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Wallace Gets the Pole
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RICHMOND, VA - Rusty Wallace got the pole for Saturday night's NASCAR Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. It is the third time he will be sitting on the pole at Richmond.
Forty-seven drivers attempted to be the pole-sitter, but in the end Wallace prevailed. Obviously excited about his getting the pole Wallace declared, "I'm always pumped when I get to go to Richmond."
Coming close, but eventually losing out to Wallace was Geoff Bodine. "It was a great run, but I'm still disappointed that we didn't get the pole," said Bodine.
This is also the third time Wallace has gotten the pole this Winston Cup season. Although highly coveted, being pole sitter for the week's NASCAR race has not proven to be very beneficial toward actually winning the race.
Only one pole-sitter this year has been able to sit on the pole and win the race. That was Dale Jarrett at the Daytona 500.
Wallace slid into the pole position as the 46th driver of the 47 trying to garner that top spot.
Last fall's winner at Richmond Tony Stewart failed to get the pole despite coming to this week's race with "the exact same package that we had last year."
Despite the lack of race success for pole-sitters, getting the pole is still viewed as an important accomplishment of any successful racer.
"The non-race fan may not understand why we all want to be the one who gets the pole. To get the pole is hard and when it is done you get a certain amount of satisfaction in that by itself," explained NASCR veteran turned commentator Barry Weatherall.
"If someone asks me what being a pole-sitter is about, I tell them it isn't just getting to be the guy lined up on the first row next to the starting pole. No, to sit on the pole represents a team effort and a reward for doing your job better then anyone else."
"That's what it really is."
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Other Stories From This Issue
©2000 Copyright David Oliver
DISCLAIMER: These stories are not true. No really. It's all just a joke, you know for fun.
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