NASCAR Trucks: Wallace looks forward to returning to Topeka
26 August 1999
Mooresville, NC. August 26, 1999. Mike Wallace is looking forward to his next race in the #2 Team ASE Ford race truck for multiple reasons. First, he wants to keep the team's momentum going. Wallace has placed in the top five in the last four races. Second, the last time on a road course this year (Watkins Glen) he almost won the race, coming in second he drove a near-perfect race. "I was never much of a road racer, but this year I have been able to make progress in this area of my driving," admitted Wallace. "I attended Bondurant in the spring, and Tim always gives me a good truck to race with so my confidence for every race is always the same regarding equipment. Our strategy will be to have a good solid race and keep our string of top five's going." Road courses are unique animals - Topeka is a 2.1-mile racetrack with 12 turns and two straight-aways. Are the straight-aways anything like on oval tracks? Yes, and no. The front stretch here is 2,484 feet long, just a two hundred feet more than the front stretch at Las Vegas, but the first turn exiting the long straight is nothing like Vegas. The backstretch at Topeka measures just over 1,000 feet, which is similar to many oval courses except there's a chicane in the middle. Brakes will be very important at this race, indeed. Mike Wallace NCTS Road Course Statistics: Four road races from 1997 to 1998 Average start: 11th Best starts: 6th , The Glen, August 1997; 7th , Topeka, August 1998 Average finish: 18th Best finish: 10th , The Glen, May 1998 Laps completed: 253 of 289 possible Mike Wallace 1999 Road Race Statistics: Portland (6/19): Q 6th F 11th Watkins Glen (6/26): Q 3rd F: 2nd Average Start: 4th (4.5) Average Finish: 6th (6.5) Laps Completed: 135 of 135 (100% each road race) 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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