By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
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Rusty Wallace will say farewell to the Brickyard 400 next year. He just hopes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be a tad nicer to him in his final start.
Like giving him a checkered flag for first instead of another second-place finish.
Wallace will turn 49 a week after the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 7, 2005. He announced on Aug. 30 that the 2005 season would be his last as an active NASCAR driver.
It also will be the last chance for fans to salute him at Indianapolis, where he has come so close yet after 11 races and nine top-10 finishes still hasn't won.
Wallace, a native of St. Louis, finished second to Dale Earnhardt in 1995 by the barest of margins, .37 of a second. It was the first of three runner-up finishes in the classic NASCAR race. He also trailed Bobby Labonte to the finish line by 4.229 seconds in 2000 and was beaten to the famed "Yard of Bricks" by Bill Elliott in 2002, 1.269 seconds behind.
That's a total of 5.868 seconds short of being a three-time winner.
Then there's the fourth-place finishes in the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 and again in 2001. And don't forget the seventh place in 1996 and eighth places in 1998 and 1999.
That's eight races where he could see the checkered flag as he charged down the homestretch on the final lap. But it never was waving for him.
In a tearful announcement at Daytona International Speedway, Wallace said he had won a lot of NASCAR races (55), but he wanted to end his career in good health. The tragic death of his close friend Dale Earnhardt in a crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 weighed heavily in his decision, he said. Wallace added his plan is to continue being actively involved with Penske Racing after parking his familiar No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.
His final season, and final go at the Brickyard 400, will be termed "Rusty's Last Call." Each race will be a celebration of his career that includes a Cup championship in 1989.
Wallace's big-time driving career began in the then-USAC stock car series during the 1979-80 seasons. He won five races and finished third in points behind champion A.J. Foyt in '79 and finished second to Joe Ruttman in '80.
Rusty will become the third NASCAR racing great of the past 25 years to call it quits since 2000. First was Darrell Waltrip in 2000 followed by Elliott in 2003. But Elliott did choose to drive in a select few races this season, including the Brickyard 400.
Four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon, leading the 2004 NEXTEL Cup point standings and seeking his fifth championship, came to NASCAR as a 21-year-old in 1993 when many of the veterans like Wallace still were in their prime. He beat them but never lost respect for what they had done on the racetrack.
"I think that those guys that have been in the sport have meant a lot and have been very successful," Gordon said. "There's definitely a list of guys right now who are considering (retirement) after what they've accomplished and where they're at in their lives.
"I think the way the sport is right now, as tense as it is, I think that the age that you see guys hanging it up or retiring is certainly going to start to go down. It's interesting that we've got a lot of guys in that group right now that are considering it, and a lot of young, new faces that are coming up."
Other greats nearing retirement are past champions Dale Jarrett and Terry Labonte, and perennial standouts Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader.
It's a similar situation to what happened in open-wheel racing in the early 1990s when such greats as A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock all retired in a short period of time.
Waltrip, a winner 84 times in NASCAR, went out with a flourish in his farewell to Indy. He was 53 and struggling through his final season. But at the 2000 Brickyard 400, he qualified second fastest to Rudd. He brought his Ford home 11th for his best weekend of the year.
After his unexpected front-row qualifying run, he said: "This is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's the greatest racetrack in the world. I always said that the great athletes always perform well in the big events. Well, this is big."
And it'll be big for Wallace, too, in his "last call" at Indy. Especially if he can out-race all those young lions to the checkered flag and take a victory lap at the greatest racetrack in the world.
Besides, it would present team owner Roger Penske with his first Brickyard 400 victory at the Speedway to go with the 13 wins he has in the Indianapolis 500. ***
2005 tickets: The 12th Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005. Customers who are upgrading or purchasing Brickyard 400 tickets for the first time should act quickly to increase their chances of obtaining their desired seats.
To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
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