Rusty Returns To Familiar Ground In A New Role

When Rusty Wallace was one of NASCAR’s most competitive drivers, he was always known for his mile-a-minute mouth.
Get Wallace wound up and he’d talk someone’s ear off. That’s why it seemed natural that once his career behind the wheel was over he would get a job in broadcasting. So, when ESPN and ABC laid the groundwork for the network’s return to NASCAR for the first time since 2000, Wallace was one of the first hires.
After working with the IndyCar broadcast crew in 2006 — including the last two Indianapolis 500s — and a half season with the NASCAR Busch Series, Wallace is ready to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his new role as a Nextel Cup analyst.
“I’ve been putting a lot of attention in the Busch Series and trying to do a good job there, but I really think we’ll have a great broadcast at the Brickyard,” Wallace said. “I have a year of Indy Racing League under my belt and a half season of Busch, so I have a lot of experience working with the production team and knowing how TV is supposed to be done. But I’m totally open to critics. If you see something that looks wrong or sounds wrong, mention it because I want to get better.”
Wallace was one of the very best drivers ever to compete in the race that is now known as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, but he was never able to get into victory lane.
He finished second to Dale Earnhardt in 1995, Bobby Labonte in 2000 and Bill Elliott in 2002. In 12 starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he had five top-five finishes and nine top 10s.

“The Indianapolis 500 is The Masters. The Daytona 500 is a big race, but the Indianapolis 500 is the biggest race in the world. The Daytona 500 is the next biggest race in the world. Stock-car guys don’t want to believe it, but it’s true. They need to go check it out for themselves before making that comment.”
— Rusty Wallace

“When I go there, I felt like I did a good job,” Wallace recalled. “I have three second-place finishes, only to lose them all in the remainder laps of the race, like 10 laps to go. ‘If’ is a big word. The most exciting one was the one that Dale Earnhardt won in 1995. I finished second right on his bumper. I led the race all day long, but he had a heck of a good pit stop, beat me out, made some last-minute adjustments and beat me out of the pits.
“I would have thought that I would have won more since then, but that didn’t happen. I would be happy to say that I did have three second-place finishes though.”
It was the 1995 race that sticks out in Wallace’s mind, as he led 22 laps late in the race. That one bothers him more than the 2000 loss to Labonte after Wallace led 110 laps, only to get passed in the closing laps.
“The other ones, Bill Elliott had a better car but we had good strategy and he beat me at the end,” Wallace said. “Bobby Labonte in 2000, that’s another one where I had a really fast car but at the end, I had a big push and he caught me and passed me.
“But in 1995 when Earnhardt beat me, I thought I had the best car.”
When Wallace retired after the 2005 season, he had won 55 Cup races and the 1989 NASCAR Cup title. At that time, he thought the only racing was stock-car racing, but after a year with the IndyCar drivers, he has grown to respect what they do and how big the Indianapolis 500 really is.
“Those people are some of my best friends now,” Wallace said. “It’s fun to see Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish and all the guys. To do that and get to do stock cars, it’s something that is great. It’s really an honor for me to get to do that. I consider that an honor.
“I know that’s a special race, and I try to do it honor when I do it. The Indianapolis 500 is The Masters. The Daytona 500 is a big race, but the Indianapolis 500 is the biggest race in the world. The Daytona 500 is the next biggest race in the world. Stock-car guys don’t want to believe it, but it’s true. They need to go check it out for themselves before making that comment.
“When you go to Indy, it’s a race you will remember for the rest of your life. It’s a feeling like you have never felt. It will make the goose bumps on your arms stand up. It’s a whole different feel. It’s so exciting. Indy, it’s a whole month getting ready for this huge event, and when stock cars are there, it’s roll them in for three days, run the race and then get out of town.”