Lapped car helped Gordon catch Wallace

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BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Heartbreak is bad enough anytime on the Winston Cup circuit. It's worse when it comes at your favorite track, in front of NASCAR's most rabid audience, and within striking distance of your 55th career win.

Quote "I was trying like hell to catch him and knock the hell out of him." -- Rusty Wallace, on the battle with Jeff Gordon, which he lost

A bumper and a lapped car were Rusty Wallace's undoing Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Wallace was leading the Sharpie 500 with three laps to go, he was nudged aside by Jeff Gordon in Turn 3. It appeared a clean move; Gordon merely moving Wallace, not wrecking him, and Wallace keeping his car and composure intact.

At least momentarily.

"I was trying like hell to catch him and knock the hell out of him," Wallace said afterward. "But I just couldn't catch him."

"It is Bristol, and I was hungry," Gordon said.

	Wallace and Gordon had a similar battle at Bristol in the spring race in 1997. Credit: Autostock

Both former Cup champions were nursing victory droughts. Gordon's stood at 31 consecutive races, Wallace's at 50. Wallace started fourth and never fell out of the top 10. He didn't lead until late, finally overtaking Kevin Harvick on lap 482.

Running up front was short-lived, however. Wallace said a lapped-traffic encounter with Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Joe Nemechek was his ultimate undoing, not Gordon's tap.

"We had like five laps to go and I see all the lapped cars and I see the 25 coming and I said, 'Damn,'" Wallace said. "I was just wishing they would get up out of the way, and the guy just kept racing right in the groove. I just lost the air to the front of the car and I started pushing again like you always do. Then Gordon got up on me and the white flag was waving."

It was move or be moved, and Wallace got a helping hand. The incident was reminiscent of the 1997 spring race at Bristol, when the same thing happened with the same result.

Gordon won that race, too, and Wallace was the bridesmaid. This time, Wallace's reaction was tempered by numbers and common experiences.

"I know he wanted to win the thing real bad because all the fans have been on him about not winning," Wallace said "But I tell you, it's been about 40 or 50 races since I've won, too, so I wanted it real bad."

Wallace's last win came at California in April 2001. And despite Saturday's disappointment, the night wasn't without reward. He moved from seventh to sixth in the Cup points standings, just 162 points behind leader Sterling Marlin.

"I guess my day is coming, but man, I tried real hard," Wallace said.