News Article

Rusty Wallace bids farewell to Dover International Speedway

September 27, 2005
Brian Smith and Gary Camp

Unlike his longtime friend Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace's farewell tour hasn't been altered. Sunday's MBNA RacePoints 400 was his 44th, and last, start at Dover International Speedway.

Mayor Speed presents Wallace with a key to the City of Dover. Photo by Tom Witmore

Wallace started 6th and finished 3rd in his final Monster Mile run.

It may seem odd that Wallace is retiring at the end of a season when he’s doing so well. He’s locked into the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and is at the top of his game.

"I think about that a lot, because this year I'm having better runs than I've had in a long time," he said. "It seems like every time we're on the racetrack we're top-five or top-six at worst. And I'm driving better than I have in a long, long time.  So it does make you think twice.

"But on the other hand, I've made the right decision.  I want to go out on the top of my game, and I'm doing that right now. There's a lot of good young drivers coming up to replace me. I'm really happy with the way I'm running. But I do second-guess myself.  I always second-guess myself, I just don't tell anybody."

Barring any change of mind, Wallace will leave Dover with five career poles, second in track history only to David Pearson's six. His three wins at Dover came consecutively — he won the SplitFire Spark Plug 500 in September of 1993 and then won the Budweiser 500 and SplitFire Spark Plug 500 in 1994, making him just the second driver in track history at the time to win three races in a row at Dover. He ran 18,852 laps around the Monster Mile, led 18 of the 44 races he participated in, and took home career winnings of ,121,891 from the track.

So while Wallace may never jump in a car at Dover again, he's happy that he's doing it on his own terms.

"The crazy thing is I'm probably driving better right now than I ever drove in my life," he said. "I guess I don't need to be retiring, but hey, I've made the decision to do that. 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."

The Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005 pre-race festivities before the MBNA RacePoints 400 included a special tribute to Wallace.

Denis McGlynn, CEO and president of Dover Motorsports, Inc., presented Wallace with a special plaque acknowledging his many achievements at Dover International Speedway. He also presented Wallace with a commemorative crystal figure of the Monster — sitting in a rocking chair with a fishing pole in his hand!

Wallace was joined on stage by Mayor Stephen Speed, from the City of Dover. Mayor Speed thanked Wallace for his contributions to the sport, and presented him with a special key to the City of Dover.

Governor Ruth Ann Minner, State of Delaware, proclaimed Sept. 25, 2005 “Rusty Wallace Day” in Delaware. Wallace was given a special proclamation on stage. On Friday night, Sept. 23, Governor Minner hosted Wallace and other dignitaries at the Governor’s Mansion for a private dinner.

Frank McKelvey, Sr. Executive Vice President of MBNA, presented Wallace with a ,000 charitable contribution to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Wallace addressed the crowd and participated in a ceremonial parade lap around the one-mile concrete oval as part of pre-race actitivies. A parachute jumper, with a huge No. 2 flag, descended onto the frontstretch to honor Wallace.