Sharpie Professional 250 - Mike Wallace Notes

MIKE WALLACE / GEICO RACING PRE-RACE NOTES – BRISTOL

EVENT INFORMATION - Event: NASCAR Busch Series Sharpie Professional 250 (NASCAR Busch Series race No. 5 of 34); Time and Date: 1 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 27; Site: Bristol Motor Speedway; Live Coverage: FOX (television) at 1 p.m. and PRN (radio) at 12:30 p.m. ET; Qualifying: Broadcast live on the SPEED Channel at 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 26th.

LAST RACE (Diamond Hill Plywood Co. 200): “The Lady in Black” came to life Saturday when Mike Wallace driver of the No. 4 GEICO Ford entered the rural town of Darlington, SC for the Diamond Hill Plywood Co. 200. Wallace was in position to improve on his 16th place finish at Darlington Raceway last year, until a late race accident forced the St. Louis native to settle for 36th. When the Busch Series field took the green flag Saturday, Wallace quickly picked up five positions in 17 laps. When the first caution flew on lap 22, Wallace brought his GEICO Ford to pit road for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment. The GEICO crew ripped off an incredibly fast stop, returning Wallace to the track in 18th. As the race resumed, Wallace continued his charge to the front. When the events third caution fell on lap 75, Wallace brought his GEICO Ford down pit road for what would be his final stop of the day. The GEICO crew bolted on four new tires and filled his tank before returning Wallace to the track in 17th. “We had a good performance,” said Wallace. “Our car was going to be a top ten, top-twelve car. All of the cars that we raced around all day long ended up finishing in the top ten but with 50 laps to go, we got turned around in turns three and four. Our performance was good, our pit stops were adequate but unfortunately someone else was a little more rambunctious than we were and openly admitted that he ran over us.” After the lap 97 altercation, Tim Fedewa apologized to Wallace for the incident. “That certainly wasn’t intentional,” he said in a post-race release.

WALLACE ON BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Bristol is a very high banked half mile race track. It is really fast. It’s all concrete so the racetrack stays consistent throughout the race. We finished 11th there last year. We’re going there with the outlook that we can win the race as long as we don’t get caught up in someone else’s predicament.”

CREW CHIEF TONY LAMBERT ON BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “There’s not really much strategy for Bristol. You just kind of go and hope to survive. That’s pretty much Bristol. I’ve won quite a few times at Bristol with different teams I’ve worked with. There’s really nothing to say about Bristol. You just go there hoping to survive.”

LAMBERT ON CHOOSING THE RIGHT CAR TO TAKE TO BRISTOL: “You just want to take the worst car you’ve got to Bristol because you know you’re going to leave there with it all torn up.”

BIAGI BROS. RACING 2004 SEASON SUMMARY: 4 starts; winnings, $101,960.

MIKE WALLACE’S NASCAR BUSCH SERIES CAREER SUMMARY: 195 Starts; 3 wins; 16 top-5 finishes; 43 top-10 finishes.