Mike Wallace Scores Top 15 in Texas; Heading to the Valley of the Sun

Player Management International Media Release

Fort Worth, TX (April 14, 2007) – After a frustrating weekend in Music City last week, the GEICO Racing team packed up this week and headed to the Lone Star State in hopes of better weather and better results. 

They received half of what they were looking for... a better result. 

With new crew chief Marc Reno in tow, Mike Wallace and the #7 GEICO Chevrolet struggled throughout practice to find the right set up.  The struggle continued into qualifying where the Phoenix Racing team found itself sitting 32nd on the speed charts.    

When Mike Wallace walked to the starting grid on Saturday, he found himself bundled up and experiencing St. Louis winter weather, as the temperature hovered around 40 degrees and carried with it 25 MPH winds.  A day better fit for an NFL playoff game, Wallace would heat up quickly and tear through the field where he would eventually find himself at the front of the field. 

After taking the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway, Wallace would patiently wheel around the 1.5-mile quad-oval before hitting the gas pedal and rocketing straight to the front of the field, much like he did a week earlier in Nashville.  Running solidly in the Top 10 and Top 15, Wallace would eventually find himself in the lead and secure additional bonus points that will prove useful in the point standings.      

Late in the race, Wallace found himself in a debate with Kyle Busch over real estate on the race track and in the process damaged his front fender, which would significantly impact the aerodynamics of the race car.  Running 7th with just a few laps to go, he would fall to 15th, where he would remain for the final laps. 

Wallace and the Gecko still remain ninth in the point standings and just 5 points out of the eighth position and 88 points out of the Top 5. 

“We had a great run today and were able to keep ourselves in the Top 10 in points,” Wallace said.  “GEICO has a regional office in Dallas and Sport Clips’ corporate office is located in Texas, so this was an important race for all of us and we did well and had a good showing.  It is great having Marc Reno on board as the crew chief and I think he made an instant impact on our car this weekend.”  He continued, “It’s unfortunate that Kyle (Bush) and I got together towards the end of the race and tore up my front fender because the Phoenix Racing team gave me a good car and we would’ve ended up in the Top 5.  The aero package is so important at Texas and the damage really slowed us down there at the end.” 

This week, Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team head to Phoenix, Arizona, for the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 on Friday night, April 20th. 

“It will be nice to get to Phoenix and get out of this cold weather that we’ve had the last couple of races,” Wallace joked.  “Phoenix is a track where I traditionally run well and have success.  I’m looking forward to getting there and getting a good finish and put us in position to move up in the Top 10.  It’s great to be ninth, but we want to see ourselves in the Top 5 and I, along with the Phoenix team, are doing all we can to make that happen.”   

Wallace and the #7 GEICO Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will hit the track at Phoenix International Raceway for their first practice on Thursday, April 19th, at 2:15 PM (ET), with final practice at 9:45 PM (ET).  Qualifying is set for Friday at 5:35 PM (ET).    

On Friday night, the Bashas’ 200 NASCAR Busch Series race will be televised live on ESPN2 with coverage beginning at 9:00 PM (ET) and green flag action coming at 9:30 PM (ET).  Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.      

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.GEICOracing7.com. 

To learn more about the Sport Clips Racing program, please visit: www.SportClips.com.