Kenny Wallace leads following a caution flag. Credit: Autostock

Wallace's run ruined by empty gas tank

DOVER, Del. -- Kenny Wallace was having a great weekend at Dover.

He posted a top-five qualifying effort Friday and spent most of Saturday's Stacker 2 Hundred running up front.

Then his luck -- and his fuel cell -- ran dry.

Stacker 2 Hundred •   Results •   Standings

Wallace was leading with 11 laps to go in Saturday's event when he ran out of fuel on the backstretch, handing the lead to eventual winner Martin Truex Jr.

Wallace and his team elected to run the entire 200-lap event with one fuel stop while several others competitors opted for two.

Wallace said the team relied on some shaky math.

Kenny Wallace went from the lead to 20th place. Credit: Autostock

"Our crew chief, Chris Rice said we could go until lap 202 and that tires weren't an issue, so we thought hey, let's stay out."

Truex said his team adjusted its strategy when they saw that Wallace was playing the fuel-mileage game.

"We kind of thought he was going to (run out of fuel), so I was kind of taking my time getting to him.

"If he was still going with five laps to go, I probably would have started going a little bit harder to catch him, but I was taking my time."

Until the incident happened, Wallace said he had absolute faith in his team's plan.

VIDEO Victory Lane Martin Truex Jr. celebrates his fifth win of the season Out of Gas K. Wallace runs dry with 11 laps to go, losing the lead to Truex Jr. Monster Bites J.J. Yeley gets in the wall midway through the Stacker 200

"I never dreamed of running out of gas," he said. "Either the fuel cell didn't pick up all the fuel or we didn't get it full. I don't know."

It all made Wallace remember another unfortunate incident in the pits earlier this season, when a lugnut problem foiled another potentially victorious run.

"That's the second one we've gave away," he said. "But we have a great crew chief and a great sponsor."

Wallace finished 20th, his second consecutive finish outside the top 15. But all is not bad. Despite the problems, Wallace moved up to 10th in the Busch Series standings.

In addition Wallace has the satisfaction of knowing that he had a car good enough to win.

"It was fun all day long," Wallace said. "We'll just move on to the next one."