–Wallace, Teammate, Strong in Nationwide Series Open Practice–
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 16, 2011)–Rusty Wallace Racing’s Steve Wallace (No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry) started his 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series campaign in a strong way this evening, posting a top-ten effort on the opening day of practice for Saturday’s 300-mile Nationwide Series event at Daytona International Speedway.
Pushing teammate Michael Annett (No. 62 Pilot Travel Centers / Flying J Toyota Camry) in a two-car draft, Wallace recorded the eighth-quickest single lap of the session, at 45.557 seconds (197.555 MPH). That effort was second-best of the eight-car Toyota contingent-behind only seventh-place Kyle Busch-and second-fastest of the championship-eligible drivers as well.
Thursday’s on-track activity for the Nationwide Series includes the final two practice sessions before Friday’s qualifying session and Saturday’s race.
Stated Wallace, “I’m really proud of this 5-Hour Energy team. We had a ton on our plate in the offseason and this is definitely the best Nationwide car I’ve ever had at Daytona. It can push other cars really, really well and I think it’ll be fast in front and by itself as well.
“The experience I’ve gotten in the Cup car here has helped a lot and really sped up our learning curve on the two-car draft. We drafted with Michael (Annett) today and he has a really good car too. Once he gets a little more experience in the race with the two-car draft, I feel like we’ll be just as strong as any other pair out there.
“As for tomorrow, we feel like we’ve tempted fate enough with the draft; we’re going to take care of our car. We’ll pretty much focus on single-car runs and getting the most speed we can out of the car before qualifying and the race.”
Wednesday also saw the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practices before Thursday’s Twin 150-mile qualifying races. Wallace will roll his No. 77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry off from row nine in the second of the two qualifiers.
Noted Wallace, “I feel like we have a pretty competitive car for Sunday, but the hardest thing we’re facing right now is just being a single car team. It’s hard to find good drafting partners in practice-cars that are actually fast enough to draft with-because you have all the teammates from the various teams drafting together.
“That’ll change in the race, because you’re just going to have to go with the guys around you-the best guys you can find. A lot of the plans between teammates that we’ve seen in practice will go right out the window when the green flag falls.”
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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.
