ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 26, 1996 TAG: 9608270043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN.
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
WITH HIS WIN AT BRISTOL on Saturday night, Rusty Wallace has won 13 of the past 32 short-track starts on the Winston Cup circuit.
For the past four years, dating to September 1992, Rusty Wallace has dominated the short tracks on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
Going into the Goody's 500 on Saturday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, he had won 12 of 31 starts in that span on layouts shorter than a mile and had finished second eight times.
Despite that record, Wallace wasn't content to maintain the status quo in terms of equipment. He and several members of his Mooresville, N.C.-based Penske South team began to design a new chassis and improve the suspension on their Ford.
The effort produced a splendid result on the .533-mile Bristol oval in front of a record crowd estimated at 92,000.
Wallace led 353 of the 500 laps, including the final 161, for another short-track triumph. He took the checkered flag .63 seconds ahead of Chevrolet rival Jeff Gordon.
``I'm a believer that you always have to be trying to develop something that'll work better in this sport,'' said Wallace after his fifth victory this season, sixth at Bristol and 46th of his career, which tied him for 11th on NASCAR's all-time list with Buck Baker. ``That's why me and some of the guys decided to develop a new chassis and suspension.
``Obviously, the new combination worked really well. It was perfect, in fact. The car really stuck to the track, and I was able to hug the lower line all race long. But when I needed to go high to get around traffic I could.
``There were several times when I restarted second or third after caution periods. After about six or seven laps, I could pass whomever was ahead of me and get back to the front. You have to have a really good car to do that, and I had a great one.''
Wallace's crew chief, Robin Pemberton, said it wasn't ``all car'' responsible for the triumph that pulled Wallace within one victory of Gordon for the season lead.
``Rusty drove the smartest race I've ever seen him drive,'' Pemberton said.
Wallace averaged 91.267 mph despite eight yellow flags that slowed the pace for 67 laps. He earned $77,090, a total that pushed his winnings over $1 million for the fourth straight season.
The outcome left Terry Labonte leading Gordon by 114 points in the chase for the $1.5 million Winston Cup points championship after 22 of 31 races. Dale Jarrett trails by 127 points and Dale Earnhardt dropped 198 back scraping the wall, falling off the pace and finishing 24th.
``We had a terrible run,'' said Labonte, who finished fifth. ``The car didn't work well, certainly not like we were expecting. We missed the setup somewhere, but salvaged a top five out of it.
``We'll take what we got and go on to Darlington next weekend.''
The Southern 500 is scheduled for Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Sunday.
Wallace said he is intent on winning back-to-back for the first time this season in racing toward his goal of nine victories in 1996.
``It's the Southern 500, our oldest race, and one everybody wants to win,'' said Wallace. ``I've finished second in it twice. I'd say it's about time for a victory.''
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Rusty Wallace (left) hugs his crew chief, Robinby CNBPemberton, after winning the Goody's 500 on Saturday night. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING