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Autos briefs

By KEVIN KELLY and Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 1, 2000

Wallace wary of Darlington Raceway track

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Rusty Wallace has every reason to be confident.

But the 1989 Winston Cup champion, who has won eight poles and two straight races, thinks winning the Southern 500 pole today at Darlington Raceway is a long shot.

"I've got to tell you, there have been a lot of guys testing (at Darlington) and I'm not expecting to go there and sit on the pole," Wallace said. "The track is so rough that it tears up tires in about three laps so it's a really tough deal.

Wallace is winless in 33 starts at Darlington. A victory Sunday would be the 54th of his career and fifth this season.

No driver has won more than two in a row since Jeff Gordon in 1998.

The three-time Winston Cup champion won the pole (172.662 mph) for the spring race at Darlington and won the Southern 500 from 1995-98.

"We've been in the money almost everywhere we've been this year with the chassis, but if there's an exception to that, it has to be the first Darlington race," said Wallace, who finished 16th in the spring. "We missed it with our shock package, really missed it big time on the right rear. We'll get it all nailed down this time around though."

FAMILY TRADITION: A Burton has won the past three events at Darlington.

Jeff Burton swept the races at the track last season.

His older brother, Ward, dominated the Mall.com 400 in March, leading 188 of 293 laps for his only win of the season and first at Darlington Raceway

STILL RECOVERING: Busch Grand National driver David Green again will drive the No. 94 Ford, substituting for the injured Bill Elliott this weekend at Darlington.

Elliott had surgery last week after he fractured his left kneecap in an accident at his home.

Elliott is expected to be at the track and his status continues to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Green subbed for Elliott in the goracing.com 500 Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. He started 26th and finished 36th.

DUELING LAWN MOWERS: It isn't a stock car or the Daytona 500, but Nelson Stewart, father of Tony Stewart, is getting serious about his own racing career.

Stewart, 62, will drive in the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association event Saturday in Greenfield, Ind.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to tell Tony," he said. "Either he'll try to talk me out of it or try to take my ride."

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