'll tell you what - this new car is gonna' be a great little piece and a super car for some of the shorter tracks. Without giving away any of our secrets, let's just say that we came up with a new spring and shock package that we'll be running at Richmond and we have a ton of confidence that we can close the deal there on Saturday night."

Wallace enters Richmond as the track's career statistical leader. The record book shows that in 38 races, he has the six wins and three poles, along with 20 top-five finishes, 25 top-10 finishes and $1,451,655 in career money won. His most recent Richmond win came in the spring race of 1997, while his most recent pole came in the spring race of 2000.

Wallace started ninth and finished 25th last May at Richmond and he started 23rd and finished 15th there last September.

"Last season was kind of an off year for us at Richmond and it was pretty weird," Wallace said of his team's 2002 performances. "There last fall, we kept on having tires go down and that just spoiled what could have been a good finish. There in the spring race, they had put so much sealer down that my car just stayed way too tight. The sealer never wore off and we lost a right-rear tire and then a right front. It was really frustrating because the high groove never came in and everyone was fighting for the same spot on the low side. I think - at least I hope - that the track has worn enough now that we'll see a better situation this time around."

As for making his 600th consecutive start, Wallace prefers to downplay the feat, saying that, "it's just another number. It shows that I've been around a pretty long time and have been fortunate to have stayed in one piece through the years. It's a testament for all the safety features that we have in these Winston Cup cars and especially for the job our guys do at Penske Racing in making these things as safe as possible."

While Wallace shuns the spotlight on his longevity of donning his helmet week in and week out, Wilburn is quick to bestow the accolades on his driver.

"I think Rusty's being a little too humble on making 600 consecutive starts," said Wilburn, who served for a decade as Wallace's front tire changer before assuming his crew chief duties last season. "I think it's a heck of an accomplishment. Maybe he doesn't realize how much it means and what all he's been through, but I do. I mean I've been right there standing in the pits watching and what I've seen has been pretty amazing. To have been there at Talladega back in '93 and seen him flying through the air like the 'famous flying Wallendas' and come right back to race the next week at Sears Point was amazing. Or to see him flip 16 times down the backstretch like he did that year at Daytona and come right back to win at Rockingham the very next week was unbelievable. I would have said that it was impossible to do, but he did it so I guess it's not. Anyhow, he's cutting himself way too short on what an accomplishment those 600 straight races mean.

"As for this week at Richmond, we're all pumped up and optimistic," Wilburn said. "I don't have to tell you how hungry Rusty is to win and that goes for everybody on our team. When you throw in the fact that we have a brand new race car, that puts the momentum up to a new level. Everybody knows the history of Rusty Wallace with new race cars at Richmond. Just think back about 'Midnight,' 'Midnight Rider' and all the others. Chances are that we'll be naming another car right there at Richmond after the race on Saturday night - at least that's the plan."
 
Do you think it will be mentioned more than one time during the race?

I put $20 on the fact that it is only noted a single time, and only slightly.
 
I would actually bet that it is only mentioned once in PRE-race and not more than that (unless he makes it to victory lane) If he does get the win what are the odds Nascar will let him put a case of Miller lite on top of his car? I'd love to be there for that party though!!
 
I hope none of you are suggesting that NASCAR interrupt the Lil'E Show to talk about something mundane as Rusty's 600th start. Everyone knows that Rusty on his best day couldn't carry Lil'E's strap. Sheesh, some people will never learn. :(
 
They will talk about every time they show him Saturday...If they show him...
 
IMO,it's a tremendous accomplishment,should be commerorated with a decal on the hood denoting 600 consecutive starts,or something like that anyway,JMO! :D
 
'Ol Russell said that his 600th start was at Rockingham earlier this year on the Busch broadcast tonight & this of course is his 600th consecutive start.
 
Originally posted by barelypure@May 1 2003, 12:07 PM
I hope none of you are suggesting that NASCAR interrupt the Lil'E Show to talk about something mundane as Rusty's 600th start. Everyone knows that Rusty on his best day couldn't carry Lil'E's strap. Sheesh, some people will never learn. :(
i say the "Lil E Show" should be cancelled or put on hiatus :lol:
 
Well, he had a medicore run after damaging the car but still a great accomplishment in my book....plus I got a sweet comemerative t-shirt out of the deal!
 
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