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Rusty Wallace Sweeps Bristol© Thomas M. Sampson
Aug 28, 2000
Rusty Wallace, Pensky South Racing's engine program, aero test problems still un-answered, and silly season notes.
Rusty Wallace..............
Who said Rusty was getting dusty? That's certainly not the case this season. I have no doubt that after Bristol, the owner of Rusty Wallace Inc. boarded his private jet and flew home a happy man. He's got a lot to be happy about this season. With 8 poles, 4 wins that include a sweep at Bristol, and 5th in the point standings, Rusty is on a roll.
Although he's the first 4-time winner we've had this season, his challenge for the championship isn't going so great. He hasn't had the consistency with top 5's and top 10's, that's needed to garner the points. His single digit top 5's and his 2 DNF's (Did Not Finish) have hurt his chances to sit at the head table in New York City this coming December. The engine failures have haunted him.
But, the Pensky South Racing engines that didn't fail are responsible for putting him where he is. Rusty mentioned Pensky South's "aggressive engine program" earlier this season while he was referring to Jeremy Mayfield's success in an interview after the Pocono race.
We've all heard Benny Parsons, Buddy Baker, Ned Jarrett, and dozens of other racing dignitaries state that "Horsepower" is the key to winning the race these days. Last season it was the Yates engine that took all of the marbles, then there's the Roush engine that's being used by lots of teams. Joe Gibbs Racing had great engines last season, and have continued turning out the horsepower again this season, with one of their entries sitting at the top of the heap.
There's no denying, that with 8 poles and 4 wins, Pensky South has the engine to beat this year. I went surfing around the Net and found out that Pensky South has been doing a lot of advanced research with the help of the Universities of Central Florida, and North Carolina State.
Dr. Robert Hoekstra, who teaches a course offering a masters degree in race engine technology at the University of Central Florida states that, "Engines are developed one horsepower at a time. The days of finding 10 horsepower at a time are gone. Race teams are now finding it easier to find horsepower by science, not by guessing."
Don Miller, who owns Pensky South Racing along with Roger Pensky and Rusty Wallace, stated that, "This sport has evolved into a whole new stratosphere. The basics haven't changed, but the technology certainly has gone farther than anyone ever expected. That's why we try to get help. We give them the parts and pieces, and sometimes they stumble onto things that help us." Read this story about Pensky South engines at NASCAR Online with the link below.
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