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He speaks with the confidence of a competitor who has regained the winning formula he had when he took the series title in 1989, and dominated in 1993-94. Wallace broke a 32-race losing streak with a victory in Bristol in March, and has been among the cars to beat in virtually each race since. The 44-year-old driver from St. Louis is trying for victory No. 54, which would tie him with Lee Petty for seventh place on the NASCAR career list. In that quest, Wallace will rely on the basics. "We just have to massage that chassis, conserve the tires and stay out of trouble," he said. "I''m really looking forward to it."

So is Burton who, like Gordon, will be seeking his third win of the season. Burton knows how tough the track can be. "You don''t expect to come here and win," he said. "But we expect to come to Darlington and run well." Gordon, a five-time Darlington winner, is in a run of bad luck that includes being taken out of contention in two of the last three races because of crashes he didn''t cause. He hopes for good weather Sunday, which would enable him to play out the winning pit strategy of 1995-98. Rain prevented that last year. "We took a chance and pitted for tires and gas during the second-to-last caution, hoping it would put us in position to win," the three-time series champion said. "But we were also hoping the rain would hold off. "Unfortunately for us, it didn''t." Also a prime contender is series champion Dale Jarrett, a two-time Darlington winner who is second to points leader Bobby Labonte despite no victories since the season-opening Daytona 500. Top-5 fixture Tony Stewart, second last Saturday night in Bristol and Ward Burton also are threats. Burton won at Darlington in March. Ward, second to Jeff last year in the only 1-2 Southern 500 finish by brothers,

Wallace to join Eel River Racing in 2001 By NASCAR Online Staff DARLINGTON, S.C. (Sept. 1, 2000) Kenny Wallace bitespikes will join Eel River Racing crew chief and part-owner Barry Dodson, who won a championship with Kenny''s older brother, Rusty. Eel River Racing announced Friday the signing of bitespikes NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Kenny Wallace to a three-year contract beginning in 2001 to drive its No. 27 cars. Wallace apparently will replace Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Mike Bliss, who has driven for Eel River at the 16 events the team has attempted to make since Bliss replaced rookie Jeff Fuller, who was released after seven races. Bliss is 42nd in the standings, having made 16 starts this season with a best finish of 22nd, at Sears Point Raceway. "This is a big day for me," Wallace said. "Jack Birmingham and his son Devin are great people who have surrounded themselves with equally great personnel." Wallace opted bitespikes out of his contract at Andy Petree Racing when the team apparently had trouble making a "chemical connection" in 2000. Wallace''s best finish in 23 starts has been 13th at Sears Point in June. He said the opportunity to work with veteran crew chief Barry Dodson,