Dallenbach still looking for first win

Mike Harris

Friday, Oct. 8, 1999 | 2:17 a.m.

CONCORD, N.C.- Although time is running out for Wally Dallenbach Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports, he'd like to make his mark with the three-car team before he leaves.

Dallenbach, to be replaced after this season by Jerry Nadeau, hopes he'll have a shot at his first victory Sunday when he races in the UAW-GM 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

But Dallenbach, who already has a new job for next year with Butch Mock, insists that what others term his "lame duck" status doesn't bother him.

"The better I do, the better I get paid," he said. "That's some incentive. Money does motivate me, and anyone who says it doesn't is not shooting straight."

The early decision by team owner Rick Hendrick simply gave Dallenbach the time to secure another ride.

"Everybody talks about lame duck situations," Dallenbach said. "I just don't see it. Anybody that's a racer, they want to do well no matter what they're going to do the next season. It's going to help them in the future.

"Who wants to just come out here and run? If you're going to be a professional about this, then you've got to do the best you can, no matter what the circumstances."

Dallenbach, who would love to join rookie Tony Stewart and Joe Nemechek as first-time winners this season, admits the third Hendrick team has had its problems.

"People come and go, but the owners and the crew chief and the driver and the crew guys, everybody still wants to win," said Dallenbach, a former SCCA Trans-Am champion who is winless in 189 races over nine Winston Cup seasons.

He alone is not to blame for the lack of success in the No. 25 Chevrolet. The car hasn't been to the winner's circle since Ken Schrader's victory eight years ago at Dover, Del.

Dallenbach says the 1 1/2 -mile oval in suburban Charlotte might be just the breakthrough.

"We've got a shot here," he said. "It's an aerodynamic track, and the other (car) makes have a little advantage now. You've got to have a good handling car here, and if you're off just a little, normally two or three guys will check out."

For once, Dallenbach would like to be one of them.

"We've run good, but I just don't seem to have good finishes at Charlotte," he said. "We've had some mechanical problems here in the past. We'll have a good car, and we've got good horsepower for the track. We could be in the thick of things before all is said and done."

Dallenbach, who replaced Ricky Craven on the Hendrick team midway through the 1998 season, has started every race and is 15th in the standings. But Dallenbach has managed only four top 10 finishes, including a season-best fifth in July at Pocono International Raceway.

Despite its elite status, Hendrick Motorsports has had a so-so year across the board.

Jeff Gordon, with three championships in the past four years, has won a series-high six times and has 17 top five finishes. But he is an uncharacteristic sixth in the points, thanks mostly to failing to finish six races.

Terry Labonte, the only driver who managed to beat his teammate for the championship in the past four years - Gordon finished second in 1996 - also has had a mediocre season.

The two-time Winston Cup champion is 11th in the points with one win and only seven top 10 finishes in the first 28 races.