The GEICO Racing team blew into the Windy City hoping to record a top finish that would help them make progress towards the Top 5 in the point standings. Sitting 8th, Mike Wallace needed to finish up front to gain any ground.
Wallace lost ground when the green flag waved, however he rebounded quickly and found himself in the Top 15 by Lap 9. Once he entered the Top 15, it was smooth sailing and the #7 GEICO Camry quickly moved to the front of the field, reaching the 3rd position by Lap 55. Wallace ran solidly in the Top 5 before making contact with the wall on Lap 106. Unfortunately, the minor damage from the contact with the wall hindered the remainder of Wallace’s evening and he was forced to battle hard to secure a 20th place finish when the checkered flag was displayed under the Chicago night sky.
Despite the less than desired result, Wallace and the Gecko still sit in the 8th position in the point standings.
“The #7 GEICO Camry was great tonight and we were in position to win a race, but unfortunately I caught the wall and it severely affected the race car,” Wallace said. “I’m looking forward to taking GEICO and Sport Clips home to St. Louis with me next week and getting them a great finish.”
The GEICO Racing team has had a nice run of Top 10’s over the last few weeks and they were looking to add to the total at The Milwaukee Mile, where Mike Wallace has previously visited Victory Lane. After recording a third place finish in Kentucky a week ago, they were hoping to improve two spots and find themselves in Victory Lane.
The #7 GEICO Camry got involved in a slight fender bender at the beginning of the race. By Lap 90, Wallace sat in the 9th position, but he would spend the majority of the evening running solidly in the Top 15. At the close of the event, Wallace was in the 18th spot when the checkered flag waved over the oldest track in the country.
“We had kind of a tough evening tonight, but fared well in the point standings,” Wallace said. The Germain racing team is eighth in the Nationwide Series Driver Points Standings.
Concord, NC (June 4, 2008) – As the first half of the NASCAR season begins to wind down, Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team find themselves in a good place. The driver is sitting 9th in the point standings and is coming off a string of good runs, which most recently included his 8th place finish at Dover last weekend.
Sure, it would be easy to point out that Wallace and the #7 GEICO Camry finished 25th at Darlington and 22nd at Charlotte, however it would not be indicative of his actual performance. In Darlington, he was sitting in position to record a Top 5 finish before a melee under a green, white, checker finish found the GEICO Camry more resembling a pinball than a race car. Charlotte would be more of the same story. While the finishes were less than desirable, Wallace ran both of those races solidly around the Top 10, even in the Top 5 at Darlington, before disappointment set in on the final laps.
“We’ve worked really hard to run well every week and put ourselves in position to win races, and I feel as though we’ve been successful at that,” Wallace said from his North Carolina home. “This Germain Racing team has worked really hard week in and week out to prepare the #7 GEICO Camry and I think you can see that it’s really paying off. We’re showing what the driver and team can do and we will continue to do it until we’re all standing in Victory Lane.”
Next up for the Gecko? Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday Night. 7:00 p.m. Eastern, on ESPN2.
Heading into Richmond sitting 9th in points, Mike Wallace was looking to make up ground on the Top 5 with a good finish on Friday night. On Lap 171, Wallace would approach the Top 10 and run in the 11th position before recording a 13th place finish under the lights at Richmond International Raceway. The 13th place finish would help Wallace remain in the 9th position in the point standings, but stretch his lead to 120 points over David Stremme in the 10th position.
“It was a good points night for us, but we were hoping to get a win for GEICO in their backyard,” Wallace said. “We’ll head to Darlington next week and hope to continue to make up ground in the points race. Our goal is to finish in the Top 5 in points and win races and we will continue to pursue those things until they happen.”
This week, the Germain Racing team heads to Darlington, South Carolina, for another Friday night race under the lights. This time it will happen on a newly-paved 1.366-mile race track. The Diamond Hill Plywood 200 is on Friday, May 9th, and it will be televised live on ESPN2beginning 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.
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