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But he denied he was leaving.
"Everything's the same," Wallace said before ducking into the team's hauler.
Matt Kenseth likely will win the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup championship, but he isn't exactly roaring to the title.
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| Matt Kenseth will start 37th on Sunday at Phoenix. Credit: Autostock |
Kenseth hasn't had a top-five finish since Indianapolis, and he's had only one top-10 in the last five events.
And qualifying? Even worse. Kenseth didn't make the Checker Auto Parts 500 on time, marking the fourth time in the past six races Kenseth has used a provisional to get in the field.
"We ran OK at times today, but we just don't have the speed," Kenseth said. "It's just like what we've done the last few weeks. Our car drives pretty good, but we just don't go anywhere.
"I'm doing everything I can do. I don't feel that bad. We just don't go anywhere, so we'll just have to wear them down in the race like we've been doing."
Kenseth carries a 258-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. into Sunday's race.
Casey Mears hasn't exactly lit it up in qualifying this season, either, but he posted a solid eighth-place effort Friday at Phoenix. Mears credited a recent test session for the good run, and he looks forward to Sunday's race.
"Phoenix is a lot different than any other track," said Mears, who has qualified in the top 10 five times this year. "It's kind of like a Nazareth or something like that. We did a lot of testing here in Indy Lights.
"I've always liked the place and we qualified good here in the Busch car last year and qualified inside the top-10 in the Busch yesterday. I like it. It's a fun track.
"I'm real happy with that lap. Anytime you can be inside the top 10 in a Winston Cup race is huge because it's so competitive and so tough. I think the fact that it cooled down a little bit there at the end and it looked like one and two was shaded so we picked up some grip for sure from the beginning. Just to be inside the top 10, I'm really happy with that."
There may not have been a happier driver in the Valley of the Sun than Larry Foyt.
 | CHECKER AUTO PARTS 500 |  | Ryan Newman collects his 10th pole of the season
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|  | Brian Vickers continues to be impressive
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|  | Johnson falls a bit short of the mark at Phoenix
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Foyt came to Phoenix having failed to qualify for six of the last seven races he entered -- and the team had missed eight of the last nine -- but Foyt laid down a lap of 131.488 mph to put A.J. Foyt's No. 14 car in the field.
"I've been saying it all year: Any day we make a race on time is a good day for us," Larry Foyt said. "It wasn't looking good early in the day. We'd been fighting the car. We just made a bunch of changes and everything worked out good. We got a great draw. The sun going down helped us out a ton, I think. Everything just worked out for once."
Mark Green drove the car at Charlotte and Martinsville because Foyt was sitting out with an injury, but the team still missed the field. That makes Friday's run even sweeter.
"It's so great just walking back over here," Foyt said. "There were about five or six guys from other teams that walked over to me and said 'Great job' because I think they know our situation and they kind of root for us a little bit. We're a small team and it's like a family so it means a lot to everybody because it's really like a family effort.
"I went over and talked to Robby Gordon, and he tried to help me out with some of the secrets to driving the place. My dad has been here helping us out. Really, a whole team effort today."
Ward Burton posted the 20th-fastest speed on his first qualifying lap. Lucky for him, because he spun and banged into the wall off Turn 2 on his second lap.
"The driver was just trying a little bit too hard," Burton said. "The car was a little bit too loose. We had one of the best practices I've ever had in Winston Cup today, from where we started to where we ended up, a top-five or top-10 car, and I think it will be on Sunday."
There was minor damage on the right-rear quarterpanel, and Burton's Haas CNC Racing team won't go to a backup.
"It's not that bad," Burton said. "You can see right there, but we're going to fix it. I'm just sorry the team's got to do a little extra work."
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| Ryan Newman had no love for Dale Eanrhardt Jr. at Atlanta. Credit: Autostock |
Ryan Newman, who chose not to speak to reporters last week at Atlanta after an incident with Dale Earnhardt Jr., did address it Friday at Phoenix.
"I saw a brief part of the replay, not the entire situation," Newman said. "I know that I was clear when I pulled in front of him. I know that my car was straight when I was in front of him. I believe he hit me again. The point being I was on the straightaway when I got hit."
Newman was in front of Earnhardt Jr. as the two came off Turn 2. The two made contact, sending Newman spinning into the inside wall. He finished 29th, while Earnhardt Jr. ended up sixth.
Robby Gordon isn't the only NASCAR driver who will compete in the Baja 1000 off-road race after the season. Craftsman Truck Series points leader Brendan Gaughan will jet from Homestead, Fla. after the NCTS banquet Nov. 15 for Mexico for the famed off-road race.
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