Wallace snaps 59-race winless streak in Phoenix

PHOENIX -- After some heartbreaking losses the past few years at Phoenix International Raceway, Rusty Wallace said he felt the one-mile oval owed him something.

Following his victory Sunday in the rain-shortened NASCAR Winston Cup Dura-Lube/Kmart 500, Wallace was hoping his critics also would give him what he felt he was due.

Wallace dominated much of the race, leading 196 of 257 laps, before heavy rains pelted the track and forced officials to cancel the final 55 laps following a 55-minute delay.

"Just to be that good, it really doesn't make a difference to me if we got rained out or not," Wallace said of the victory that snapped his 59-race winless streak. "For (my team), I just don't want to have to read a bunch of (stuff) where we lucked into it.

"I don't think I've ever had a car that was that dominant for that long and I just hope the hell when I open the paper tomorrow, I hope I don't read that he won because of the rain. It's always easy to say, 'Well, he won because of the rain.' That's the part I do hate and I did want to restart the race because of that."

Perhaps it was best for Wallace that the race wasn't resumed because there was at least one other driver who may have given the Miller Lite Ford a run to the checkers.

Dale Earnhardt, was has not won since the season-opening Daytona 500, had one of the most impressive runs Sunday. Starting 39th in the 43-car field, Earnhardt had moved up to second place by lap 189 and was sitting in third when the rains came.

"The car was great today," Earnhardt said of his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. "We gave it our all today. Jeff Burton (who started 38th and finished fourth) and I came from the back together.

"I wish we could have moved up a couple more spots, but that's the way it goes. Who would have thought it would rain us out in the desert?"

Wallace, however, said he doubted Earnhardt, Burton or second-place Mark Martin could have caught him on this day, in this car.

"It was so dominant, every single restart I had I drove away so I was just hoping I could do the same that last one," Wallace said. "I had a full tank of gas and four sticker (new) tires, so I was sitting pretty happy."

Wallace had increased his lead to a commanding 5.6 seconds over Martin when the final caution flag came out on lap 249 after Jerry Nadeau's car spun and hit the wall in turn two.

"(Before the last caution), I was just going to run the car as hard as I could because we were going to have to pit with 35 or 40 laps to go," Wallace said. "I took off, got the lead and stretched it out to five and a half seconds.

"I asked (crew chief) Robin (Pemberton), 'When are we going to have to pit?' and he said, 'With about 40 to go.' I didn't say nothing to him but then I stood on it and I started driving as hard as I could, trying to get my margin opened up.

"At that point, I thought our strategy was really good and we could have won the race just by being that fast and with good pit stops. Then the caution flag came and we put the tires on and then the rain came."

Series points leader Jeff Gordon, needing to gain 12 points on Martin to clinch his third Winston Cup championship in four years, had to postpone his celebration for at least another week.

Gordon finished seventh to Martin's second and needs only to start the final two races, or finish 40th or better in next week's race in Rockingham, N.C., to wrap up the championship.

"It doesn't matter to me where it happens, just as long as it happens," Gordon said. "You can't really expect to come in here and clinch it with two or three races left to go.

"Rockingham is a good race track for us (and) we're looking forward to going there, but anything is possible. Anything can happen."

Gordon, who leads Martin by 329 points in the title chase, ended his streak of 17 consecutive top-five finishes and fell one shy of the NASCAR record of 18 set by David Pearson in 1968.

While Gordon's remarkable run came to an end, Wallace extended his streak of scoring at least one victory a season to 13 years. After running strong at the start of the year but failing to win, then suffering through a mid-season slump, Wallace said he was beginning to doubt whether he would find victory lane this season.

"Yeah, it really was (a concern) because I ended last year with 47 (career) victories and my main goal this year was to win my 50th because of NASCAR's 50th anniversary," he said.

"A lot of special plans had been made for that 50th win. I'm really looking forward to it and I do have a shot at it. I'm going to two tracks that are really good to me."

And he will be taking with him the same car that carried him to a dominating 48th career victory.

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