Rusty Wallace believes he could end a 30-year dry spell at Bristol for Dodge. Credit: Autostock

Wallace hopes for solid 'homecoming' at Bristol

Rusty Wallace hopes his penultimate race at Bristol Motor Speedway returns him to the status he once enjoyed at the raucous venue.

Wallace swept both Bristol races in 2000, won consecutive versions of the spring Food City 500 in 1999-2000 and has six victories overall in Bristol's daytime race, to go with three night race wins.

Three different times, Wallace -- the leading active winner at Bristol ahead of Jeff Gordon's five victories -- has had strings of five, six and seven consecutive top-10 finishes at Bristol. His first career Cup win and the 50th of his career both came there.

	Inside the Numbers Rusty Wallace at Bristol Category No. Races 42 Wins 9 Top 5s 21 Top 10s 28 Poles 7 Laps 19,476 Laps Led 3,577 Earnings $2,144,690 Avg. Start 8.0 Avg. Finish 9.6 Rusty on his relationship with Ryan Newman Wallace explains why he plans to retire after 2005 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

"It would mean a ton to me [to win]," Wallace said. "We used to go there expecting to win every race -- not just us, but the fans and the other competitors looked at me and my team as the guys to beat each and every time we hit Bristol.

"It would be absolutely tremendous to win at Bristol and I think we have more success in store for that track. It'll always be a special place and my personal favorite track [so] we'll definitely be back there with both barrels loaded for the two races this year."

In reality, in the fifth race of "Rusty's Last Call," what he says is his final season in racing, Wallace is trying to return to the form he once knew on the .533-mile velodrome known as "Thunder Valley."

Wallace's success at Bristol, the budding business empire he's established in the area and the fan support he's known all expand his enthusiasm.

"I've always been quick to call it my favorite racetrack," Wallace said. "The fact that I won my first race there back in 1986, the fact that we've always had so much success there, the fact that we have such a big following of race fans in the area and having the auto dealerships just down the road from the place all add up to making it like a homecoming every time we go to Bristol.

"It has always been a special place for us and always will be. With this being our next-to-last visit driving that No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, you just know that the emotions will be running high."

Wallace has begun the season in top-10 concert with Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman. Newman's No. 12 Alltel Dodge is sixth in the standings; Wallace is ninth.

That Wallace could win at Bristol is almost a given. He's led 27 of the 42 events he's competed in at the East Tennessee short track since Spring 1984. He's never gone more than two races without leading at least a lap and has led 3,577 laps.

But his recent record shows signs of paling. He's led 323 laps in the eight races since he last won, but he has only one top five in his past four starts after accruing four consecutive top-10s after his August 2000 score.

Last spring Wallace showed some signs of returning to prowess, as he started fourth and finished second at Bristol for the seventh time in his career. He led 100 laps.

"Thank goodness that things got back to normal at Bristol last spring," Wallace said. "We went through a long stretch there where it seemed like nothing could go wrong. We were winning all the poles and the races.

"Then, it was like overnight the luck changed where it felt like stuff was just falling from the sky and hitting us. Anyhow, it sure felt good to get back to normal there at Bristol in last year's spring race."

	RUSTY WALLACE •   Driver Page •   2005 Statistics •   Rusty's Web site

Kurt Busch, on the other hand, is showing Wallace-like tendencies in his last six Bristol starts, with four wins, six consecutive top-10s and laps led in five of those races. Wallace is nonplussed by those stats, which include Busch winning the last three spring races.

"It's always been the deal with me that whenever we go to a track that we've done well at, there's just a big boost in the confidence level," Wallace said. "There's no other place like Bristol for me.

"When you've had all the success we've enjoyed through the years -- nine wins and seven poles -- hell, it's easy to get all jacked up every single time we go there."

Wallace's stats overall prove his affinity for the place. His average starting position is 8.0 and his average finish is 9.6 -- which includes 21 top-five finishes.

It makes him think he could end a 30-year dry spell at Bristol for Dodge, or since Richard Petty swept both races in 1975.

"Coming back home to Bristol couldn't happen at a better time than right now," said Wallace, who ranked 22nd in the point standings at this time last season. "We had a pretty rough day at Atlanta the last time out and we know Bristol can give us the boost we're looking for.

"We tested a brand-spanking new race car there a few weeks back and we know this little hot rod is ready to get the job done."

Wallace said the latest unique schedule iteration doesn't trouble him, either. Cup cars have two hours of practice Friday before they qualify late Friday afternoon. After that they're impounded until Sunday's race, with no work allowed.

"We really focused on our race setup during the test," Wallace said. "We ran more than 200 laps the day we were there. We did put a qualifying setup in for a few laps.

"When we got the race setup where we could just take off and really be flying around the place many laps into the run, we knew it was time to load her up and head home."