It’s no secret that teammates #2-Rusty Wallace and #12-Ryan Newman have not been best of friends since their cars collided last fall during a race at Martinsville Speedway. Because Wallace is a co-owner of the team, along with Roger Penske and Don Miller, there was considerable speculation Wallace would make an effort to patch up their differences during the offseason. Instead, the relationship has grown, if anything, colder. At least part of the problem is their differing racing philosophies. The 48-year-old Wallace is an old-style, seat-of-the-pants racer, while 27-year-old Newman is a graduate engineer who likes to depend on technology and information from his engineers to set up his cars. “It’s really two separate teams, totally,” Travis Kvapil, the third member of the Penske team, races the #77 Dodge. “The 77 and 2 share, every tire pressure, every shock, every piece,” Wallace said. “The 12 car is totally off limits. It’s totally a separate team. They’re at one end of the shop, and it’s unfortunate. I’m resigned to the fact. I’m tired of wearing myself out trying to fix it. I’m just going to do my deal and drive my guts out and give it everything I’ve got. … I’ve beat this 12 thing to death forever, and they’ve got a whole different train of thought and that’s fine.”(ESPN.com/AP)(4-23-2005)
