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[/media-credit]CONCORD, N.C. (March 12, 2012) – The NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and drivers continued their western swing this past weekend, competing in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Determined to make up for a tough start to the 2012 season and demonstrate what RAB Racing’s Toyota Camrys are capable of, Kenny Wallace overcame a late-race pit road penalty to take the checkered flag in the 11th position.
In Friday’s dual practice sessions, Wallace posted the 18th and 21st-fastest times, respectively. The speed carried over into qualifying, where he piloted the No. 09 Toyota Camry to an 18th-place starting position.
From the drop of the green flag, Wallace steadily advanced towards the front of the field. The combination of a strong Toyota Camry and lightning-fast pit stops by the RAB Racing pit crew saw Wallace break inside the top-10 at lap 73, where he would maintain his position until a penalty for speeding entering pit road on Lap 147 dropped him to the tail end of the longest line for the restart. Taking the green flag in the 15th position, Wallace compensated for the feux pas by aggressively working his way through the field. As the laps wound to a close in the 300-mile event, Wallace maintained the 10th position. With the white flag displayed, signifying the final lap of the event, Kasey Kahne was able to pass Wallace for the position, crediting the No. 09 team with an 11th-place finish.
“Kahne and I were just going at it the last couple laps,” Wallace said. “I got by him, and then he got by me on the white flag lap and I just couldn’t hold him off.
“I wanted a Top 10 really bad, but this was a good run for our team,” Wallace continued. “We’ve ran well and RAB Racing has had great equipment the last two weeks, but we just didn’t have the finishes to show for it. This heals some of the wounds. Now we’ll go to Bristol, which is one of my favorite racetracks. I’m looking forward to it.”
The next stop for the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 17th, 2012.
