The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

NASCAR WCUP: Daytona 500, post race notes and quotes, Rusty Wallace

21 February 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

RUSTY WALLACE --2-- Miller Lite Taurus -- "We tried hard we just couldn't get the pit stops working all day long. We kept losing positions everytime we pitted and it really killed us. We had a great car, but we just couldn't get the pit stops going."

WHAT ABOUT THE JOB JARRETT'S TEAM DID? "He didn't tear the car up much, he just bent the air dam up under it, that's about it."

HOW WAS THE RACING? "I thought the racing was fine, it wasn't single file and three-wide and all that, which the fans like to see but we don't like to see that us drivers don't. We like what we had today."

WILL WE HEAR MORE FROM THE CHEVY GUYS? "No, I don't think so. The Chevy's just didn't get their cars handling good it looked like. They were having a problem there for some reason. They'd get looser and looser pushing the front end, I just don't think they hit on it. That's about it."

WILL THERE BE THIS TYPE OF DOMINATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR OR IS IT JUST A RESTRICTOR-PLATE DEAL? "Well, I think it's just a restrictor-plate thing. We'll have to see now when we get to Rockingham how we run, but we had a great race today -- a good, safe race and we ran strong. We started fifth and finished fourth and we were in the top five all week long. Ever since we unloaded off the truck we were in the top five and it felt good."

DID THE WEATHER AFFECT THE TRACK? "I don't think it did. My car was great all day long. I got a little tight one time and took a little wedge out of it and took some air out of the right-front tire and it nailed the car. It was great at the end, but track position was the whole deal. You had to have it."

COULD YOU HAVE WON IF YOU WERE IN FRONT? "If I could have got in front I could have stayed in front, but track position was everything in the world. That was the whole deal. When I didn't have the track position I lost a lot in the pits and that's too bad because we did a lot of practicing in the off-season and we had some mistakes today that hurt us."

Text provided by Ford

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.