Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 17, 1990 TAG: 9003172277
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Medium
Now, Wallace is back at the 1.522-mile oval, for Sunday's Motorcraft 500, and is ready to enjoy the visit.
Not even Friday's day-long rain, postponing the opening round of qualifying until today, could dampen his spirits.
Wallace came into the 1989 season-finale knowing he couldn't take any chances and needed only an 18th-place finish to win the prestigious $1 million title.
He drove an uncharacteristically conservative race, finished an unspectacular 15th and wound up beating race-winner Dale Earnhardt for the championship by only 12 points.
"I'm looking forward to Sunday," he said. "Last time here, I had to drive a way I didn't want to drive.
"I had so many thoughts running through my head: Am I going to run slow? Am I going to run hard? Am I going to pace myself? Am I going to do this or that?
"Now, it's different. I'm here with just one thing on my mind, and that's to mash the gas and run as hard as I can and try to win the race."
Wallace is second to Earnhardt in the standings, 474 points to 466, heading into the fourth race of the season.
Despite their high standing, however, neither has won a pole or a race this season.
The poles have gone to Ken Schrader, Ricky Rudd and Kyle Petty, with Derrike Cope, Mark Martin and Petty earning race victories.
"I figured some new teams would be up front [this year]," Wallace said. "But I didn't figure it would happen right off the bat.
"Derrike Cope's got a good car and had a good engine, and he did a good job driving it at Daytona. He ran strong and it wasn't a fluke.
"He ran one, two and three all day, so he deserved to win if Dale [Earnhardt] couldn't.
"And then, with Kyle at Rockingham, he unloaded [the car] tough. They built a good car and had a strong engine and it handled extremely good. That was a real pull-off for him to win the pole and the race.
"This isn't the usual stuff going on this early in the season. I don't know if it'll continue. Winston Cup racing is always changing and the same guys don't always rule the roost."
Wallace expects the points race to be a tough battle.
"I think it'll be me and Dale and some other drivers who haven't showed yet, meaning people like Darrell [Waltrip] and Bill Elliott . . . " Wallace said.
"They all realize what it takes to win the championship, and when the cream rises to the top those are the guys who know how to race for the points.
"I'm not saying that I'm just racing for the points, though. I'm racing for the win in every race. But you've also got to know how to gain points all along the way."
by CNB