NASCAR WCUP: Kenny Wallace says Bristol is 'Racing the way it oughtta be'
24 August 1999
CHARLOTTE, N.C., - An ill-handling race car plagued the Square D Racing Team throughout the Pepsi 400 weekend at Michigan Speedway. The team's No. 55 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was either too tight, too loose or a combination of both. Either way, driver Kenny Wallace had his hands full."It's been a struggle all week," said Wallace after finishing 27th. "The car just pushed badly through the corners. When we tried to take the push out of it, the car would just get loose."
"Racing the way it oughtta be!" If Square D Chevrolet driver Kenny Wallace worked within the marketing department of Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, this would be his slogan to promote racing under the lights at Bristol.
"Being a Wallace, I grew up racing at night," said Kenny. "Dad, Rusty, Mike - we all raced at night. That's just the way it was, and that's the way it ought to be. It wasn't until I went Winston Cup racing where I did all this daytime racing.
"The lighting at the tracks we go to is just unbelievable, and Square D has a lot to do with that. Bristol is no exception. Bruton's (Smith, track owner) got a bunch of Square D electrical gear in that place. I got a reminder of how good our lighting systems really are when I went short track racing a couple of weeks ago. The track we ran on was so dark, I couldn't see anyone in my mirror."
Keeping the competition in his rear view mirror for 500 laps is Wallace's plan at Bristol's .533-mile oval. The recently turned 36-year-old is a former pole-sitter for the Bristol night race (1997), and he would like nothing better than to lead the field to green once again.
"Back in April I qualified and ran well for both the Busch and the Cup race. Bristol has always been a Wallace track, so I'd like to keep up our competitive tradition. Plus, qualifying is just four days after my birthday. Another pole would make a great present."
Instead of staying at a local hotel for the Bristol (Tenn.) race weekend, members of the Square D Racing Team will be camping on one of the hills surrounding Bristol Motor Speedway. Crew chief Jimmy Elledge has rented a camper for the team's outing to Thunder Valley, while other crew members plan on bringing tents. Kenny Wallace, driver of the Square D Chevrolet, had this to say about his team's planned camping trip: "I just hope they get enough sleep, don't turn the motorhome over and don't light too big of a bonfire. But they've worked hard all year, so they deserve to cut loose."
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