USAR: Steve Wallace news and notes 2004-09-21

Resilient Wallace Set For Bristol Return
--Son of Nine-Time Bristol Champion Optimistic About Chances for Victory--

BRISTOL, TN (September 20, 2004)--Following his violent accident in last month's Hooters Pro Cup Series Food City 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway, a resilient Steve Wallace will head back to the scene of his accident for this weekend's Food City 150 presented by Frito Lay, for the UARA-STARS series.

Wallace, the son of NASCAR Champion and nine-time Bristol winner, Rusty Wallace, impressed all in what was both his Hooters Pro Cup Series and Bristol Motor Speedway debut. Steve ran in the top-five for much of the race, only to fall victim to a horrendous crash with less than ten laps left in the race. One series official called the crash "the worst accident in the history of our series."

Despite the accident, the younger Wallace remains as resilient and as optimistic as ever about his chances for victory in this weekend's race.

"The Bristol accident was definitely bad, but I took a lot away from it. It taught me a lot about safety and driver comfort features that we were able to incorporate into the late model car. We've basically rebuilt one of our cars specifically for this race and I promise you that it's the safest one out there. It's also going to be one of the fastest ones there too, that's for sure. I really think that I'm one up on the competition by having run at Bristol before. This racetrack is so different than most of the tracks the late models race. It's a really special place and I think that my experience there is going to make our team one of the favorites. It's going to be one heck of a race and I'm ready to go."

The elder Wallace has definitely seen his share of success on the .533 mile bullring and understands the importance of this race to his youngest son.

"This race is really big for Steve. Every week, Steve just gets better and more mature as a driver. He ran really well at Bristol in the Hooters Cup race and we're all very proud of him for that. He showed everyone just how capable of a driver he is and I know he's looking forward to closing the deal there this weekend. Bristol has been such a special place for me and my family over the years. We've had so much success there and with all of the car dealerships we have in Tennessee, it'd be only fitting to see another Wallace in victory lane there. If anyone can do it, it's Steve. He and his guys work really hard on those late models and I know that they're going to be well prepared. Just like any Bristol race, it's going to be a matter of staying out of trouble. If he can do that, I think he's going to be up front when it counts."

Heat races for Saturday night's Food City 150 presented by Frito Lay are set for a 7:00 PM ET start time, with the feature to follow. Practice for the event will begin Friday afternoon with qualifying to follow on Saturday. Saturday's 12:00 PM ET single-round of qualifying will award the first two starting spots for Saturday's race and will determine the line-up for a series of six 20-lap heat races. The top four finishers in each heat race will transfer to the feature event.

For more on Steve Wallace and Rusty Wallace, Inc., visit www.rustywallace.com.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

Among the sponsors of the #02 Steve Wallace Racing Dodge this weekend will be Blueflame Authentics, LLC (BFA). BFA is the official authentic race-used memorabilia supplier of the 2005 Rusty's Last Call tour. In partnership with the Victory Junction Gang Camp, BFA plans to offer, for sale to the public, Rusty Wallace's race and qualifying uniforms, driving gloves, shoes and steering wheel from each and every race during the 2005 Rusty's Last Call tour. Look for their website, located at www.blueflameauthentics.com, to be up and running in mid-October with an offering of 2004 Rusty Wallace memorabilia.

There will be some familiar faces in the Steve Wallace Racing pits this weekend. In addition to the younger Wallace's normal crew, Duraflame RWI Racing Test Driver, Billy Parker, Crew Chief, Blake Bainbridge and Transport Specialist, Ken Currier, will be on hand to assist. Spotting duties will be bestowed upon Wallace's older brother, Penske Racing South spotter, Greg Wallace.

Steve Wallace will be featured on a segment of "Totally NASCAR," scheduled to air Thursday, September 23. The segment will detail Steve's attempt to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father. "Totally NASCAR" is Fox Sports Net's daily show dedicated to NASCAR; it airs Monday-Friday at 7:30 PM local on Fox Sports Net.

In addition to his on-track activities, Steve will be the featured guest at this Thursday's pre-event press conference to be held at Bristol Motor Speedway. Contact Ben Trout with Bristol Motor Speedway PR (423.989.6954, ben@bristolmotorspeedway.com) for more information.

To schedule one-on-one interviews with Steve Wallace, contact either Greg Wallace or Tom Roberts (256.508.2595, trpr@ix.netcom.com).

RWI Promotions, a subsidiary of Rusty Wallace, Inc., offers comprehensive show car programs featuring the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, the #66 Duraflame Dodge and the #22 Miller High Life Ford. For more information on booking RWI Promotions show cars, please contact Joyce Kearns at 704.799.3966 or jkearns@rwiracing.com.

The Rusty Wallace Family of Dealerships features five auto dealerships in the Eastern Tennessee area. To learn how you can get the best in pricing and service after the sale, please visit www.rustywallace.com and click on "Dealerships."

To find out about Duraflame RWI Racing, the hottest new team on the NASCAR Busch Series, and its driver, Jaime McMurray, please visit www.rwiracing.com.