FONTANA ABUZZ ABOUT WALLACE'S RETIREMENT HE DIDN'T WANT TO RACE LONGER THAN EARNHARDT.Byline: Tim Haddock Staff Writer FONTANA - One of the first times NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Nextel Cup The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series. It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (1950-1971), and the Winston Cup Series (1972-2003). Series driver Rusty Wallace Russell William "Rusty" Wallace (born August 14, 1956 in Fenton, Missouri) is a former NASCAR champion, NASCAR Busch Series car owner, and television broadcaster with ESPN and ESPN on ABC. Wallace had his first live broadcast of the Indy 500 on May 28, 2006. talked about retiring from racing was just before the Daytona 500 in 2001. Wallace was with his good friend Dale Earnhardt This article is about the elder Dale Earnhardt. For his son, see Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. For the racing team he founded, see Dale Earnhardt, Inc.. Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. on a boat in Daytona Beach Daytona Beach (dātō`nə), city (1990 pop. 61,921), Volusia co., NE Fla., on the Atlantic coast and Halifax River (a lagoon); inc. 1876. Center of a rapidly urbanizing area, in a region settled by Spanish Franciscans in the 17th cent. the night before the race. They were talking about when one or the other might decide to stop racing. Earnhardt told Wallace he was only going to race for a year, maybe two more. Then Earnhardt asked Wallace when he was going to retire. ``I just threw a number out,'' said Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup champion and driver of the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, Formula One and CART. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske. South. ``He said, 'Well, that's when I'm going to quit, too.' We kept talking about quitting at the same time.'' As it turned out, the Daytona 500 was Earnhardt's last race. He died on the last corner of the race, slamming head-on into the Turn 4 wall. That deadly accident is one of the reasons why Wallace has decided to leave stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States and Great Britain held largely on oval rings of between approximately a quarter-mile and 2. . As Wallace prepares for today's Pop Secret 500 at California Speedway The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. , talk of his retirement after the 2005 season is abundant. Kenny Wallace Kenny Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and Busch Series driver who until recently drove the #78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet in Nextel Cup. He also works as an on-air personality for SPEED Channel, on shows such as NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory , a driver on the NASCAR Busch Series The NASCAR Busch Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR. It is NASCAR's "minor league" circuit (often compared to Triple-A baseball), and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organization's "big league" circuit, the Nextel Cup. , said he knew his brother was going to retire before he turned 50. Earnhardt was 49 when he died on the last turn of the Daytona 500 in 2001, and Rusty, who turns 50 on Aug. 14, 2006, didn't want to race longer than his friend and rival. ``I'm very close to Rusty,'' Kenny Wallace said. ``I told my father seven months ago, Rusty's going to retire before he gets to 50 years old. My dad said, 'Why do you say that?' And I said, 'Rusty patterned himself after Dale Earnhardt and Dale didn't make it to 50.' '' Kenny's prediction turned out to be right on. A month and a half later, Rusty told his father that the 2005 season would be his last. But Earnhardt's death isn't the only reason why Wallace has decided to park his race car for good. His son Stephen is almost old enough to start racing on the NASCAR Busch Series. He wants to see his son race in the Hooters This article is about the two restaurant chains collectively using the shared Hooters brand. For other uses, see Hooters (disambiguation). Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Inc based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Pro Cup and start working his way up the NASCAR ladder. ``But as he talked, the Dale Earnhardt thing affected him more than people know,'' said Brendan Gaughan, driver of the No. 77 Dodge for Penske- Jasper Racing. ``And he's got kids that he wants to watch race and he's got stuff that he wants to do and that's what he's going to focus on.'' Rusty Wallace made his retirement announcement at Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is a 2.5 mile (4 km) tri-oval race track facility with a seating capacity of 168,000 spectators. in Florida on Monday. Kenny Wallace and the rest of his family were at the track when Rusty called it quits. ``It was really emotional at the start,'' Kenny Wallace said. ``But then towards the end, realizing that just like any athlete, that there's another part of life, now we're kind of excited for Rusty to play his new role and see how it works out.'' Rusty Wallace is among NASCAR career leaders in Cup wins and winnings. His 55 wins rank him eighth and he has won nearly $40 million in his 24-year career. He won at least one race in 16 consecutive years, including the 2001 Cup race at California Speedway. Only Ricky Rudd and Richard Petty had streaks as long in the modern era (since 1972). ``I will say it was sad for me because it's the way I always knew my brother,'' Kenny Wallace said. ``We grew up dreaming about being in NASCAR. The guys I grew up just idolizing are just getting ready to quit.'' Rusty Wallace said he wants to go out while he's still at the top of his game. The argument could be made that he is. He won the race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia in April and was in the top 10 in points for most of the first half of the season. And even though he says Earnhardt's death wasn't the motivating factor of his decision, he admits it did play a part. ``His death hasn't caused me to retire,'' Rusty Wallace said. ``His death hasn't caused me to get scared. His death hasn't caused me to do anything different. I just thought it was an unbelievable shame that the guy did that much in his life, and boom, he couldn't enjoy any of it.'' Tim Haddock, (818) 713-3715 timothy.haddock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 8 photos, 3 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace and the late Dale Earnhardt had talked about retiring at the same time. Peter Cosgrove/Associated Press (2) Rusty Wallace, left, has a 16-year streak of winning at least one race per year, including his 2001 win at California Speedway. Alan Marler/Associated Press (3) DALE EARNHARDT, JR. (4) TONY STEWART (5) MATT KENSETH (6) KURT BUSCH (7) KEVIN HARVICK (8) BOBBY LABONTE Box: (1) POP SECRET 500 (2) NASCAR POP SECRET 500 LINEUP (3) DRIVER STANDINGS |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion