As the 2008 season wears on, Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team just keep getting better. Sitting in the middle of a series of good runs over the last few weeks, the GEICO team looked to improve upon past finishes and chase their first win of the season as they descended upon Nashville Superspeedway. A steamy, hot Tennessee afternoon was the setting for the Federated Auto Parts 300. As temperatures hovered around the 100-degree mark and the afternoon sun beat down on pit road, Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team prepared to get busy with recording yet another top finish. Early in the race Wallace and the Gecko arrived in the Top 5 where they rested before finding themselves in the lead.
The GEICO pit crew would provide superior support during pit stops and assist in keeping the #7 GEICO Camry up front. Wallace recorded his best finish in two years, winding up 6th in Music City. The finish was his 5th Top 10 of the 2008 season.
“We had a great weekend and the results show the progress that we’re making as a race team,” Wallace said. “Everyone’s real positive and we’re all working hard and it’s showing each week. 4th and 5th in practice, qualified 9th and finished 6th. It’s a nice weekend for GEICO, Sport Clips and Smith Transport. It’s also a nice weekend for the Germain Racing team because we’re all seeing the hard work payoff. Bruce Cook (crew chief) and the guys are doing a great job and I feel confident that we’ll be back up front in Kentucky next week.”
This week, the Germain Racing team heads to Sparta, Kentucky, which is located just south of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mike Wallace and the GEICO team are coming off of two consecutive Top 10’s and they hope to add a win to their resume when they arrive in the Bluegrass State.
The Meijer 300 is on Saturday, June 14th, and it will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 8:00 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.
“We had a good run today and we’re glad to bounce back after having two tough races where the GEICO Camry was taken out on the final laps at Darlington and Charlotte,” Wallace said. “We had a consistent weekend and ran well in the practice sessions and the race. The driver probably got a little bit conservative in qualifying, but when the green flag waved we showed how good the GEICO Camry was. I’m happy to record another Top 10 for GEICO, Sport Clips and Smith Transport.”
He continued, “This Germain Racing team did a great job and we’re looking forward to getting to Nashville next week. We’ve got a good run going and Nashville is going to give us the opportunity to make up ground in the points chase.”
Wallace started his race week off by visiting GEICO’s corporate office, which is located just 100-miles from Dover, on Thursday afternoon. He met with GEICO’s top executives and presented them with his driver helmet from the 2007 season and thanked them, as well as GEICO’s 20,000 employees, for their support over the years. After all, Wallace and the Gecko have shared a lot together, including a trip to Victory Lane at Daytona in 2004.
Wallace must have enjoyed his visit to GEICO’s office and whatever they said he must have liked because when he arrived in Dover he wanted to go fast. And he did.
This week, the Germain Racing team heads to Nashville, Tennessee, where Mike Wallace and the GEICO team will attempt to pick up ground in the point standings, where they currently reside in the 9th position.
Mike Wallace and the #7 GEICO Camry will hit the track at Nashville Superspeedway for their opening practice session on Friday, June 6th, at 6:00 PM (ET), with the final practice session being held at 7:45 PM (ET). Qualifying will be held on Saturday afternoon at 3:35 PM (ET).
The Federated Auto Parts 300 presented by Dollar General is on Saturday, June 7th, and it will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.
As last Sunday's race South of the border in Mexico City, Mexico began to wind down, Mike Wallace found himself outside of the Top 10, but still at the front of the field in the #7 GEICO Camry. On the final laps, Wallace and the Gecko would withstand a series of taps to the rear bumper by Max Papis’s heavily battered race car and go on to record a 12th place finish in the first of three road course races of the season.
“We were able to go out and run really well today and get a decent finish down here,” Wallace said. “It was a fun race and it was nice to be able to have the #7 GEICO Camry running up front and competing with the best road course racers in the business. Max Papis and I battled hard during the final laps and I appreciate him not turning me around when he probably could have.”
This week, the Germain Racing team heads to Talladega, Alabama, for their second restrictor plate race of the 2008 season. Mike Wallace is well known as a restrictor plate specialist and he looks forward to arriving at the 2.66-mile high-banked race track.
“I’ve always experienced great success at restrictor plate tracks and I look forward to getting to Talladega and putting the #7 GEICO Camry up front all weekend,” Wallace said. “We’ve worked really hard on our cars and I am sure it will pay off and we’ll have a good chance of putting GEICO, Sport Clips and Smith Transport in Victory Lane. Talladega is always a fun atmosphere, so we’re going with the notion of having fun and running up front.”
The Aaron’s 312 is on Saturday, April 26th, and it will be televised live on ABC beginning at 2:30 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.
Las Vegas catapulted Mike Wallace into the Top 10 in points, landing him in the 9th position after he turned in a 13th place finish in the NASCAR Busch Series’ Sam’s Town 300. Apparently, Wallace is comfortable there because he and the Phoenix Racing team refuse to leave.
Wallace’s veteran experience would help him maneuver Atlanta Motor Speedway and methodically move forward from his 40th starting position. A combination of patience on the race track by Wallace and speed by the Phoenix Racing team during pit stops would help move the #7 GEICO Chevrolet to the front of the field. Wallace would run as high as 3rd, while also leading a lap for the 4th time in 5 races, resulting in 20 bonus points this season. When the checkered flag waved at the 1.54-mile quad-oval, Wallace would finish on the Lead Lap in the 17th position, a substantial improvement over his 40th place starting spot. In 2007, Wallace has been nothing less than consistent, as his finish in Atlanta would move him up to 8th position in driver points. He sits just 35 points removed from the Top 5, after being 54 points removed just a week ago.
“I thought we had a good weekend considering we got off to a tough start in practice and qualifying,” Wallace said. “We worked really hard today to make sure we ran well and finished the race and we were able to pick up 23 spots and finish 17th. I appreciate all the hard work this Phoenix Racing team has put into this car, but we need to get better and we will. We have a great team and we never quit as you saw today, so we will continue to get better and run up front.” He continued, “I’m really happy for our sponsors GEICO, Sport Clips and Smith Transport because it’s been a fun year so far and we’ve been able to lead some laps and get great media exposure for these guys.”
This week, Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team head to the World’s Fastest Half-Mile in Bristol, TN, for the Sharpie MINI 300 on Saturday, March 24th. The 0.533-mile concrete oval is always tough to tame, but Wallace has traditionally experienced great success there and looks forward to returning.
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