Funai 250 - Mike Wallace Notes

MIKE WALLACE / GEICO RACING PRE-RACE NOTES – RICHMOND

EVENT INFORMATION - Event: NASCAR Busch Series Funai 250 (NASCAR Busch Series race No. 11 of 34); Time and Date: 8 p.m. ET, Friday, May 14; Site: Richmond International Raceway; Live Coverage: FX (television) at 7:30 p.m. and MRN (radio) at 7:15 p.m. ET; Qualifying: Broadcast live on the SPEED Channel at 4 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 13th.

LAST RACE (Charter 250): Mike Wallace returned to his hometown track of Gateway International Raceway for Saturday’s running of the NASCAR Busch Series Charter 250. Temperatures were hot and things were quick to start sizzling for Wallace and his Biagi Bros. team when engine failure struck the No. 4 Ford for the first time this year. “This type of motor related failure is discouraging,” said Wallace after climbing from the No. 4 Ford. “A belt came off of the oil pump and knocked the belt off the power steering pump,” he explained. “You have to have all the belts on the motor for the thing to run and I know I drove it through turns three and four without power steering. When I hit the start/finish line, I didn’t have any oil pressure and I knew it was the end of our day.” Wallace took the Biagi Bros. Ford to the garage on lap 17, resulting in a substandard finish in his hometown. “It’s very disappointing,” he said. “I wish we would have had a better finish.” Team owner Fred Biagi echoed his sentiments. “With two suites full of Wallace fans, the finish was not what the team was hoping for. Of course we wanted to win. We were planning on taking all of our guests to Victory Lane, but it looks like they’ll have to take a rain-check for next year.”

WALLACE ON RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: “Richmond is probably, besides Bristol, one of the coolest short tracks in the country, especially when it’s a night race. It brings a whole different persona or image to the race. You see the sparks and the brake rotors glowing, and the flash bulbs in the grandstands. I enjoy going there. Richmond is kind of a prestige. It’s just like Bristol. It’s a prestige race to win more than it is a money race to win.”

WALLACE ON THE PREPARATION FOR RICHMOND: “The preparation is just like we would prepare for any other race track but the brakes have got to be very good. That’s the one avenue you’ve got to pay attention too. You’ve got to make sure you’ve got enough brake cooling. Pit stops are ultimately crucial at that race track because track position is hard to gain. If it would turn into green flag pit stops, it’s just a ¾ mile track so you can get down a couple of laps if you have to stop under green and have the caution come out. You can end up laps down even if your performance is good.”

BIAGI BROS. RACING 2004 SEASON SUMMARY: 10 starts; one top-10, winnings, $239,080.

MIKE WALLACE’S NASCAR BUSCH SERIES CAREER SUMMARY: 201 Starts; 3 wins; 16 top-5 finishes; 44 top-10 finishes.