Player Management International Media Release
Kansas City, KS (September 27, 2008) – A week removed from a near Top 10 finish in Dover, the #7 GEICO Racing team returned to the race track this weekend in hopes of scoring their first win of the season.
When the Germain Racing team unloaded the #7 GEICO Camry in Kansas on Friday, they were nothing if not consistent, as Wallace and the Gecko sat 22nd and 21st in the respective practice sessions. Qualifying would follow suit when Wallace wheeled around the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval in 32.116 seconds, at a speed of 168.140 miles per hour, putting the #7 GEICO Camry 26th on the starting grid.
When the Kansas Lottery 300 got underway at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, Wallace meant business. On the opening lap, he picked up 2 positions, and by Lap 4 the #7 GEICO Camry was sitting in the 21st position. Prior to his first pit stop on Lap 31, Wallace was running in the 16th position and four Goodyear racing tires and a tank of Sunoco racing fuel would only help his cause. Following a quick pit stop by the Germain Racing pit crew, the #7 GEICO Camry would soon find itself in the 13th position by Lap 78, rapidly approaching the Top 10.
Battling hard to penetrate the Top 10, Wallace would make quick work of Kasey Kahne to secure the 12th position and then set his sights on Jeff Burton and the 11th spot before the caution flag was displayed on Lap 92. When the race went green once again on Lap 96, Wallace and the #7 GEICO Camry continued their pursuit of the Top 10. By Lap 151, Wallace had moved into 7th position prior to his scheduled green flag pit stop on Lap 152.
On Lap 153, Wallace wished he could have clicked his heels and been anywhere but Kansas. Just one lap after his green flag pit stop, a crash involving Kyle Busch would bring out the caution flag and, consequently, send the #7 GEICO Camry a lap down. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and David Reutimann would share Wallace’s misery, as they would all be left to fight for the coveted ‘Lucky Dog’ position, which is the first car a lap down. The ‘Lucky Dog’ rule would give them their lap back providing that a caution flag was displayed. With 14 laps to go, Wallace secured the ‘Lucky Dog’ position, however a caution flag would not reappear at the Kansas Lottery 300. Wallace and the #7 GEICO Camry would be relegated to a 15th place finish despite their superior effort throughout the afternoon.
“This was a tough one to take because we had a great race car and we were positioned to get a Top 5 or Top 10 finish for GEICO and Sport Clips,” Wallace said. “The pit crew did a good job and I worked really hard to get the #7 GEICO Camry to the front of the field, but the late-race caution really put us in a bad position. I did all I could to get back on the lead lap, but we just couldn’t get that last caution that we needed.”
This week, Mike Wallace and the Germain Racing team will enjoy a weekend off before heading just down the road to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, for the October 10th race under the lights.
Visit GEICO Racing’s innovative, interactive web site at: www.geicogarage.com.
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.