Tuesday

Steve Wallace, No. 66 5-Hour Energy® Toyota Camry Lucas Oil Raceway Preview

Filed under Nationwide Series, Press Releases

This Week’s 5 Hour Energy Toyota … Steve Wallace will pilot Rusty Wallace Racing chassis RWR-066 in Saturday night’s Kroger 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway. Built new for the 2011 season, this Toyota Camry debuted at Iowa Speedway in May, where Wallace started 17th and finished 11th. The Greensboro, N.C. native then raced it at Chicagoland Speedway, where he started 10th and finished 12th. Most recently, Wallace raced this chassis to a ninth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier this month.

· Through 20 Races … With 20 races of the 2011 season in the record books, Wallace has accumulated one top-five, three top 10 and nine top-15 finishes, an average starting position of 13.9 and an average finish of 16.2. Wallace has completed 98.1 percent of the laps contested (3,620 of 3,689) thus far.

· Get to the Points … Wallace is currently ranked eighth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings, 47 in arrears to seventh-place driver Kenny Wallace.

· Wallace at LOR … This weekend Wallace heads to the track where he statistically has performed the best over his seven-year Nationwide Series career. In five previous series starts at LOR, Wallace boasts one top-five and three top-10 finishes. His best finish, fifth, came in the 2009 running of the annual classic. The 23-year-old driver has completed all but one lap of competition (1,000 of 1,001) at the .686-mile oval.

· Welcome Aboard … 5-Hour Energy Racing welcomes Kroger and Circle K as partners for this weekend’s race at LOR. Kroger branding will adorn the TV panel of Wallace’s No. 66 Toyota in Saturday evening’s race, while Circle K will have a presence on the B-post.

· Last Time at LOR … Wallace appeared to be a contender over the first half of last year’s Nationwide Series event at LOR, but an ill-handling Toyota and a late-race miscue on pit road saw Wallace fall to 23rd with just 30 laps remaining. Wallace rallied, gaining 13 positions to claim the 10th position when the checkered flag waved.

· Last Time Out … Wallace and 5-Hour Energy team started last Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 300 from the second position and persevered through changing track conditions to record an 11th-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway.

· Rusty Wallace Racing at LOR … In 13 previous NASCAR Nationwide starts at LOR, Rusty Wallace Racing has earned one top-five and five top-10 finishes dating back to August 5, 1989.

· Rusty Wallace Racing in 2011 … With 20 races completed in the 2011 season, Rusty Wallace Racing’s three NASCAR Nationwide Series entries have recorded a combined two top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Rusty Wallace Racing Toyotas have completed 7,908 of a 8,194 laps contested, and have been atop the leaderboard for 15 laps with drivers Michael Annett, Jason Bowles, David Reutimann and Steve Wallace.

· Happy Birthday … Greg Molyneaux, mechanic on the No. 66 5-Hour Energy team, celebrated his 25th birthday on Monday, July 25.

“Lucas Oil Raceway is by far my favorite racetrack. I always look forward to going there, we typically run well there, and we need to continue doing that this time around to get our season headed back in the right direction. I always look forward to this race because we always seem to run well there. I grew up, like a lot of the other guys, short track racing, so it’s really getting back to my roots and what’s most familiar to me.”

- Steve Wallace on racing at Lucas Oil Raceway

ABOUT RUSTY WALLACE RACING, LLC

North Carolina-based Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) is a professional auto racing team steeped in the legendary racing history of its founder, Rusty Wallace. The team currently campaigns the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys-driven by Steve Wallace and Michael Annett, respectively-in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. RWR will also campaign the No. 64 Camry in select 2011 events. RWR entries have finished among the top-ten in the Nationwide Series driver or owner standings in each of the last three seasons. For more on Rusty Wallace Racing, please visit the award-winning rustywallace.com.

ABOUT LIVING ESSENTIALS, LLC

Farmington Hills, MI-based Living Essentials, LLC, is the maker of 5-Hour Energy, the category leader in two-ounce liquid energy shots. 5-Hour Energy is available nationwide at major retailers in the Grocery, Drug Store, Mass Merchant, Warehouse and Convenience Store classes of trade. Living Essentials sells over seven million bottles of 5-Hour Energy per week. For more information, please visit 5hourenergy.com.

- Rusty Wallace Racing Press Release