Wallace: NASCAR had to fine me for incident

Rusty still hasn't spoken to Newman about post-race contact

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Rusty Wallace said Tuesday he accepted NASCAR's penalty for making contact with teammate Ryan Newman's car on pit road at Martinsville Speedway.

Rusty Wallace Credit: Autostock

"The $10,000 fine I got was something that they had to give me to keep the consistency going (because) they did it to Robby Gordon and three or four other guys this year," Wallace said. "I'll pay the fine (and) get on down the road."

Two weeks ago, Wallace was frustrated after his and Newman's cars collided on the racetrack while battling for second behind winner Jimmie Johnson with less than seven laps remaining.

"I might have won that race in Martinsville, if I wouldn't have had the problem with my teammate at the very end," Wallace said. "I felt like I was in a position to win the thing and it didn't work out."

Wallace made contact with his teammate when they returned to pit road following the race, in which Newman finished third behind Jamie McMurray and Wallace was 10th.

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"When I bumped into Ryan with a little frustration after the race was over at Martinsville, they had to fine me," Wallace said. "I understand (and) I talked to (Nextel Cup series director John) Darby about it."

Wallace said Tuesday that he and his teammate had still not discussed the incident.

"We haven't had time to sit down and work it out," Wallace said. "We don't have the personalities worked out yet. We'll continue to work on that but it won't happen till after the season."