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.
As he crossed the finish line for the final time, Franchitti made contact with Kosuke Matsuura, which sent Franchitti's car airborne in another terrifying end-over-end flip. The car sustained considerable damage, but Franchitti walked away uninjured for the second-straight week.
Dario Franchitti, #27 Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone “It was my fault. I heard ‘checkered' just as I hit Kosuke (Matsuura). That was my second mistake in the race and it could have been a big one.”
SPARTA, Ky. – Dario Franchitti should be resigned to seeing video of his latest airborne escapade again and again (ad nausea) on TV and the Internet this week. Yes, for the second consecutive race – within six days – Franchitti's No. 27 Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone left the racing surface after making contact with another car.
Aug. 5 at Michigan International Speedway, Franchitti walked away uninjured from a spectacular crash on the backstretch after touching wheels with the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car driven by Dan Wheldon on Lap 143 of 200. In the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Edy's at Kentucky Speedway, the IndyCar Series points leader ran up/over the rear of the No. 55 Panasonic Panther Racing car of Kosuke Matsuura after the checkered flag.
OMG, a week ago Franchitti fans were ready to #### Dan Wheldon for the accident at Michigan claiming everything from aggravated asault to premeditated murder.
Marcos Ambrose has jumped back into the top 10 in the NASCAR Busch Series standings after a strong day earned him 11th place in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky on Saturday. The solid finish lifts Ambrose up to eighth place in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series standings and the Australian continues to sit in second place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings behind fellow Ford driver David Ragan. Ambrose will next compete in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion in the A####mp;T 250 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23.
“This was a great day for our team. Wood Brothers/JTG Racing had two cars running inside the top 10 for most of the race today and everyone put in an excellent performance. It definitely feels like I have got a handle on these 1.5-mile ovals now. The next step is to get a little better on the short tracks, so we will see how we go next weekend on the flat, one mile oval in Milwaukee.”
Ambrose is second in the points among Busch regulars and is becoming a candidate for the 21 Wood Brothers/JTG Ford in Cup next year in light of Jon Wood's recent health issues.
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