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NASCAR WCUP: Kenny Wallace ready to do well as 'No Bull 5' participant

15 February 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., - After a successful first season with Andy Petree Racing, NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Kenny Wallace opens the year at Daytona International Speedway as a Winston No Bull 5 participant. To designate his status as a No Bull 5 driver, Wallace will be wheeling his Square D/Cooper Lighting Chevrolet in Sunday's Daytona 500 with fluorescent pink paint on the front valance, rear spoiler and roof number.

If Wallace crosses the finish line first on the legendary 2.5-mile track, both he and Winston's "They Win, You Win" sweepstakes winner, Betty Blackmon from Dillon, S.C., will earn one million dollars apiece. Wallace earned the honor for the Square D Racing Team with a fifth-place finish in last season's Winston 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 17. The Winston 500 was the last No Bull 5 race of the 1999 season.

"When you start 43 cars in a race and only five get to be in the Winston No Bull 5, it's a pretty neat deal," said Wallace. "It makes us feel like we're members of a special group. It means an awful lot to us to know that when we go to Daytona, we have a shot to win a million dollar bonus for a lucky fan. It's a big feather in our hat to get a special award like that."

Just 21 Winston Cup drivers have qualified for the No Bull 5 since its inception in 1998. Wallace, who is the most recent addition to that list, not only wants to win the large pile of Winston cash for his team and for Blackmon, he also hopes to entertain them as well.

"I always want to do well for everyone at Andy Petree Racing," said Wallace. "On top of that, we have a fan in the mix that we really, truly want to compete for. When we come down the stretch, I want this fan excited like a fan at the horse races. I want her jumping up and down, thinking we have a chance to win her a million dollars."

Wallace returns to Daytona coming off his best Winston Cup season to date. The No. 55 pilot combined with first-year crew chief Jimmy Elledge to post three top-five and five top-10 finishes in 1999. Wallace also had a career-year in terms of money won, notching $1,416,208 in earnings last season. Riding last season's momentum, Wallace hopes to build on his team's past successes.

"This is the first year where everything I look at is setting us up for a break-out season," said Wallace. "From the print articles to the Internet, we're picked to be a winner this season. We came very close at Martinsville (Va.) and Loudon (N.H.) last season. I'm hoping that our first win will be an unpredictable one. I don't want anything predictable. I would like to win anywhere that the Square D team is not expected to win. Daytona, here we come."

Text provided by Chris Hunt

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