Dodge Rusty Wallace Quotes from Thursday's Preseason Thunder at DIS

RUSTY WALLACE (No.  2 Miller Lite Dodge)

"Right now we're running pretty good. We're kinda stuck on one speed.
We're running 48.30, 48.30, 48.30 (ninth fastest in morning session at
48.279 seconds, 186.416 mph). After lunch we're going to make some
serious attempts to get some qualifying runs in, some gear ratio stuff
and start blocking it up slowly and things like that. We've done so much
work right now. I don't think we can make the bodies run any faster.
We've done all kind of stuff there. Aerodynamically I think we're as
good as we're going to get. What fixes these cars right up is more
horsepower under the hood when we get back, so I think the engine shop
will probably have about 10 more horsepower when we come back, they
generally do. We've got our Bud Shootout car finished right now, so
we'll be ready for that 3-5 drafting session. We'll see how that goes.
I'm expecting some good things."

 

WHY IS WINNING THE DAYTONA 500 SO IMPORTANT TO YOU? "We've come so close
to winning it so many times. We'd lose it with 10 laps to go and five
laps to go and things like that. Maybe it'll be my year this year. I
feel like I've got just as good a car as I've ever had. Our practice
speeds have been pretty strong. We've been in the top 10 the past two or
three days. I believe the performance is definitely there in the car.
It's just what lane you get in. I've always told everybody you can't win
this race until you're coming off turn four. Going into turn three is
where all hell breaks loose. Then at the checkered flag, whatever line
you get in and whatever drafting partner you've got, that's going to get
you to victory lane."

 

TALK ABOUT RESTRICTOR-PLATE RACING "I've been awfully close. Every time
I come to Daytona, it's been kind to me the last six or seven races.
I've been very, very close. We've had good runs in the 125s and good
runs in the Bud Shootout, and I really enjoy coming down here. It's just
a matter of where you're at going into turn three on that last lap. Get
yourself in position to make a good run and you can win this thing. Our
Bud Shootout car is the car I had at Talladega (2003). I was running
third with it with two laps to go. I let Stewart get underneath me off
turn four and about four of 'em drafted past me. I think I finished
seventh or eighth in that race. The speedway stuff for Penske Racing has
been pretty good. I've got high hopes for this race. I'd love to win
this thing and get back in the winner's circle. I've won about every
single track out there except Daytona. I've won in different divisions,
IROC and stuff like that, but never in Cup. I'd like to do that. I
really don't like to focus on those bad days in the past."

 

 

 

 

 "I love racing a lot and I plan on racing for at least two more years.
I'm not guaranteeing anything after that. I'm not going to say I'm going
to stop after two years, either. My Miller contract is for two more
years. I still enjoy what I'm doing a whole lot. I do enjoy other
things, also. I enjoy my car dealerships, building the Busch team. I
just took over all of Miller Brewing Company's show car programs. RWI is
operating all the show car programs for Miller Brewing now as of about a
month ago. I'm doing some things with Bell Helicopter next year. I just
signed a new four-year personal services contract with Bell Helicopter.
Bombardier Aerospace is on my uniform this year. It'll be on the 2, 12
and 77. The teams will fly a new style jet this year to bring all the
people to the track. I enjoy doing that type of stuff. I really enjoy
racing, but I find I've got to start managing my time a little better.
Even during the off season, I found myself going and going all the time.
We didn't take any vacation this year. We stayed around the house and
went up to North Carolina to our log home up there, but other than that,
it was wide open all the time."

 

DOES IT SURPRISE YOU THAT SOME VETERANS HAVE NEVER WON DAYTONA 500? "It
is amazing. I remember Dale went forever with people asking him when he
was going to win the Daytona 500. He won it and it wasn't an hour later
he told me they'd start asking me when I was going to win it. That's a
compliment to me. We were pretty good friends. I really think I've got
the car. It's so much luck at this place. You're wide open on the gas in
every single corner. Generally the car that qualifies the fastest is the
favorite down here because it's aerodynamics and horsepower. It's not so
much about handling. Handling is important, don't get me wrong, but
aerodynamics and horsepower really play a big, big role. Michael Waltrip
will tell you that. DEI has done a good job figuring it out. Our guys at
Penske Engines are probably the leaders in horsepower everywhere else.
We're doing pretty doggone good here right now. It'll be interesting to
see how we net out here tonight and go back and chassis dyno that car
and see what we've got when we come back. It's always more. I just hope
it's a lot more."

 

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO CONTINUE DOMINATION? "We've all been there. I
remember when Jeff Gordon won all his races and I won all my races and
Ryan did it last year. It's hard to do that year in and year out. I had
nine poles and four wins a couple of years ago. Then I had nine poles
the next season and the next season I had no poles, so I go from nine to
no poles. I didn't change as a driver. Rules changed 

and things changed, scenarios changed that kept me from it. I came close
plenty of times. I remember I qualified second four times and Jeff
Gordon beat me out in all of them. It changes so dramatically year after
year. It's tough to keep up that steam. From last year to this year,
we've got huge rule changes. Rules changes I welcome, the shorter
spoilers and softer tires. That type of stuff is really going to show up
when we get to Las Vegas. At Rockingham, it's always been a track that
wears the tires a lot. We're not going to have a tire issue there. These
other tracks, the tires were so hard they jus t wouldn't wear. They're
always going to wear at Rockingham. We're really going to show the new
rules when we show up at Vegas. That's where they're really going to
shine.

 

"I think Ryan will adjust to it. We're learning a lot of things from
year to year. The springs are so soft. The swaybars are so big. We
didn't know we could do that in the past. Now we know we can do that.
That's something you're not going to give up. Ryan will adjust fine to
it. I don't know what it's going to take with less spoiler and softer
tires. I don't know if it's going to take softer rear springs to
accommodate that. I don't know what it's going to take. As we speak
right now, my car is in Georgia in the wind tunnel getting ready for
Rockingham.

 

"I feel my driving style, what I've been accustomed to is working on the
car and get it working good. I'm more of a hands-on chassis guy. A lot
of these races last year was just track position. You couldn't get
around the guys. As far as the Brendan Gaughan thing, I can give you the
breakdown of the ownership structure. Basically, I own 24 percent of the
2 car and 12 car. Now we've taken the 77 car and purchased it from Doug
Bawel and put it under Penske South. Now myself, Don Miller, Roger
Penske own the 3 cars down. John Erickson owns five percent of the team
now. We've made him an owner. He's done a good job managing and he's
become a minority owner. Also, Doug Bawel owns a percentage of the 77
car, but the majority ownership has been split up between Penske South.
It's all under one camp.

 

"I'm looking forward to racing with Brendan. I took him to the Detroit
Auto Show and had a blast. He absolutely runs 300 mph. Everybody thinks
I'm wide open. This guy is a little stronger than I am. He's having a
good time with life, I'll tell you that. When we go out to Las Vegas,
we'll get some good hotel deals."