Lucky 13 for Mike Wallace in Richmond; Newly Paved Darlington Next Up

Player Management International Media Release

Richmond, VA (May 2, 2008) – Heading into Richmond sitting 9th in points, Mike Wallace was looking to make up ground on the Top 5 with a good finish on Friday night.  
 
NASCAR’s #2 series would be afforded a single practice session prior to the Lipton Tea 250.  Wallace would take advantage of the limited time permitted, and would rest the GEICO Camry 16th on the speed charts when the practice concluded.
 
Qualifying would not be as promising when Wallace toured the .75-mile facility in 21.962 seconds, at a rate of speed of 122.940 MPH.  His speed would be good enough for 18th position when the #7 GEICO Camry lined up to go racing under the lights on Friday night.  
 
Wallace would take the green flag and immediately move forward into the Top 15.  Lap 69 would find the #7 GEICO Camry coming down pit road under caution.  While Wallace entered the pits running 16th, the GEICO pit crew would turn out a quick pit stop and send Wallace and the #7 GEICO Camry back out on the track in the 13th position, picking up three spots under caution.  
 
Wallace would run comfortably in the Top 15 for most of the evening, and Lap 147 would find the GEICO Camry once again visiting pit road under caution, this time running 13th.  Having settled into their groove, the GEICO pit crew would once again contribute to the cause by returning the GEICO Camry to the race track in the 12th position, picking a position under caution.  
 
On Lap 171, Wallace would approach the Top 10 and run in the 11th position before recording a 13th place finish under the lights at Richmond International Raceway.  The 13th place finish would help Wallace remain in the 9th position in the point standings, but stretch his lead to 120 points over David Stremme in the 10th position.  Wallace and the Gecko currently sit just 127 points removed from Mike Bliss in the 5th position.    
 
 “It was a good points night for us, but we were hoping to get a win for GEICO in their backyard,” Wallace said.  “We’ll head to Darlington next week and hope to continue to make up ground in the points race. Our goal is to finish in the Top 5 in points and win races and we will continue to pursue those things until they happen.”  
 
This week, the Germain Racing team heads to Darlington, South Carolina, for another Friday night race under the lights.  This time it will happen on a newly-paved 1.366-mile race track.   
 
Mike Wallace and the #7 GEICO Camry will hit the track at Darlington Raceway for their opening practice session on Thursday, May 8th, at 3:00 PM (ET).  The series will be afforded two more sessions with the second one beginning at 5:40 PM (ET), and the final practice session at 8:10 PM (ET). Qualifying will be on Saturday afternoon at 3:10 PM (ET).
 
The Diamond Hill Plywood 200 is on Friday, May 9th, and it will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.  
 
Visit the new innovative, interactive GEICO Racing web site at: www.geicogarage.com.  
 
To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.GEICOracing7.com.
 
To learn more about the Sport Clips Racing program, please visit: www.SportClips.com .