Rusty Wallace
Rusty Wallace
Russell William "Rusty" Wallace, Jr.is a retired American racing driver, and a former NASCAR Winston Cup Champion. Considered one of racing's most well-known and charismatic personalities, he is a member of four of stock car racing's major halls of fame: the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame. He also served as the...
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth14 August 1956
CityArnold, MO
There's absolutely no way in the world you could ever race like this. It was just totally out of control and asinine. So I got a whole new realm of respect for the restrictor plate.
You pretty much come into the Pocono races always expecting the unexpected to happen.
This is supposed to be my last race and probably will be. I tell you what, having fun like this makes you want to come back a couple of times.
Some drivers today don't have a clue what's in their cars right now because it's too much work. You can't have somebody hold your hand your whole life.
As an owner, he's been incredible at getting all five of his teams working together. And (if) one of them doesn't get along, he makes damn sure that he fixes that real, real quick.
A victory would have been nice, ... but my disappointment was tempered by having a section of the Bristol grandstands named after me in a pre-race ceremony.
That's not going to make me come back. That will make me go out on top of my game, more than I have ever dreamed.
The fact is that we had a car that should have won and looked like we were certainly headed that way until we had a right front tire to go down,
The crazy thing is I am probably driving right now better than I ever drove in my life, ... I guess I don't need to be retiring, but hey, I've made the decision to do that. Still the thing I want to do is go out on top of my game, and I think we're doing a good job out there for these fans. I really love these fans and I appreciate the job they're doing, pulling behind me.
When I decided to retire, I decided I couldn't stand it if I went out a loser,
I was really impressed with the brakes. They could stop on a dime. The acceleration was incredible. But the biggest surprise to me was how you go out and get such great speed, and as you turn down off the back straightaway, I can't believe how hard the wheel gets going into turn 10. As you arc off into there, the steering wheel's locked up. It's amazing.
I really think this is my calling. I'm excited about it. When I retired, television was something I felt I knew.
I'll tell you, I never could have reported on this sport the way it needs to be reported without getting to drive this car.
I just lost it. I had a loose tire, a flat tire, and loose lug nuts. Bad night.