NASCAR Trucks: Team ASE Ford experiences tough day near auto maker's capital
28 July 1999
Mooresville, NC. July 28, 1999. The result sheet from this past goracing.com 200 at Michigan International Speedway shows Mike Wallace qualified 18th and finished 12th. A year from, now these statistics may be all that other folks may remember. However, Mike Wallace and the #2 Team ASE Ford/Ultra Motorsports NASCAR Craftsman Truck performed better than what shows on that result sheet, for those who like to know "the rest of the story." Wallace participated in the open test session on Wednesday prior to the race. There the team posted times that were fourth fastest, and continued to work for that perfect race set-up for Saturday. In Friday's qualifying, Wallace did get that perfect lap he was seeking, but he and the team were not discouraged. They knew that in the race, things would even out, hopefully in the #2 Team ASE Ford's favor. Wallace got off to a very strong start, and was running in the 10th position by lap seven. Wallace had moved up even farther by Lap 21, when the race's second caution flag came out. A quick pit stop to take on left side tires kept Wallace in the top ten, returning to green flag competition in the 9th spot. Wallace became a freight train, moving up to 5th by lap 46. The yellow flew again on lap 49, and Wallace's Team ASE crew performed flawlessly. Wallace had gained 3 positions on pit road, coming out in 2nd! On the restart on lap 52, Wallace performed a slingshot maneuver and took the lead from fellow racer Bryan Reffner, who inherited the lead by virtue of not pitting. On this move for the lead, as he did the entire race, Wallace showed his experience in using the draft to his advantage. A caution on lap 56 sparked some talk about pit strategy - should the team pit now or stay out? The decision was made to stay out, and Wallace would hold onto the lead for nine more laps. Wallace raced in the first or second spot until the next caution, where the #2 pitted for left side tires and gas, while many teams chose to stay out. Wallace found himself in the 15th spot when the race went green on lap 72, but quickly picked off six positions in four laps. Wallace climbed to 8th, and then traffic congestion kicked in. Trucks were three and four wide all over the track, and Wallace and Hornaday actually traded paint with eight to go. Wallace was able to save the truck but not the position, and would ultimately end up 12th on the day. "We didn't pit exactly the way we should have today," commented Wallace after the race. "Especially when we were leading, the crew wanted to pit but I didn't want to. I ended up staying out, but so many others pitted. The end result was that we ran the whole race except for 20 laps on left side tires. That hurt us today. Then with the three-wide racing at the end, we just weren't going to get it done. We were not a 12th place truck. We should have been a contender for the lead, especially with the great pit stop my guys turned out. To say the least, it is disappointing, but it could have been worse." Greg Biffle won his fifth truck race of the year and assumed the second spot in the points chase behinds Jack Sprague. Jay Sauter, Jimmy Hensley, Sprague, and Joe Ruttman rounded out the top five for the day. Wallace stands eight in NCTS points, just 82 points behind the 5th place truck of Sauter. Wallace and the Team ASE crew will head to Loudon on August 1 and then onto Indianapolis next week to test their skills out on the tough short track of Indianapolis Raceway Park. Wallace will also attempt to qualify a car at the sister NASCAR Winston Cup event, the Brickyard 400 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It will be a busy two weeks for this Team ASE/Ultra Motorsports group. ASE has been a major sponsor in the truck series since 1996, along with associate sponsors Ultra Wheels, Wagner Brake Products, Snap-on Tools, and Valvoline. ASE, The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, is a non-profit organization founded in 1972 with the mission of improving the quality of automotive repair service through the voluntary testing and certification of technicians. There are over 450,000 ASE-certified technicians working in all types of service repair facilities in North America. Coming on board with Ultra Motorsports in 1999 are Smith Transport, Biagi Bros., Ken Thompson, Inc., and Overland Motorcoach. All four companies are long-time supporters of Mike Wallace Racing. Ken Thompson Racing and Biagi Bros. are also backing the 1999 Ultra Motorsports/Mike Wallace Winston West efforts.
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