Rusty Wallace Quotations

I guess I should have come down for four tires when Kenseth came in, ... but, man, I just did not want to get back in that pack, so I was just holding on.

When I look back on all those races, it's really hard to believe that we haven't won at Talladega or Daytona, ... We have one last chance remaining and that's this weekend at Talladega. We're definitely coming in there with all our guns loaded and ready to go.

Maybe it will be my turn next week.

No, I'm not frustrated, ... I'm very determined. I'm driving hard, and I'm determined. I'm not in much of a Mr. Nice Guy mood. I just want to get the wins and the finishes knocked for my team, my sponsors and my partners and get it right. It's getting ridiculous right now.

We're looking at it like we have some unfinished business to take care of this weekend. We certainly want to go out on top of our game at Bristol with a strong run, and I think we're primed to come in there and do just that.

Let's not forget we've already had a pretty incredible season, and that shouldn't go unnoticed. We still have plenty of time to win a race or races, but our team deserves a lot of credit for the consistency we've had.

Making the Chase was really cool. Making it to New York was the proper way to end it.

So, for our last start at Dover that's pretty respectable.

Kenny went in to use the rest room, and they had the toilet paper roll with the springs on the side, and he kept pulling the paper, and it kept breaking off. He said he pulled and pulled and pulled, and it broke and broke and broke, and the whole time this toilet paper is breaking off I'm in the truck and we're gone. We thought he was there.

I feel like we're prepared for Kansas. We've just got to get back up in the points. Losing 70 points was a blow.

I feel like I'm going on my first roller coaster ride.

I feel good -- I'm in the Chase and ready to run for the next 10 races,

Carl is a darn good one (driver), no doubt about that,

I have a really good feeling about our chances this weekend. I really do.

We've got to put a major importance on handling,

We're in the Chase, and that's the big deal. I'm glad I'm not in that mess next week. I've been thinking about that and I'm glad not to be under that pressure.

He just said it was part of tradition and something they've always done. I've talked to some of the drivers and I don't think anybody sees the need for it any more.

He was consistent, and I had a lot of DNFs (did not finishes), and he deserved to win. You don't have to win, but I do want to win. When I'm all done, I want my fans to have that image that I'm a winner. I'm at the top of my game right now. Every athlete wants to go out at the top of their game, and it feels so good right now.

Helton will basically tell you there's 50 guys who show up at every racetrack, and he can get the job done with 43 of them, no problem at all,

He does seem a little more relaxed. He probably hasn't been as tense as I've seen him in the car before but no real significant change. He's a very competitive person. When things aren't going right he doesn't mind letting you know it and that's good. If we can't identify problems we certainly can't work on fixing them, so I think everything has gone really well.

We've been top-five and top-tenning them to death all year. That's what got us in the Chase. I'd like to go out a winner at Homestead. I want to win the thing and walk off.

My racing career in California dates back to the late '70s when I was out here running the outlaw late model shows,

I went up to pass a lapped car and when I got up to pass him he was on the outside and he came over, ... When he came over he clipped my left front fender and I had to jump out of the gas and when I jumped out of the gas I got hit in the rear end.

I think a lot of people look at me as the favorite here, ... I kinda feel that when I come into this track. I've got a little extra step in my stride when I come into this track because I've been so successful here in the past.

I think by the end of the year, he'd have a lot of knowledge. He'd be up on the wheel and ready to go then.

Larry reminds me of my old buddy, Buddy Parrott, reminds me of what (Parrott) did for me and how many victories he helped me get, ... We're having fun again.

I think Larry is one of the most wonderful crew chiefs I've ever had in my life,

I think a lot of his abilities are from genes. But he's still got to learn. Even though he's been to every single track with me during my career, he still has to learn what the car is supposed to do.

Restrictor plates you've got to rely on all the other drivers around you to make it happen, and that's hard to do. ... But I think the mile and a half tracks are perfect for this Chase.

I think I make Steve a little nervous sometimes, so I'm going to be comfortable sitting in Homestead watching his race, off and on.

I tell you what, I gotta get one of these at home.

I tell Steven all of the time that I want his head in the carburetor,

I was really impressed with the brakes. They could stop on a dime. The acceleration was incredible. But the biggest surprise to me was how you go out and get such great speed, and as you turn down off the back straightaway, I can't believe how hard the wheel gets going into turn 10. As you arc off into there, the steering wheel's locked up. It's amazing.

We have one last chance remaining and that's this weekend at Talladega. We're definitely coming in there with all our guns loaded and ready to go.

That was the day our sport changed. We lost our personality.

We've been finishing good -- a lot of top-10 finishes. We've made some smart calls to stay out when we need to stay out.

When I took the plate off, I went 'Holy (smoke), you don't want to do this,'

We got down into turn one and the 66 spun out right in front of me,

The crazy thing is I am probably driving right now better than I ever drove in my life, ... I guess I don't need to be retiring, but hey, I've made the decision to do that. Still 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 fact is that we had a car that should have won and looked like we were certainly headed that way until we had a right front tire to go down,

When I decided to retire, I decided I couldn't stand it if I went out a loser,

This stuff is really cool. I got to meet a whole new group of people. And I'm just having a good time. I don't have to worry about a stupid shock absorber or spring or a tire pressure. I'm having lunch and having a good time.

We still had a pretty good position going. I had a pretty clean stint myself. We were running third and fourth and kept our car running there. (I was) just getting ready to pit and coming down pit road and got out of the car and it was just really overheating bad.

What we have to do is keep that top level of consistency going. We have to be there at the end of all 10 races and get everything we can out of each and every one of them.

To think about a new car owner, a driver, a new driver so to speak, all new, new, new, and have to make all the races early, things like that, it just is a huge uphill feat. I wish them all the luck, but it's going to be a tough one.

We've got five to go, and I'm still in it.

We've got multimillion dollar sponsors and 150,000 people in the grandstands, ... He just wants all of us to act like men and represent NASCAR in the proper way.

We brought it home in sixth place, ... We thought we had a better car than that. I just got behind early and that was about it. We had a lot of challenges today, but I was able to get back from them, and that was good.

As soon as I fired it up and pulled out, I knew I was in trouble. The engine just welded itself shut.

I've still got a pin in my wrist that's about 8 inches long from that accident. I got hurt at some racetracks a little bit, but never as bad as I got hurt at Talladega.

I've never seen it yet, so I'm going over to look at it. He's got it all done and it's for sale. The rest of the day, I might play nine holes of golf. Then, I'm going to have a nice early dinner at my favorite Italian joint.

It would be cool as it could be if we can win here again this weekend, ... It would be like watching John Wayne hop on his horse after winning the shootout and heading on out toward the setting sun.

It was twice as wild when I started, because when I started, there was no spoiler rule, ... Guys were running wide-open with only an eight-degree rear spoiler, and cars were out of control, sliding and spinning out, going in the air and flipping upside-down. It was just totally crazy.

You have to have a great handling car and a ton of horsepower and durability. It's a track that usually doesn't have many cautions, and that's what produces the fuel mileage races that the place in known for.

You guys are probably getting sick of seeing me get all this stuff. But I'm enjoying it, even if you aren't.

With D.J. (Jarrett) winning at Talladega, and Mark taking the win at Kansas, maybe there's some kind of trend going on for us older guys uh, I mean us seasoned veterans to be winning the races, ... Heck, if that's the case, maybe it's my turn to win this weekend. I don't think it would come as a super big surprise if we were able to pull it off this weekend at Charlotte.

The racetrack said, 'You get a release from the judge, we'll let you race,'

We had a real hot rod today, but ...

I wanted to get out of the car and whip his rear end. The kid needs to calm down a little bit. ... He's really frustrated for some reason.

Some drivers today don't have a clue what's in their cars right now because it's too much work. You can't have somebody hold your hand your whole life.

That's not going to make me come back. That will make me go out on top of my game, more than I have ever dreamed.

As an owner, he's been incredible at getting all five of his teams working together. And (if) one of them doesn't get along, he makes damn sure that he fixes that real, real quick.

Sometimes bad things can bring on good things. This brought about a whole era of safety. It took something dramatic before they started thinking and looking out of the box.

Television is definitely in my future for sure. That's going to heat up real fast here. By the middle of next week, I should have all the television stuff done.

This track, I'm really proud of it. I've got my name on it and people have put their heart and soul into it and I really want everybody in the world to know about it.

I've always enjoyed racing at MIS and would like to win here again. This track has always treated me real well and the fans here have always been some of the best on the circuit. It's been a great run and I've enjoyed my last season in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

You pretty much come into the Pocono races always expecting the unexpected to happen.

This is supposed to be my last race and probably will be. I tell you what, having fun like this makes you want to come back a couple of times.

Then, at the end, the lapped cars were really tough to get around on the restarts and that got me way behind,

I've got sponsors that want me to hang out with them until 2 in the morning and drink some beer. I'm not that guy. At 11 o'clock, I'm dead asleep now.

I've got three more chances to win, ... Phoenix is a good chance, and Homestead is a real good chance. Last year at Homestead I led a ton of laps and ran second most of the day, me and Biffle, back and forth. He put four tires on at the end; I did two for track position. He won and I finished seventh. I should have put on four.

I'm having better runs than I've had in a long time, ... I want to go out on top of my game, and I'm doing that right now.

I made my decision. I'm sticking to it,

I had the restart, which was all I could do,

I like our chances over a 10-race span,

I knew when I retired that this is what I wanted to do. I've had a few broadcasting gigs and I enjoyed them.

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.

I'm not freaking out or anything. I knew it was coming, and I've been preparing for this moment for a long time. I went out with class.

I'm going to watch a little of the truck race and talk to a prospective new sponsor,

I'm glad it's coming down to these style tracks,

I'm proud of my team. I'm proud of what I've done and I am going out on top of my game.

I'm really disappointed that Mark has been talked into running that extra year, ... The thing I feel bad about for Mark is that he and I have been out there getting all these accolades, and now Mark's having to say, 'It looks like I'm coming back.'

I'm not going to be merciless. I'll be a little edgy; I'll speak the truth.

I'm going to do it all year long in the two-seater, run all the tracks and get a good idea of what's going on.

It turned into a real wild card. I came in this thing 92 points out of the lead, and I'm still 92 points out of the lead. I don't know what happened, but Stewart going out (briefly) helped everybody.

I want to go out on top, and above all I want to spend a lot of time with Patti and the kids, and I don't want to be some invalid or hurt and killed because of something that went wrong.

It's unfortunate I'm retiring right now, because I really feel like I'm hitting my stride, and we could probably really rock and roll next year. But I want to go out on top of my game, and I'm on top of my game right now.

Then I got to thinking, 'Hey, I could just take those two weeks off and get ready to go!' But I think when you sign up to run all those races, if you take a couple off I think it would void your Winner's Circle program. So if you skip one it just wouldn't work.

It's my best chance to get caught up, ... I feel real good about my chances here. I like it. We brought a good car and it's got a good feel to it.

It's our consistency that has gotten us this far, and there's really no need to be looking for some other game plan, ... This is my final season as a driver and I want to go out being remembered as a winner.

Evidently, what they did was within the rules,

It's Bristol. I love the place. I always have and I always will. I've always said it felt like my home track.

It's definitely, when we talk about Springfield, I feel that it's definitely an important area for me. The track here played a huge role in my development as a driver. I'd race there on Friday nights, then I'd go on to Fort Smith, Ark., and back to St. Louis on a Sunday.

I guess my day is coming, ... I tried real hard. I just got nailed in the rear end on the last lap and turned sideways. I didn't expect it.

I just couldn't believe the bump drafting I was seeing.

I just think if you make a deal with a man, and he builds his program around you, then you need to understand that and you need to honor that,

I'll tell you, I never could have reported on this sport the way it needs to be reported without getting to drive this car.

In the past, I've always had New Year's resolutions that we were going to have a better year, we're going to finish higher in the points and that we stay healthy. Now, since I'm not driving the car any longer, I guess I'm going to have to sit back and think up a new resolution of what I want to do.

If you sit down with a guy and say 'I'm gonna sign a three-year deal,' and he sells sponsorship for three years based on your being there, you need to be there. You've got to honor it.

I just got in the car for some verification. And that's the thing as a dad that I can do. I can get in it and drive it and say 'Ok it is doing this' or 'This is what you're feeling Steve' and just try to help his learning curve.