Solid chemistry with his crew is one reason for Rusty Wallace's recent success. Credit: Autostock

Strong run builds momentum for Wallace

LONG POND, Pa. -- According to Rusty Wallace, sweeping changes, such as the Chase for the Nextel Cup, sometimes call for equally sweeping adjustments.

One such adjustment gave Wallace a second-place finish in Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.

Credit: Autostock

Results Pennsylvania 500 Pos. Driver Make 1. Kurt Busch Ford 2. Rusty Wallace Dodge 3. Mark Martin Ford 4. Carl Edwards Ford 5. Ryan Newman Dodge Complete results, click here Unofficial standings, click here Victory LaneBusch celebrates a dominant performance Race ReactionWallace, Martin, and Johnson sum up the day Final LapsKurt Busch holds off Wallace and Martin for the win Bumper tagEdwards tags Kahne in the final laps Nowhere to goNewman has tire go down, gets tagged by McMurray PenalizedEarnhardt Jr. serves a penalty on pit road Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

"I went into today's race with what I consider a radical setup for me -- the most radical setup I've ever had in my life," Wallace said. "I mean it was way radical -- something that Mark Martin used to drive a long time ago and he's the loosest driving driver in the world."

It's ironic that Wallace, in his 25th year of racing in NASCAR's premier division, admits to such a drastic philosophical change -- and even more so that he used it Sunday to beat Martin, who finished third behind winning Roush Racing teammate Kurt Busch and Wallace.

"I had that baby jacked up in the back and laying down in the front," Wallace said. "I've really gotten aggressive in my thinking.

"If you told me last year I'd be trying this I'd have called you a nutcase -- no way (but) I'm really stepping on the edge and trying to keep up with the competition, and doing it that way."

It's paying off as the Nextel Cup Series heads to the cutoff point for the second Chase.

Wallace, the 1989 Cup champ, has scored nine consecutive top-12 finishes in a run that solidly has him in contention for another title in his final year of Cup racing.

On Sunday, he logged his 11th top-10 finish in 20 races this season and remained fourth in the Nextel Cup standings, 182 points behind first-place Jimmie Johnson with six races before the Chase.

It's a marked difference from a year ago, when he finished 16th in the series standings, the lowest spot of his career.

"We had a lot of things we did wrong last year and we've learned a lot this year," Wallace said. "Overall, last year we had five blown engines and (broke) three transmissions -- we had eight mechanicals (DNFs) that lost me over 1,200 points.

"Knock on wood, we're not having that this year and it's really worked out good for me. We've got a lot better handling car. The short spoiler and the softer tire absolutely fit my driving style and worked out for me really good."

Solid pit work by his crew and sound strategy by crew chief Larry Carter went a long way for him Sunday. Wallace said that the chemistry his team is critical to his championship hopes, as borne out most recently by his Pocono finish.

"This is my second year now working with Larry and we're building rhythm -- I didn't have any rhythm before," Wallace said. "When I lost Robin Pemberton (as crew chief, with whom he scored more than 20 wins) I brought Billy Wilburn on.

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"Billy was one of my best friends but we just couldn't get the rhythm. I fell to 15th and 16th (in the points) and now we're back to fourth (so) it's all about building rhythm with that crew chief and getting that thing going and that's what happening with us this year."

Wallace said he and Carter plotted a strategy based on facilitating track position by taking two tires on as many pit stops as possible.

"I did two tires early and found out what it would do," Wallace said. "When I put two on and I ran like 10 or 16 laps on the tires and a caution came out with 38 to go, I said 'this is perfect,' I said 'let's get down and do two right sides.'

"I came out leading the race. I looked in the rearview mirror and about six guys did the same thing -- Mark Martin and all of them. The 97 (Busch) was probably the only car that didn't do it and he had a real dominant car."

Wallace scoffed when questioned about whether or not Busch had jumped the last two restarts.

"Those four tires got me," Wallace said. "No, I don't think (Busch was jumping). I mean; you just have to face reality. There's no way with two tires I was going to beat his four tires with a car that dominant.

"The only thing I could have done with him was chase him down into Turn 1 and hit him and I'm not that type of driver."

Wallace gained nearly 50 points on Johnson, though total points aren't an issue since the standings are reset at the cutoff point after Richmond in September. He's more concerned with momentum.

"That was a great second place finish for us. We gained a lot of points. It was a real sweet week for us.

"That was a really important run in the Chase because I keep approaching every single race like it's the last race. We had a great run today and didn't tear the car up.

"This is a good shakedown for Indy (the series' next venue after an off-weekend). This place is real close to Indy and I learned a lot today."