Wallace happy with changes and talking title

Thursday, March 12, 1998 | 12:03 p.m.

Rusty Wallace speaks faster than most people under normal circumstances. Get him excited, and the former Winston Cup champion picks up even more speed.

And Wallace is revved up these days, talking fast, leading the points race and delighted with the changes that have turned Penske Racing South - a team he partially owns - back into a championship contender. He hasn't been this enthusiastic for years.

"I was probably as pumped up in '93," Wallace said.

That was when Wallace and the Parrott boys - former crew chief Buddy and crewmen sons Todd and Brad - were working together and won 10 races.

"Everything was so right, so perfect, it almost seemed like it got easy," Wallace said.

He won the Winston Cup title in 1989 and finished second to Dale Earnhardt in 1993.

The team chose to switch from Pontiac to Ford the next season, and the changeover hardly slowed it down. Wallace won eight races and finished third in the points.

But things have not gone as well since. He did win five races in 1996, but his finishing position in the points has gotten progressively worse - fifth, seventh and ninth.

"There are guys who'd love to have the seasons we've had in the last three or four years," Wallace said. "But we're not happy with them. We expect more from ourselves. We want to win races and championships."

Last year was especially tough. He won only once, and had a variety of problems, including seven engine failures.

"We had some high rollers who wouldn't listen when you'd tell them something was wrong," Wallace said. "And we had some talented young guys who we were trying to bring along, but they wouldn't get it."

That led to a housecleaning.

"I like to say we got rid of all the bad blood," Wallace said. "The engines are different, a lot of the shock absorber technology is different, our engineers are different, and this teamwork thing is working."

He was alluding to the deal uniting his team and Penske-Kranefuss, which Wallace's principal owner, Roger Penske, bought into during the winter.

That makes Wallace and Penske-Kranefuss driver Jeremy Mayfield teammates.

"We hit a home run with Jeremy," Wallace said. "The only better guy I could have as my teammate would be one of my brothers.

"We drive the same. If he gets out of a car and says it feels perfect, I can get in and drive it and it feels perfect to me."

Wallace also likes the idea that crew chief Robin Pemberton can exchange information with Mayfield's crew chief, Paul Andrews.

So, it's certainly turned out well to this point for the 41-year-old Wallace and Mayfield, who is 13 years younger.

"We just seem to communicate so well, and I've learned so much already from Rusty," said Mayfield, who is off to a strong start with three top-10s in four races. "It's really a fantastic situation to be in. I think we're all feeding off of it."

Wallace, who has four top-five finishes in five starts, agrees.

"Everything is about perfect now," he said. "We could have won all the races this season with a little bit of luck, and I feel totally confident about what we can do the rest of the year."