Rusty Speaks Out

[muggle not]

Thursday, July 29, 2004
Wallace says tension mounting
He's opposed to green-white-checkered and sees 'stupid stuff' on horizon


By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER

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Rusty Wallace (2) lost his battle against Dale Jarrett in Loudon, N.H. (AP Photo).

LONG POND, Pa.

Rusty Wallace, who got the short end of the stick in a battle with Dale Jarrett on Sunday at Loudon in the final miles, said that the atmosphere is tense among the half-dozen teams battling to make the playoff cut for the NASCAR championship.

"I've been around this sport a long time, and I can tell you that it's the most aggressive atmosphere that I've ever seen out there," Wallace said. "It's an explosive situation. And it'll only get worse before it gets any better.

"With the new points deal, you've got nine or 10 guys doing everything they can to get back into the top 10 in points, and you have four or five going all out to stay up there in the top 10.

"There's so much pressure on these guys and these teams that there's a lot of stupid stuff going on. When you consider that NASCAR has now added the new green-white-checkered rule, it's definitely a recipe for disaster, if you ask me.

"I think we're going to see some of the most weird, ridiculous and controversial situations ever in the next seven races," Wallace said. "I'm against the green-white-checkered finishes. I've told the NASCAR officials that, and I don't mind being vocal about it.

"Dale apologized to me, to Larry (Carter, the crew chief) and to the team. Dale Jarrett is really a class act. But the bottom line is that we got crashed, finished 30th and that pretty much wiped out our chances of getting back up there. We were headed toward a strong top-10 finish and would have gained on a lot of the other guys looking to make it back into the top 10."

Wallace fell to 19th in the standings.

"What we have to do is just concentrate on winning races from here on out and let the points situation take care of itself," Wallace said. "We know we're capable of winning some more races and that's what we have to focus on doing."

[Emfa]

Originally posted by muggle not
...

"There's so much pressure on these guys and these teams that there's a lot of stupid stuff going on. When you consider that NASCAR has now added the new green-white-checkered rule, it's definitely a recipe for disaster, if you ask me.

"I think we're going to see some of the most weird, ridiculous and controversial situations ever in the next seven races," Wallace said. ...

I'm inclined to agree with Rusty - stupid, recipe for disaster, weird, etc. are all appropriate descriptions of what is brewing. But guess what - isn't that exactly what Nascar had in mind when they dreamed up this chase for the championship scenario? It will give them exactly the exposure they wanted (good or bad).

[RaceFanStan]

I was for green/white/checker finish.
However a recent Truck race changed my opinion, I now agree with Rusty, they are dangerous.
And most likely a crash will happen.

[muggle not]

I really don't hink that Brian and Helton give a darn about driver safety. They seem willing to do anything to make the races exciting and please the fans....not always a good recipe for the good of the sport.

[RaceFanStan]

I agree mugglenot, there will likely be some drivers hurt now.
Butthead Brian & Meathead Mike are only interested in $$$$$$$$$$
When Butthead went for entertainment he forgot what racing was.

Butthead Brian & Meathead Mike are