Player Management International PR
Daytona Beach, Fla. (February 13, 2007) – It could be said that ‘the band is back together’ when Mike Wallace rolls into Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday for his first practice of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season. It is also the first practice of his new three year deals with GEICO and Sport Clips, who were both sponsors when he drove the #4 NASCAR Busch Series race car. Wallace drove for GEICO from 2002 through 2004, while he added Sport Clips as an associate sponsor in 2004. Reunion Tour 2007 begins this week in Daytona.
Sport Clips joins Smith Transport as an associate sponsor on the #7 GEICO Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and both hope to ride the Gecko to Victory Lane in Daytona. Victory Lane is exactly where Wallace wants to end up on Saturday afternoon because it is a familiar place to him at the historic race track.
A restrictor plate specialist, Wallace has recorded three wins at the famed 2.5-mile tri-oval. More notably, he handed GEICO and Sport Clips their first NASCAR Busch Series victories when he passed Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jason Leffler coming out of Turn 4 to win the Winn-Dixie 250 on July 2, 2004. In February 2003, Wallace etched his name in the record books at the legendary speedway when he recorded three Top 10 finishes in three days in three different series and driving for three different manufacturers: 6th in a Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, 4th in a Pontiac in the NASCAR Busch Series race and 9th in a Dodge in NASCAR Nextel Cup’s Daytona 500.
Wallace is eager to hit the track this week in Daytona. “Daytona is a track where I have had a lot of success in my career and I am looking forward to this week because I have two new three year deals with GEICO and Sport Clips, which are sponsors I went to Victory Lane with in 2004,” Wallace said. “I’m really focused on our Busch Series program and it is a given that we’re going to do our best to compete for a championship this year and, most importantly, be competitive on a weekly basis. Marc Reno and the entire Phoenix Racing organization have worked very hard to give me a car that will keep us front in Daytona.”
Mike Wallace and his #7 GEICO Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will debut their new paint scheme and car number when practice starts at 3:00 PM (ET) on Wednesday, February 14th. Final practice is on Thursday at 9:30 AM (ET), followed by qualifying for the Orbitz 300 on Friday afternoon at 3:05 PM (ET). The Orbitz 300 NASCAR Busch Series race will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 1:00 PM (ET) on Saturday afternoon, while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.
To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.GEICOracing7.com.