A last call to remember: Wallace won't go out his turn signal blinking

Sporting News, The, June 24, 2005 by Lee Spencer

Rusty Wallace's cock of the walk attitude has mellowed from the days when he would strut through the Winston Cup garage like Mick Jagger.

There's an air of appreciation emanating from him as he sits patiently on the pit road wall waiting for the FOX Sports telecast to come back from break so Matt Yocum can interview him. Wallace didn't have the best car at Dover, but he nonetheless brought his No. 2 Dodge to the finish line fifth, running strong and consistently, as he has for so many years at NASCAR's top level.

Wallace is savoring the moment. One more top five in a career in which he has been blessed with 55 victories, 339 top 10s including 196 top fives, 36 poles and the 1989 championship. Wallace has only 22 more races to improve those stats, and he has no intention of fading with merely a whimper.

What drives this moment home further is the presence of Mark Martin sitting on the wall just one pit stall down. But Martin promises he'll stick around the NASCAR ranks and race a season or two more in the Craftsman Truck Series. There's still time to savor Martin's competitiveness.

Wallace insists this season will be his last. After watching Darrell Waltrip wallow miserably over the final years of his career, Wallace won't share that fate.

Today's ever-expanding audience doesn't remember D.W., the three-time champion. Fans who began following the sport post-1990 remember D.W., the old man who struggled to make the show.

Wallace has too much pride (and money) to let that happen. Wallace wants to go out on, or as close to, the top as his team and equipment will allow, and right now he's happy with both.

Although Wallace has had just two top fives since his win at Martinsville last spring, he has seven top 10s this season and is seventh in points. Wallace also has been running at the end of the last 27 races--the longest streak in the Cup garage. With a little bit of luck, Wallace will make the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup and finish out his career with his 17th top 10 season.

So like Wallace, I'm savoring this moment. I'll remember this hot, steamy day at Dover, during which skill outshone youth, Wallace got more out of his car than some thought possible and a veteran naturally lit up for the media one more time.

I'll remember watching a driver who had the dignity to leave the sport he loved while he was still at the top of his game.

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speed reads

Under the Chase format, Silly Season takes on a different spin for struggling teams. The crew chiefs are the first to go, followed by the drivers. Anyone who misses the Chase is vulnerable.

It's not too early to predict a battle to the wire at Richmond between Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson and Roush Racing's Greg Biffle. Although other organizations seem to be making gains, no one else is in the same ballpark.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s popularity has forced the other beer sponsors to opt for younger, more marketable drivers. However, Sterling Marlin, expected to be gone from the Coors Light car, is still competitive. With decent equipment he could revive a struggling team.

INSIDE DISH

MBV/MB2 Motorsports is expanding in August to a 144,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C., and to a third full-time team in 2006 with Centrix as the sponsor. But G.M. Jay Frye wanted to get his house in order before the move. Car chief Rodney Childers was promoted to crew chief on Scott Riggs' No. 10 car, which lets Doug Randolph, the former crew chief, move into a manager role with the organization. Frye says the team needs to create a driver development program. One young driver the team would like to bring in is Kraig Kinser, son of World of Outlaws legend Steve Kinser. But first, Frye must re-sign Riggs, whose contract expires at the end of the year. * Bobby Hamilton Jr. has one year left on his contract, but should his status in the No. 32 Tide ride change, he has a backup plan--race for his father. Bobby Hamilton Racing fields three teams in the Craftsman Truck Series and just opened a new shop. With sponsorship, BHR could start a Cup team. "We haven't figured out what we're doing yet;' Hamilton Jr. says. "If Tide leaves--and there's been pretty strong rumors about them leaving--you have to be prepared for what happens. Dad's deal is there. It's always been there, but you hate to throw this deal away based just on rumors; * Goodyear officials were called to the NASCAR trailer after 11 drivers blew out a total of 22 left front tires Sunday at Pocono. Goodyear product manager Rick Heinrich said Goodyear engineers noticed several setups that "were very abusive to the left front outside shoulder" of the tires and that low air pressure could have compounded the problem. "It's never the tires' fault, is it?" says crew chief Fatback McSwain, whose driver, Ricky Rudd, was the victim of six cut tires. * Terry Labonte is expected to substitute for Jason Leffler in the No. 11 car in the June 26 race at Sonoma if Leffier fails to climb into the top 35 in points by then. Drivers in the top 35 are guaranteed starting spots. Labonte is the safety net for the team because he has a champion's provisional, which guarantees him a starting spot. Leffler has run just one road course race, a Busch race in 2000 at Watkins Glen. Leffler crashed at Pocono but remained in the same points position, 36th, meaning he has to improve by one spot Sunday at Michigan to lock in for the race at Sonoma. Leffler says he has wrecked so many cars that "we're bringing cars back to the track that aren't in the best shape" because the fab shop hasn't had enough turnaround time. * Is International Speedway Corp. adding to its track holdings? Sources say an announcement that New Hampshire International Speedway will join the ISC family could be made in July, but NHIS public relations director Fred Neergaard denies a sale is in the works.