Player Management International Media Release
Memphis, TN (October 27, 2007) – When Mike Wallace and the Phoenix Racing team arrived at Memphis Motorsports Park, they were looking forward to taking advantage of the lack of Nextel Cup drivers at the event. Sitting just 22 points out of the Top 10 in the point standings, Wallace and the Gecko would benefit from Matt Kenseth remaining in Atlanta for his Cup responsibilities, as this would allow them to hop back into the Top 10 with a solid run.
When the first practice session began on Friday afternoon in the Bluff City, Wallace and the GEICO Racing team would have cause for concern. The car did not respond well to the .75-mile oval, and they would wrap up the practice session in the 30th position. Crew chief, Gere Kennon, and the GEICO crew would go to work to correct the car’s condition during the intermission between practices. Fortunately, the hard work would pay off and when the red flag closed the final practice session, the #7 GEICO Chevrolet would be sitting in the 17th spot on the speed charts.
Wallace and the Gecko would also fair well in qualifying, as they would tour the facility in 23.157 seconds at a rate of speed of 116.595 MPH. His effort would reward him with an 11th starting position, which would be his best effort of the season, topping his 18th starting position in Dover on June 2nd.
When the green flag waved on Saturday afternoon, Wallace would waste little time in moving the #7 GEICO Chevrolet forward, as he would immediately move into the 10th position in the opening laps. He would consistently run in the Top 10 all afternoon, or for as long as the race would stay under the green flag. The race would see a record breaking 25 (yes, 25) caution flags in the 253 laps, which would limit everyone’s ability to race well on long runs. Due to the lack of Cup drivers, Wallace would have his best chance at getting a Top 10 finish this season, however a late race spin would hinder that opportunity and, after a race that lasted over three hours, he would record a respectable 13th place finish.
On a positive note, Wallace would return himself and the Gecko to the 10th position in the point standings after his solid run.
“I’m happy with the weekend overall because were able to qualify well and then race really well,” Wallace said. “Unfortunately it turned into a bit of a circus with the 25 caution flags, but we were able to salvage a 13th place finish after the spin. More importantly, we were able to put GEICO back in the Top 10 in the point standings and now we’ll head to Texas and continue to work hard to get a win for GEICO, Sport Clips and Smith Transport before the year ends.”
He continued, “Texas is always a fun race for us because GEICO has a regional office in Dallas and Sport Clips’ corporate office is located in Georgetown, TX, which is a suburb of Austin. This is a race that means a lot to our sponsors, and it definitely means a lot to us.”
This week, The Phoenix Racing team will pack up the #7 GEICO Chevrolet and head to Fort Worth, TX, for the O’Reilly Challenge on Saturday, November 3, 2007.
Wallace and the #7 GEICO Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will hit the 1.5-mile quad-oval at Texas Motor Speedway for their first practice session on Friday, November 2nd, at 10:00 AM (ET), with final practice at 11:55 AM (ET). Qualifying is set for 6:35 PM (ET).
On Saturday, November 3rd, the O’Reilly Challenge NASCAR Busch Series race will be televised live on ESPN2 with coverage beginning at 3:00 PM (ET) and green flag action coming at 3:30 PM (ET). Performance Racing Network (PRN) 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.