Auto Racing: Rusty races towards NASCAR championship

Rusty Wallace is currently third in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series point race. Last weekend at the "Monster Mile" at Dover, he finished a disappointing 21st, but still has been one of the premier pilots on the circuit this year.

Thus far, the St. Louis, Missouri campaigner has won a race (NAPA 500 at California), has three top five finishes, and has six top 10 finishes. Wallace has won over $2 million this year, and has set his eyes on a bigger prize: the Winston Cup championship.

"Right now, we won one big race," said Wallace recently in a Nascar.com online chat. "This is my best year to win the championship. We have to have consistency and good runs, and we are doing that right now. I think we can win my second championship this year."

Wallace won NASCAR's big trophy in 1989, and has been scrambling ever since to reach that pinnacle again. He had a good year in 2000, but it wasn't quite enough, as Bobby Labonte dominated to win his first championship.

Last season, Wallace sped his way to four victories, gathered nine poles, and ended up seventh in the point standings, but his inconsistency denied him the chance to finish higher. Last year's resume included five finishes lower than 30th place, but Wallace has been fighting hard this year to avoid that scenario. In fact, Wallace has shown marked improvement this year as he has only had one clinker -- a 43rd at Las Vegas in early March.

"We got into a wreck with our teammate and that was embarrassing," said Wallace. "If it wasn't for that, we would be leading by 100 points."

As it is, he now trails leader Dale Jarrett by 133 points, and is 83 points behind second place driver Jeff Gordon.

The next three weeks are very important for Wallace's chances to win the championship. The first two races are at tracks where he won last year, Michigan and Pocono, and the third is a road race at Sears Point, where he has historically been strong.

Wallace hopes to achieve success this coming weekend at Michigan, where he dominated last August in winning his fifth career race at that two-mile facility. He finished seventh in the June race.

"We enjoyed a great deal of success last year at Michigan," said Wallace on his website this week. "We'll have the same car, the same killer pit stops, and hopefully, the same results this time around."

Wallace finished first and tenth last season in the two races at the Pocono track, which features three separate straightaways as a part of the 2-1/2 mile tri-oval. It is a unique track, but it is a place where Wallace does well. Look for him to continue that trend this year.

Sears Point is another stop on the circuit where Wallace has dominated in the past. Rusty has two career wins at the twisting and treacherous 1.9 mile road course. He set a qualifying record there last year, but only was able to garner a 26th place finish. Gordon, Mark Martin, and Ricky Rudd are the best bets to spoil Wallace's chance at victory. Gordon has won the last three races at the California track.

If Wallace can do well for the rest of June, it might bode well for him in December. He would love to be the number one guy at the Waldorf-Astoria at the season-ending gala.

"I feel like this year is our best year ever to win the championship," Wallace said. "Our pit crew is super fast and I feel great about the engines, the cars, and the crew.

"By gosh, this might really be our year."