Veteran driver attempts to make his 11th Great American Race
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Mike Wallace announced Friday that he will sport the X8 Energy Gum colors as he attempts to qualify for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-opening race, the Daytona 500 (Feb. 22, 1 p.m. ET, FOX).
In 10 previous starts in the Great American Race, Wallace, who will be driving a No. 66 Toyota Camry, has three top-10 finishes with a best of fourth in his last start in the race in 2007.
“We are thrilled to have veteran driver Mike Wallace on team X8,” Robert DiMarco, co-founder and CEO of X8 Brands, said in a Premium Motorsports release. “A racer myself, it’s always nice to watch a seasoned pro handle the speedway.”
The company sponsored Brett Moffitt in the 2014 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The young driver improved from a 43rd-place starting position to a 36th-place finish.
“After the amazing experience at Homestead for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the X8 Team knew we’d have to be at the Daytona 500 next,” Maruchy Lachance, VP of operations at X8 Brands, said in a team release. “It’s wonderful to be able to bring X8 Energy Gum to the fans of this great organization as well as to Mike Wallace’s dedicated followers.”
The No. 66 team finished 39th in last year’s owner points and will attempt to lock up one of the top two spots in Coors Light Pole Qualifying (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX) or race its way into the Daytona 500 in the Duel at Daytona (Feb. 19, 7 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).