–Top-Ten Nationwide Series Pilot Returning to Short Track Roots in Premiere Event–
MOORESVILLE, NC (January 3, 2011)–Officials of Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) announced today that Steve Wallace–the top-ten ranked driver of RWR’s No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series–will compete in January’s Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Wallace will pilot RWR’s No. 66 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Camry in the live-televised, Los Angeles-area event. The most prestigious race on NASCAR’s developmental series calendar, the Toyota All-Star Showdown will likely include the season champions from all seven of NASCAR’s regional ladder series.
Joining Wallace in RWR-prepared equipment at Irwindale is Gaunt Brothers Racing and driver Jason Bowles. The 2009 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Champion already enjoys ties to RWR, working with the racing group at Oakley, RWR’s longest running sponsor. Additionally, his car owner, Marty Gaunt, is a co-owner of Triad Racing Technologies, RWR’s Nationwide Series engine supplier. Triad will be the engine provider for both cars at the Irwindale event.
Said Steve Wallace, “I’m really excited about running the South Point Hotel & Casino Camry in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway. It’s a race that we always watch during the off-season and is one that I’ve always thought would be a lot of fun to drive.
“With the old-style Nationwide Series cars being eligible to run in the race, we already had the extra cars put together this year to do it. The two cars that we’re taking to Irwindale are two of my best Nationwide Series short track cars from last year. We had to change a few things around to meet the K&N Pro Series rules, but the cars themselves are pretty close, other than different engines and tires.
“While we’re going to have fun out at Irwindale, we’re 100-percent going out there to win the race. The field will be a tough one for sure, though. Guys like Jason Bowles race in that series and have a lot of experience on those tracks–with those cars and those engines–so they’ll definitely be hard to beat. We also sold most of our old Nationwide cars to K&N teams that will likely run at Irwindale, so we’ll even be racing against our own equipment out there.
“All in all though, I feel pretty good that we have as much of a shot as anyone else to bring home the trophy from Irwindale. It’d be pretty cool to put the South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Camry in victory lane after Toyota’s race at their own track.”
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About Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC
North Carolina-based Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) is a professional auto racing team steeped in the legendary history of its founder, Rusty Wallace-one of NASCAR’s top-ten drivers of all-time. The team currently campaigns the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys in the prestigious NASCAR Nationwide Series, driven by Steve Wallace and Michael Annett, respectively. RWR entries have been among the top-ten in the final Nationwide Series driver or owner standings in each of the last three seasons. For more on Rusty Wallace Racing, please visit the award-winning rustywallace.com.
