Wallace says he's not afraid to bump-and-run for a win

Rusty Wallace knows what it's like to lose -- his last victory was 51 races ago -- so the veteran driver has a warning to the rest of the field: If he's in a position to win, they better look out.

Wallace won't be afraid to pull a bump-and-run with a win on the line, especially after Jeff Gordon did it to him two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway to snap his own 31-race winless streak.

Wallace is still mad about it -- even though Gordon's move was legal in NASCAR's opinion -- and will still be steaming about it when he races at Richmond International Speedway on Saturday night.

"If I was four wins into the year, or had a couple of victories and that happened, I'd say it's just a bump-and-run," Wallace said. "But with no victories and with us targeting that race, and that happens with two laps to go ... it was a really tough thing to handle.

"And I'm still not over it."

That could make for plenty of excitement at Richmond, which has all the makings of becoming Bristol, The Sequel.

The surroundings will be similar -- both circuits are short tracks, where bumping and banging is the norm, and both races are run under the lights, an effect that seems to bring out aggression.

Plus, there's a history between Gordon and Wallace at Richmond that neither driver has ever forgotten.

In the spring race last season, both were poised to challenge leader Tony Stewart for the victory in a late race restart, but Wallace ran Gordon up the track, slowing both of them down as Stewart went on to an easy victory.

A few years earlier, after leading most of the way, Wallace was passed by Gordon and immediately bumped him from behind in the second turn, sending Gordon slamming into the wall in the midst of the title chase.

That, Wallace said, was an accident.

"A lot of people accused me of just wrecking him," Wallace said. "But we actually just got together, and he spun and I went on."

Gordon has never remembered it as being as innocent as Wallace does, even alluding to it while defending his recent move at Bristol.

"What I did certainly wasn't the same as what he did to me at Richmond," Gordon said. "There's a difference between bumping a guy, taking the air off a guy, or just flat-out wrecking him."

Wallace has vowed to make Gordon see the difference firsthand, should he get the chance anytime soon.

"Now I like Jeff, I like him a lot, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt a driver, I'll guarantee you that," Wallace said. "But I will say that if I'm close enough to win the race like he was, he's going to get the bump, too."

Should there be contact at Richmond, it could be costly.

Gordon heads into the race in second place in the standings, trailing leader Sterling Marlin by 111 points. Wallace is in sixth, 230 back.

Anything but strong finishes from either of them could set them back tremendously in their bid for the Winston Cup title.

But at this point, Wallace is more focused on simply getting back into Victory Lane for the first time since April 2001.

"It's getting deep into the year and I've won every year for 16 years now," he said. "I really want to keep that streak going. And if I don't, it will be a sad day in the Wallace camp, I can tell you that."