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NASCAR WCUP: Kenny Wallace 'pushes' to the final race of the season

16 November 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,- Square D Chevrolet driver Kenny Wallace drove his No. 55 Monte Carlo to a solid 15th place finish in Sunday's inaugural Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carrying the colors of "Flyer," a member of the new Fox Kids cartoon series "NASCAR Racers," Wallace piloted his sliver and blue Chevy from 19th on the grid to as high as 11th in the 267-lap event.

Despite driving a race car with an incessant push, Wallace methodically picked off cars one by one. He got by those cars with a little help from his friends - namely his pit crew. Sub 16-second pit stops were the order of the day, which was an important factor, considering that of the four pit stops performed, only one was done under caution. This enabled Wallace to keep the leaders in sight, and more importantly, gain some valuable points toward the season-ending point standings.

"It was a good run for us," said Wallace. "We made some major gains on the race car throughout the weekend. We ended up 15th and that's tolerable for our team because it helps us in the points. We'll move on to Atlanta now."

Heading into the season finale with the NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Wallace sits 21st in points, tied with Bill Elliott. While there is considerable distance between himself and 20th place Kenny Irwin (113 points), anything is possible.

Even though Dale Jarrett wrapped up the NASCAR Winston Cup Series point championship last Sunday at Homestead (Fla.), that doesn't mean there aren't anymore point battles being waged. For a driver who's sixth in points, he wants a top-five. For a driver who's 16th in points, he wants to finish in the top-15. Square D Chevrolet driver Kenny Wallace is no different.

Currently tied for 21st in the driver point standings with Bill Elliott, Wallace is on track to earn his career-best Winston Cup point finish. His previous best of 23rd came after his rookie year in 1993. So, how does Wallace maintain his current point position, and maybe with a little bit of luck, crack the top-20?

"We're just going to do what we've been doing the last six weeks," said Wallace, "and that's run the best we can whenever we can - race when it's time to race and don't race when it's not time to race. When you've got a good car, you keep that car out of trouble and make a run at the end. When you've got a bad car, you do what you can with it and finish the race.

"We've got some good equipment that we're taking down to Atlanta. It's a car that we feel has our most downforce and we'll just see if our Chevrolet can stay competitive with the Pontiacs. If anything, we want to come out of Atlanta with the best Chevrolet finish and maintain our spot in the points so that we feel good about ourselves going into the winter."

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