Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 25, 1991 TAG: 9103250090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BARBERVILLE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
"I'm the man now," he said.
Wallace, who's driven in the shadows of Winston Cup star Rusty Wallace, won his first NASCAR race, driving a Pontiac Grand Prix to a 5.41-second victory over Tommy Houston.
"I'm relieved for myself," the younger Wallace said after winning $12,975. "Now I got some credentials. Now that I have my first win, I really can feel like a winner.
"I guess in my family, I'm the man right now. That's for sure," said Wallace, who leads the current Grand National standings by 136 points.
Rusty Wallace, the 1989 Winston Cup champion, owns his younger brother's team but was not at the track Sunday.
Kenny Wallace started 13th, but quickly cut a path to the front. On the 74th of 200 laps, he drove around Virginian Jimmy Hensley for the lead and held it for the next 126 laps without a threat.
"My car could run high or low," Wallace said. "In fact, I got to the front by passing people high. At Volusia, you're not supposed to be able to run high, but I did."
Houston fell to 26th place after being caught in a six-car accident on the 29th lap and ran out of time trying to make up ground.
"My car still held its pace," Houston said, although his Buick was heavily damaged along the front and couldn't turn corners easily. "I don't know if I could have caught Kenny anyway. He was awfully good."
Butch Miller was third in an Oldsmobile, followed by Hensley and David Green.
Wallace averaged 85.918 mph, although he said he ran the final 20 laps at half-throttle.
"I heard something in the engine, so I backed off," he said. "The car started vibrating.
"The motor didn't sound crisp. I had a big enough lead where I could run half-throttle in the turns and coast down the straightaways."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB