Kenny Wallace has yet to finish outside the top 10 in the Busch Series standings. Credit: Autostock

Wallace hopes to salvage 'embarassing' season

Nine-season streak of top-10 points finishes hangs in the balance

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kenny Wallace inched towards the Busch Series garage at Phoenix International Raceway, fans crowding him every step of the way.

Fans do their homework. They scream congratulations at Kenny for his hometown St. Louis Cardinals' World Series title.

Wallace smiles. It is a good memory. The last time they won the Series, he had a head full of hair.

	Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Kenny Wallace's full-time record in the Busch Series Year Wins T5 T10 Pts. 1989 0 4 16 6 1990 0 4 14 7 1991 2 11 17 2 1992 1 7 15 6 1994 3 11 15 4 2001 1 7 13 10 2002 0 2 13 7 2004 0 0 10 9 2005 0 5 11 7 2006 0 0 4 ??

It had been a long time since the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, and has been a long time since Wallace was shut out of the top 10 in Busch Series points. Try never. Nine full Busch seasons, nine finishes of 10th or better.

And yet, the end of that streak is a distinct possibility. He is 11th, 16 points behind 10th-place Reed Sorenson.

"The Busch Series has not gone the way that I wanted it to this year," Wallace said. "It is surprising that we are still 11th in the points."

Wallace isn't worried about the possibility of finishing 11th or worse in the standings. He admits that his season -- all four top-10s of it -- was "embarrassing."

"The streak that I have been on is a pretty good streak," Wallace said. "Every year I have ever run in the Busch Series, I have been in the top 10. But then you look at a lot of great drivers, they have bad years, and this is a bad year for us."

On paper, Wallace shouldn't even have a chance against Sorenson. But consistency means everything in the Busch Series, and because Wallace has been running at the finish in all 33 races this season, he has stayed in the top 10 hunt despite zero top-fives.

Wallace has completed 99 percent of his laps this season. Sorenson has completed less than 90 percent, a staggeringly low number accentuated by seven DNFs.

"One thing people say about me: Kenny Wallace is not going to tear a car up," Wallace said. "I am not going to, but it doesn't mean I am not driving my ass off."

A 28th-place car is much harder to drive than an eighth-place car, and Wallace says he has been trying to milk every last tenth-of-a-second out of the car.

"I have been aggressive all year long," Wallace said. "It's just that is all my car has. One thing I have learned is that you can't take a 20th-place car and get 10th out of it. If you try, you're taking a lot of risks."

Wallace's team, ppc Racing, is losing sponsor AutoZone at the end of the season. ppc is also without a full-time driver next season; Wallace wanted to run a reduced schedule for ppc after signing a two-year contract to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet in the Nextel Cup Series.

Wallace is adamant that reports stating that he wasn't allowed to run Busch Series races next season were inaccurate.

"I went to ppc Racing and told them that I wanted to say with them, but we don't have a sponsor for next year," Wallace said. "So on my plate was a two-year contract to help build Furniture Row Racing. It offered me good money, and I had to commit to something.

"I want to run the Busch Series, but the contract that I signed with Furniture Row was an exclusive contract. In other words, if I go and run Busch races, it has to benefit the Cup team. I am looking to run 10-15 Busch races that I can learn something from and help the Cup team. I would like to run 10-15 races with ppc if I can find some sponsorship."