History Lesson
Rusty Wallace had the lead of the race and was looking to win his first race of the year.
He considered Richmond 'his track' because of the success he has had at Paul Sawyer's track
over the years. However, just like at Charlotte a few weeks earlier, Gordon was
gaining ground on him in the closing laps. At Charlotte, Gordon passed him and went
on to the victory costing Wallace $1,000,000 in the process. Fans talk about the Bristol
debacle of April 1997. No doubt that Gordon's last lap bump pass was on Rusty's mind. But it would
be foolish not to think that Charlotte also flashed through his mind... especially since it was Gordon
that took away his chance at $1,000,000 at that race.
Scene of the Crime
By now the scene is familiar: Wallace hits the left rear quarterpanel of the DuPont Chevrolet
spinning Gordon into the wall. After the race his only comments were, "Hell of a race, don't you think? A little
racing accident. No controversy."
He offered no apology about the incident. Was it intentional? I doubt it. Let's just say Rusty probably could care less
that a car was on the outside of him in that turn.
What the drivers are saying
A few NASCAR drivers were asked about the incident this week. Most feel that
past history played a major role in the crash.
All Out War? Don't Bet On It
The legendary fueds of the early 1970's between Richard Petty and Bobby Allison
were like matches to the death. In every race, it seemed that the two rivals found
each other on the track and than ran door to door until a "slip up" wound up taking one
of them out of the race. Don't look for such a rivalry between Wallace and Gordon.
For one thing, NASCAR has an image to protect and rough driving isn't it. They don't
have a penalty box for nothing. Also, with a Winston Cup title at stake, neither driver
would risk taking themselves out of another race just to exact "revenge." Revenge
will be gained by beating the other on the racetrack and winning the Winston Cup title.
The older veteran from St. Louis against the new upstart from Indiana. I wouldn't bet against the upstart.
When NASCAR invades the short tracks, tight racing abounds. The combined
effect of 43 cars on a track less than one mile and drivers that
are battling for every
position in order to impress car owners, sponsors, and most importantly,
themselves. So it came as no surprise that the June 6 race at Richmond
was filled with a number of controversial incidents.
The most controversial
was probably the Jeff Gordon crash in turn two.
"I'm sure (Bristol) was on Rusty's mind. Maybe that was a little payback."
"I saw Rusty get loose, and he got the car corrected, then it started to go again. He saw
that he was going to have to use a lot of racetrack and the
person who was there (on the outside) was someone who had used him in
another incident (Bristol)."
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