RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - Rusty Wallace was perplexed by the problems with the track for the last Winston Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. He thinks things will be a lot better this time.
The three-quarter-mile oval has always been one of his best venues. His six victories there lead all active drivers, and his reputation as a short-track specialist took a hit with his 25th-place finish in May.
The newly sealed track yielded only one groove for racing and caused many drivers to crash as they tried to run where the second groove had always been. Wallace blamed the ``black glue.''
Other drivers who routinely list RIR among their favorite places to race were critical. But they are optimistic as they return for a tripleheader weekend starting Thursday.
``We've been back up there for Goodyear since then and think everything will be OK this time around,'' said Wallace, who took part in one of two tests involving drivers and Goodyear since the Pontiac 400. ``I'm confident the sealer will continue to wear off.''
Wallace brings a 51-race winless streak into Richmond, and is seeking his first victory of the season after winning for 15 straight years. He said Richmond is the logical place to end his drought.
``The place is super special to me and we've always been on top of our game every time we go there,'' he said.
The criticism was difficult for track president Doug Fritz to hear. He had become accustomed to gushing driver reviews.
``The beauty of it is we all went to work to get back the type of racing that made Richmond the best short track in the series,'' Fritz said. ``We feel confident we're there.''
Since May, a weekend of IRL racing wore off some of the sealer. Vehicles were dragged across the track for several days to further wear down the asphalt top.
Organizers brought in Tony Stewart and Wallace in May to help fix the problem and test a variety of Goodyear tires. Stewart was joined by Ricky Rudd and Jimmie Johnson for a July test.
Rudd, the defending champion in Saturday night's Monte Carlo 400, said the efforts have restored the chance for the side-by-side racing fans love.
``The track is very much back like it was a year ago,'' Rudd said. ``When we left there our argument was, `Don't put any sealer on it. Don't paint any stripes on this track. Please just leave it alone because it's fine.'''
Stewart also expects two-wide racing this time, but said the track will continue to present unique challenges for teams because they practice in the sunshine, start the race under a setting sun and then finish at night.
``It's like going back to dirt-track days, where you look at the race track and you look at the conditions and you adjust accordingly,'' he said. ``It's still a challenge for the crews, but it's a challenge for the drivers to figure out where they want to be on the race track.''
Stewart also plans to get a head start on testing the new surface this weekend when he drives for Andy Petree in the Virginia Is For Lovers 200 Craftsman Truck Series race on Thursday night. The FUNAI 250 Busch series race is set for Friday night, with the Monte Carlo 400 on Saturday night.
Tuesday
May 20th, 2025
12:32AM
