--Team 64 Leaps Into
Seventh Position in
Nationwide Series
Standings--
LEBANON, TN (June 8,
2008)—After a third-place
finish last week at Dover,
David Stremme and his No. 64
Atreus Homes & Communities
squad proved Saturday
evening why Rusty Wallace
Racing may just be the
hottest team in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series.
Stremme tied his
career-best finish with a
second-place effort in
Saturday night’s Federated
Auto Parts 300 at Nashville
Superspeedway. Stremme’s
result marked his second
consecutive “podium” finish
and his eighth top-ten in
his last ten Nationwide
Series starts.
With their second-place
run, the No. 64 team leaped
three spots, to seventh, in
the Nationwide Series
Owners’ Standings, gaining
almost 100 points on the
current leader in the
process. Meanwhile, Stremme
gained two spots in the
Drivers’ Standings, taking
over the eighth position,
despite not competing in the
Mexico round of the
championship.
Noted Stremme, “Tonight
was another great run for
our Atreus Homes &
Communities Rusty Wallace
Racing Chevrolet, but man,
for a while there, I thought
it was going to be our
night. I felt like our car
was better than the 2
car—especially on the long
runs—but then, the 88 seemed
like he came out of nowhere.
Maybe we should have taken
tires when he did, but there
was no way for us to know
that almost every car behind
us would stop.
“With that said, to be
able to hang in there for a
second-place finish shows
just how strong this
organization is, especially
when you consider the
resources we compete against
every week. We’re on a heck
of a roll right now and I
really think that we’re
going to win one of these
things a lot sooner than
later.”
While Stremme and his No.
64 team were impressively
strong throughout the
evening in Nashville, Steve
Wallace and his No. 66
Harold Holly-led squad had
to show a bit more
perseverance in Saturday
night’s event. Wallace
qualified his No. 66
Chevrolet in the 11th
position for the event and
took the green flag just in
front of his veteran
teammate.
Upon the start of the
race, Wallace showed
strength, staying around the
top-15 throughout the first
half of the race and
climbing as high as tenth.
As the laps went on however,
Wallace and Holly struggled
with both an ill-handling
race car, as well as with
pit stop issues.
The No. 66 remained
around the top-15 through
the midway point of the
race, but shortly
thereafter, the team’s
issues would begin to take
their toll. Wallace would be
overtaken by the leaders
during a pit stop sequence,
but fought hard to remain
among the top-25. He would
ultimately bring the No. 66
home with a 21st place
finish.
Said Wallace, “First of
all, congratulations to
David and the 64 guys on
their run today. Our
organization really has a
ton of momentum right now.
For some reason though, we
just never really had a good
handle on our car today. We
changed almost everything on
it, but it was just one of
those days where we could
never zero in on the right
changes.
“With that said, this run
isn’t going to get us down.
If you told me before the
season that except for
Talladega—which is always a
toss-up—21st would be our
worst finish in the last ten
races, I wouldn’t have
believed you. That just goes
to show how much this
organization has improved
and how much momentum we
have right now.
“I can’t wait for
Kentucky next weekend. After
I won the ARCA race there in
2006 and just about won the
Nationwide Series race there
last year, I’ve had that one
circled on my calendar ever
since we left there last. I
think we’ll have a great
shot to contend for the
win.”
The next event for Rusty
Wallace Racing is another
“opportunity” race, next
weekend’s Meijer 300 at
Kentucky Speedway. The
Kentucky event marks the
return of Jimmy John’s
Gourmet Sandwiches as
primary sponsor of Steve
Wallace and Team 66. Jimmy
John’s logos will adorn
Wallace’s Chevrolet for the
subsequent race at The
Milwaukee Mile as well. The
Meijer 300 is scheduled for
an 8:30 PM Eastern start and
features live television
coverage by ESPN2, beginning
with NASCAR Countdown at
8:00 PM Eastern.
# # #
About Rusty Wallace
Racing
An affiliate of Rusty
Wallace, Inc., Mooresville,
NC-based Rusty Wallace
Racing is a professional
auto racing team founded in
2004 by NASCAR legend, Rusty
Wallace. It scored its first
NASCAR Nationwide Series
victory and pole position
during its inaugural 2004
season. For 2008, the
organization will campaign
the No. 66 and No. 64
entries in the Nationwide
Series, piloted by Steve
Wallace, David Stremme, Max
Papis and Chase Austin. It
will enjoy primary backing
from Atreus Homes and
Communities, Jimmy John’s
Gourmet Sandwiches and
Chevrolet. For more on Rusty
Wallace Racing, please visit
rustywallace.com.
