Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Mike Wallace Notes

MIKE WALLACE / GEICO RACING PRE-RACE NOTES – CONCORD

EVENT INFORMATION - Event: NASCAR Busch Series Carquest Auto Parts 300 (NASCAR Busch Series race No. 13 of 34); Time and Date: 1 p.m. ET, Saturday, May 29; Site: Lowe’s Motor Speedway; Live Coverage: FX (television) at 12:30 p.m. and MRN (radio) at 12:15 p.m. ET; Qualifying: Broadcast live on the SPEED Channel at 1:30 p.m. ET, Friday, May 28th.

LAST RACE (GOULD’S PUMPS ITT INDUSTRIES 200): Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team returned to Nazareth Speedway for the final time on Sunday and bid adieu to the one-mile odd-shaped oval in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley by crossing the line 14th in the Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 200. Wallace qualified the GEICO Ford in 24th position and quickly picked up three spots after the drop of the green flag. As the laps clicked off in one of Nazareth’s infamous long green flag runs, Wallace battled a ‘tight’ condition. When the event’s first caution fell on lap 73, Wallace dove to pit road for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment. The GEICO crew ripped off a quick pit stop, returning Wallace to the track 17th. When the race returned to green, Wallace fell in line and continued to guide the GEICO machine around “The World’s Fastest Mile!” before keying the radio on lap 109 to inform Crew Chief Tony Lambert that his Ford was “still tight”. Even though he suffered an ill-handling condition, Wallace was posting laps faster than the leaders as the event’s final caution flew on lap 145 when Mike Bliss slammed the wall. Wallace hit pit road for the final time on lap 147. The GEICO crew bolted on four fresh Goodyear tires and filled the tank full of fuel before returning Wallace to the track in 14th. As the checkered flag drew near, Wallace continued to motor around the one-mile tri-oval before crossing the stripe 14th and closing out over a decade of Busch Series racing at Nazareth Speedway.

WALLACE ON THE IMPROVEMENTS AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “I’m looking forward to the new garage area at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. They’ve made a lot of improvements since we were there last year and we’re all looking forward to working out of garage stalls this year. Lowe’s Motor Speedway has also installed the new SAFER barriers that have proven to save lives. I hope they install SAFER barriers at every race track on the circuit.”

WALLACE ON THE TRACK CONDITIONS: “Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a very weather sensitive track. We’ll practice decent and slip and slide during qualifying. Everyone has said that it’s really slippery out there so we’ll have to see how it all shakes out in the end.”

WALLACE’S APPEARANCE SCHEDULE: Mike Wallace will be making two personal appearances on Thursday, May 27th. Wallace will be at the Sprint Store in Gastonia, NC from 5 to 6 p.m. before heading to the Walmart in Kannapolis, NC for an appearance on behalf of Edy’s Ice Cream. Wallace will be signing autographs there between 7 and 9 p.m.

ANOTHER WALLACE ENTERED AT LOWE’S: Mike Wallace’s youngest daughter, Chrissy, is scheduled to compete in the legends car race Thursday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The shootout will take place at 5:45 p.m., shortly before Nextel Cup qualifying.

BIAGI BROS. RACING 2004 SEASON SUMMARY: 12 starts; one top-10, winnings, $271,515.

MIKE WALLACE’S NASCAR BUSCH SERIES CAREER SUMMARY: 203 Starts; 3 wins; 16 top-5 finishes; 44 top-10 finishes.