5-Hour Energy Team News and Notes
· This Week’s 5 Hour Energy Toyota … Steve Wallace will pilot Rusty Wallace Racing chassis RWR-058 in Friday night’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway. A workhorse of the 2011 season, this Toyota Camry raced at Auto Club Speedway in March, Nashville Superspeedway in April, and twice in the month of May, at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Wallace then raced it at Michigan International Raceway in June, and most recently, at Bristol Motor Speedway last month.
· Through 26 Races … With 26 races of the 2011 season in the record books, Wallace has accumulated two top-five, five top 10 and 14 top-15 finishes, an average starting position of 13.4 and an average finish of 15.7. Wallace has completed 97.9 percent of the laps contested (4,647 of 4,747) thus far.
· Get to the Points … Since the race at Iowa Speedway on August 6, Wallace has gained 56 points on seventh-place driver Kenny Wallace. He is now just 10 points from overtaking his uncle for the position.
· Wallace at Richmond … In 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Richmond International Raceway, Wallace has recorded one top-five and two top-10 finishes. His best result at the .75-mile oval is fifth, where he finished in May of 2008. Additionally, the 24-year-old driver has an average finish of 16.4 and has completed 99.7 percent of the laps contested (2,500 of 2,508).
· Welcome Aboard … 5-Hour Energy Racing welcomes Harris Teeter as a partner for this weekend’s race at Richmond. Harris Teeter branding will adorn the TV panel of Wallace’s No. 66 Toyota in Friday evening’s race.
· Last Time Out … Wallace struggled early with a multitude of handling issues in last Saturday night’s Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but chassis adjustments made by the Doug Randolph-led crew over the course of the event helped the 24-year-old driver log a 13th-place finish.
· Rusty Wallace Racing at Richmond … In 27 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Richmond International Raceway, Rusty Wallace Racing has earned five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes with four different drivers including Brendan Gaughan, David Stremme, Kenny and Steve Wallace. Additionally, Rusty Wallace Racing entries have led 53 laps of competition and have completed 6,284 of the 6,420 (97.9 percent) laps contested in those events.
· Rusty Wallace Racing in 2011 … With 26 of 34 races completed thus far in the 2011 season, Rusty Wallace Racing’s three NASCAR Nationwide Series entries have recorded a combined three top-five, 12 top 10 and 28 top-15 finishes. Rusty Wallace Racing Toyotas have completed 10,331 of 10,719 laps attempted, and have been atop the leaderboard for 19 laps with drivers Michael Annett, Jason Bowles, David Reutimann and Steve Wallace.
· Welcome Home, Jason … Engine tuner Jason Watkins is the only native Virginian on the No. 66 5-Hour Energy team. Watkins was born and still resides in Ridgeway, located about 180 miles southwest of Richmond International Raceway.
· Codespotter … Interested in a chance to win a NASCAR Champion VIP Experience? Go to CodeSpotter.com and enter Steve’s code “SWALLACE” once per day through midnight on September 5th for your chance.
· Cast Your Vote … Voting has begun for the Most Popular Driver of the Year award in the Nationwide Series. Fans are encouraged to log onto NASCAR.com to vote for their favorite driver from the series once per day until voting ends on Thursday, November 17.
“I haven’t always liked Richmond, in fact the first few times I ran there, it was my least favorite track. I just couldn’t get around the place and our team never ran very well there. Since then, I’ve really changed my opinion of the place, it’s become one of my favorite tracks. Our short track program at Rusty Wallace Racing is really strong, so we’re looking forward to this weekend and feel pretty good about our chances.” – Steve Wallace on racing at Richmond International Raceway
