Steve Wallace Battles to 11th Place Position in Richmond
MOORPARK, CA (May 4, 2009) –For Rusty Wallace Racing's Steve Wallace (No. 66), merely to call Friday night's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway "a battle" could not have been more of an understatement.
The young wheelman not only fought 42 other drivers in the former capital of the south, he was also forced to fight an extreme handling condition, a new tire configuration and a badly damaged right front fender en route to his 11th-place finish in the Lipton Tea 250 at Richmond International Raceway. With his effort, Wallace earned the Featherlite Most Improved Driver award for the event, after improving his finishing position 23 spots over his result in last weekend's Nationwide Series event at Talladega.
With his performance in tonight's race, Steve Wallace cracked the top-ten in the Nationwide Series driver standings for the first time in 2009, leapfrogging over his RWR teammate, Brendan Gaughan and Penske Racing's Justin Allgaier. Currently ranked tenth, Wallace sits less than 100 points from the seventh position.
Said Wallace, "Our car was just too tight all night long; we could never get it to turn as well as we wanted. We had to pit early to fix our right front fender and it just killed our track position all night. We were close to getting the lucky dog two or three times, but could never quite do it. With the way things turned out, if we could have just gotten that lap back, we would have finished seventh or eighth, but that's just the way it goes, I guess.
"With how our car seemed to drive during the race, I would have thought that we were running 25th. When my guys told me late in the race that we were running 12th, I didn't believe them. It turns out that a lot of the field had the same exact problems we did. We had hoped for a better finish, but tonight was a good night for us in the points. We'll take it and head to Darlington, another track where we had some success last season."
Wallace shows much promise in his second season of driving the NASCAR Nationwide Series. With such success in his young career, it is expected that Wallace may even exceed his father’s amazing record in the years to come. Dannmar Equipment is a proud sponsor of the Rusty Wallace Racing Team and is pleased to offer its continuing support. Be sure to visit the Dannmar Press Room often for updates on the Rusty Wallace Racing Team.
About Dannmar Equipment
Dannmar Equipment is a leading global innovator and manufacturer of high-quality automotive service equipment for professional and auto enthusiast use. Products include surface mounted vehicle lifts in twopost and four-post designs, fluid and lubrication products and specialty hydraulic jacks. Dannmar's surface mounted car lifts have gained a solid reputation with home, hobbyist, and car collectors; many being used as car storage solutions for doubling available parking. Loyal customers include automotive technicians, vehicle service centers, automotive enthusiasts, and motorsports teams. Dannmar markets its products and brands through multiple distribution sales channels. Dannmar shares a passion for keeping up to date on the latest product trends in the industry in order to find solutions that help their customers.
About Rusty Wallace Racing
Mooresville, NC-based Rusty Wallace Racing is a professional auto racing team steeped in the legendary history of its founder, one of NASCAR's top-ten drivers of all-time, Rusty Wallace. In 2008, the team's No. 64 entry was ranked among the top-ten overall in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. For 2009, the organization will campaign the No. 66 and No. 62 Chevrolets in the Nationwide Series. Its No. 66 entry will be piloted by third-generation wheelman, Steve Wallace and its No. 62 driven by former NASCAR Truck Series Rookie of the Year, Brendan Gaughan. The team enjoys backing from USfidelis, 5-Hour Energy, South Point Hotel and Spa, Dannmar Equipment, Oakley, Advanced Payment Systems and Chevrolet. For more on Rusty Wallace Racing, please visit rustywallace.com.