Wallace hoping for long-term deal with Petree
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 18, 2002
11:34 AM EST (1634 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- When the 2002 Speedweeks gets under way in February, expect to hear the name of Mike Wallace quite a bit.
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Mike Wallace
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The younger brother of Rusty and Kenny Wallace is planning to enter the NASCAR Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series races at Daytona International Speedway, in addition to the Daytona 500. But, as busy as he will be during Speedweeks, he's not all that certain about his future beyond Daytona.
"Right now, the only thing I have certain is that I'm entering 10 or more Busch races this year," Wallace said. "I'd hate to think that Speedweeks is the deciding factor for my year.
"The end result is that the very best opportunity for me out there is with Andy Petree Racing in the No. 33 car. It's one of the best cars going, a great team and we'd like to make everything work right there."
Wallace's point is backed up by the fact that he has been in or near the top five on the speed chart during testing this week. His best time to date is 182.678 mph (49.267 seconds).
Great car, great team, experienced driver -- seems to be the perfect combo for a successful year. The one important thing that the team is lacking is a sponsor.
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Andy Petree wants to hold on to his second team.
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Petree's No. 33 Chevrolet is a proven winner. With Joe Nemechek behind the wheel, the team won the fall race at Rockingham and finished 24th in owner points.
Nemechek opted to leave the team for Haas Carter Motorsports and left the door open for Wallace to jump into the No. 33. Wallace ended last season driving the No. 12 Ford for Penske Racing, but that team closed at the end of the year to consolidate its operation.
Wallace agreed to drive for Petree in the Daytona 500 and, if the team can land a sponsor, he will continue to do so throughout the year.
"This really isn't a one-race deal," Wallace said emphatically. "Andy Petree Racing is not coming to the Daytona 500 thinking it's the only race of the year for the No. 33 team. They have cars geared up for races after that.
"We've had some people here this week talking to us about sponsorship. I feel pretty strong that something is going to happen. Andy sent me a new Tahoe to drive this year. That's one of those perks a driver gets at times from owners.
"I don't think he sent it to me to just drive until Daytona. I know Andy really wants to keep both his teams."
Petree also fields the No. 55 Chevrolet driven by Bobby Hamilton. Hamilton gave Petree his first win as an owner last year when he took the win at Talladega in the spring.
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During the second day of testing at Daytona, Wallace posted the fourth-fastest speed.
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Wallace will drive the No. 4 Chevrolet owned by Biagi Bros. in about a dozen Busch Series races in 2002. During Speedweeks, he'll also enter the Craftsman Truck Series race driving the No. 52 Chevrolet truck owned by Ken Schrader.
Wallace won the inaugural truck race at Daytona in 2000.
Now more than ever, sponsorship has become an issue throughout the top three divisions of NASCAR. Wallace agrees with those that say the economy is soft. But, he feels the economy will recover and sponsorships won't be such an issue in the near future.
"This, by far, has to be the best team for a potential sponsor to take a good look toward," he said. "It might take Speedweeks to show everyone what we're all about.
"It would be nice to stand over in Victory Lane after the Daytona 500 and tell everyone we wish they were on our car."
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