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Phoenix II: Rusty Wallace Racing race report
STEVE WALLACE "ENERGIZED" BY TOP-TEN IN PHOENIX --5-Hour Energy Pilot Climbs to Ninth in Standings, Locks into Top-Ten-- AVONDALE, AZ (November 13, 2010)--Rusty Wallace Racing's Steve Wallace (No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry) "energized" ...
Published: Nov 15, 2010, 5:25 AM
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STEVE WALLACE "ENERGIZED" BY TOP-TEN IN PHOENIX
--5-Hour Energy Pilot Climbs to Ninth in Standings, Locks into Top-Ten--
AVONDALE, AZ (November 13, 2010)--Rusty Wallace Racing's Steve Wallace (No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry) "energized" his NASCAR Nationwide Series season this afternoon, scoring a top-ten finish in the Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Wallace's tenth-place effort in the "Valley of the Sun" extended his career-best single-season top-ten mark to 13. It was his second-straight Nationwide Series top-ten, his second-straight top-ten in this event and his fifth finish of 12th or better in the last seven races. His eighth-place start was his third-consecutive top-ten start and his fifth top-ten start in seven events.
The 5-Hour Energy Racing pilot entered the Phoenix event looking to lock himself into the top-ten of the final Nationwide Series driver standings and his tenth-place finish enabled him to do just that. Assuming he simply starts the season finale next weekend in Homestead, FL, Wallace is guaranteed a place in the top-ten. He now maintains an insurmountable margin of 182 points over his 11th-place teammate, Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 Alliance Parts Toyota Camry), whose day went south with a flat tire on lap 61 of today's event.
With his effort however, Wallace accomplished more than just locking himself into the top-ten. He was also able to leapfrog ahead of Jason Leffler and into ninth-place in the standings. Wallace now leads Leffler by 15 points entering Homestead, setting up next weekend's most high-profile points battle, with Wallace a mere 65 points adrift of Joey Logano for seventh, 64 points behind eighth-place Trevor Bayne and 15 points up on Leffler in tenth.
Said Wallace, "We started out with a pretty good 5-Hour Energy Camry today, but we were just a little behind on our adjustments all day. At the end, we got really tight and just never got another yellow to take one last swing at fixing it. It was definitely a good points day for us though. To lock this 5-Hour Energy team into the top-ten for the second-straight year is definitely cool.
"We have the chance to get a little more though and we're definitely up for the fight. With Leffler right behind us and 65 points to pick up next weekend, there's only one way to look at Homestead; we've just got to knock down a 5-Hour Energy, get up on the wheel and get after it. Trust me, that's exactly what I plan to do."
-source: rusty wallace racing
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