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Rusty Wallace Racing

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Rusty Wallace, Inc.
Owner(s)Rusty Wallace
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesNationwide Series
Race driversKenny Wallace
Steve Wallace
Jamie McMurray
Jeremy Clements
T. J. Bell
David Stremme
Brendan Gaughan
Michael Annett
SponsorsDuraflame, Bell Helicopter, Aspen Dental, Jimmy Johns, South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, Pilot Flying J, LoanMax, 5-hour Energy, US Fidelis, HomeLife Communities / Atreus Homes, Avis, Flatout Flatbread, Top-Flite Golf, Miller High Life, Oakley
ManufacturerToyota, Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet
Opened1985[1] (re-opened 2004)[2]
Closed2013
Career
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories4[1]
Pole positions12[1]

Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC (RWR), formerly known as Rusty Wallace, Inc. (RWI) was a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near Charlotte. Owned by former NASCAR Winston Cup champion and commentator Rusty Wallace, the team competed primarily in the Xfinity Series (formerly the Busch and Nationwide Series) with Wallace's younger brother Kenny Wallace and son Steve Wallace.[1][2]

On January 6, 2012, Rusty Wallace that the team would go on a temporary hiatus after being unable to find sponsorship.[3] The team returned to the Nationwide Series with Steven Wallace in 2012 at Richmond for a single race. The team made its final Nationwide Series start in 2013 with Steve Wallace behind the wheel.[1][4][5]

Rusty Wallace Racing continues to operate, fielding super late models for Steve Wallace in the CARS series and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.[6][7]

Team history

[edit]

RWI was founded in 1984 as Rusty Wallace's marketing firm. It began fielding racecars in 1985,[1] with Wallace driving the No. 66 Oldsmobile. He won a pole in his first race at Daytona International Speedway, and ran three more races that season, which included two consecutive top-fives. He ran three races in 1986 and 1988, and had four top-tens with sponsorship from Alugard and Kodiak.

Beginning with the 1989 season, Wallace began fielding the No. 36 Cox Treated Lumber Pontiac for his youngest brother Kenny.[2] He would win three poles and had sixteen top-ten finishes, and was named Rookie of the Year in addition to his sixth-place points finish.[2] After a winless 1990, he earned his first career victory at Volusia County Speedway, followed by another win later in the year at New Hampshire International Speedway, allowing him to finish a career-best 2nd in points.[2] In 1992, Dirt Devil became the team's new sponsor, and Wallace had just one win and fell to sixth in points. After Kenny's promotion to the Winston Cup series, the team shut down.

RWI returned to competition in 2004, operating as many as three teams out of its headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina.[2] Following the 2011 season, the team ceased operations due to lack of sponsorship to run competitively, laying off many employees and selling half of its equipment.[3][4] The downsized team returned part-time for 2012 and 2013, with equipment purchased from Roush Fenway Racing.[1][4]

Nationwide Series

[edit]

Car No. 62 history

[edit]
Brendan Gaughan in 2010.

The No. 62 debuted in 2006 as the No. 61 Dodge. It was driven by Steve Wallace, Rusty's youngest son, at Dover International Speedway and finished 21st. It ran another race at Phoenix with Wallace finishing 16th. The renumbered 64 ran only one race in 2007, with Chase Austin finishing 41st at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The No. 62 driven by Michael Annett in 2011

The team would run full-time in 2008 with the ride originally to be shared between Austin, Penske Racing test driver David Stremme, and road racer Max Papis, but Stremme's consistent top-10 runs put him in the seat full-time, with the exception of road courses, with 5 top-fives and 16 top-10s leading to an 11th-place points finish for him. Atreus Homes and Communities began the season as the sponsor, but soon left. Penske sponsors AVIS and Penske Trucking, and Loan Star Title Loans shared the sponsorship duties for the rest of the season. Stremme's return to the Sprint Cup Series left the seat open, and former Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan drove the renumbered 62 in 2009 with sponsorship from South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, before U.S. Fidelis and 5-hour Energy came over to share sponsorship with the No. 66.

Michael Annett, along with sponsor Pilot Flying J, drove the car in 2011, with Gaughan returning to the Camping World Truck Series with Germain Racing. After an arrest for a DUI prior to Daytona, Annett rebounded and finished 9th in points. Following the shutdown of RWR, Annett was released and moved to Richard Petty Motorsports, while the No. 62 team's owners points were given to JD Motorsports.[3]

Car No. 62 results

[edit]
NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Owners Pts
2006 Steve Wallace 61 Dodge DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA MAR GTY IRP GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV
21
KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO
16
HOM 63rd 215
2007 Chase Austin 64 DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM
41
TEX PHO HOM 82nd 40
2008 David Stremme Chevy DAY
42
CAL
17
LVS
5
ATL
30
BRI
9
NSH
6
TEX
35
PHO
10
TAL
2
RCH
6
DAR
6
CLT
12
DOV
3
NSH
2
KEN
12
MLW
34
NHA
17
DAY
8
CHI
23
GTY
9
IRP
13
MCH
16
BRI
5
CAL
10
RCH
9
DOV
11
KAN
17
CLT
31
MEM
10
TEX
10
PHO
35
HOM
16
10th 4238
Max Papis MXC
15
CGV
20
GLN
11
2009 Brendan Gaughan 62 DAY
15
CAL
9
LVS
7
BRI
21
TEX
37
NSH
17
PHO
7
TAL
38
RCH
26
DAR
19
CLT
2
DOV
12
NSH
24
KEN
4
MLW
13
NHA
21
DAY
17
CHI
13
GTY
31
IRP
12
IOW
25
GLN
22
MCH
29
BRI
19
CGV
9
ATL
31
RCH
21
DOV
19
KAN
29
CAL
7
CLT
15
MEM
5
TEX
16
PHO
19
HOM
11
16th 3914
2010 Toyota DAY
30
CAL
24
LVS
13
BRI
33
NSH
10
PHO
4
TEX
21
TAL
27
RCH
9
DAR
33
DOV
13
CLT
32
NSH
13
KEN
4
ROA
3
NHA
10
DAY
29
CHI
16
GTY
17
IRP
6
IOW
31
GLN
30
MCH
32
BRI
21
CGV
27
ATL
16
RCH
17
DOV
16
KAN
9
CAL
32
CLT
11
GTY
26
TEX
17
PHO
27
HOM
8
12th 3767
2011 Michael Annett DAY
39
PHO
19
LVS
13
BRI
24
CAL
18
TEX
18
TAL
19
NSH
19
RCH
16
DAR
31
DOV
20
IOW
13
CLT
14
CHI
9
MCH
19
ROA
7
DAY
6
KEN
7
NHA
7
NSH
14
IRP
29
IOW
12
GLN
19
CGV
18
BRI
6
ATL
20
RCH
11
CHI
16
DOV
12
KAN
16
CLT
17
TEX
20
PHO
10
HOM
19
16th 944

Car No. 64 history

[edit]
No. 64 in 2011

The No. 64 made a return in 2011 with David Reutimann running 5 races and Jason Bowles driving the car at Michigan, Road America and Watkins Glen.

Car No. 64 results

[edit]
NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Owners Pts
2011 David Reutimann 64 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX TAL NSH
14
RCH DAR DOV
5
IOW CLT CHI MCH
18
KEN
18
NHA NSH IRP IOW BRI
20
ATL RCH CHI DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 39th 155
Jason Bowles ROA
34
DAY GLN
36
CGV
13

Car No. 66 history

[edit]
Steve Wallace in 2009.

RWI returned to competition in 2004 with late model racer Billy Parker (son of Hank Parker and brother of Hank Parker Jr.) as the driver of the No. 66 Dodge Intrepid in NASCAR's Busch Series, with primary sponsor Duraflame. Parker was scheduled to drive in 17 races,[2][8] but after finishing only 4 of 8 races he was released.[9] He was replaced by Jamie McMurray, who won the team's first pole on New Hampshire and later won the team's first race at Darlington Raceway. Rusty Wallace drove in two races as well, finishing in the top-ten both times.[1][9]

In 2005, RWI ran a full 35 race schedule in the NASCAR Busch Series. At the request of Duraflame, who switched to sponsor a Brewco Motorsports entry,[10] RWI's 66 was renumbered No. 64. McMurray shared driving duties with Wallace's former Penske Racing South teammate Jeremy Mayfield, Bill Elliott, and Wallace. Miller High Life Light and Top-Flite Golf shared sponsorship. The next season, McMurray and Steve Wallace split driver duties in the No. 64 Dodge Charger. Top-Flite Golf remained the primary sponsor during McMurray's 20 races, while the Jackson Roscoe Foundation was primary sponsor for most of Wallace's 17 races.

No. 66 in 2011 driven by Steve Wallace

In 2007, Steve Wallace was named the full-time driver of the newly renumbered 66, with Homelife Communities becoming a primary sponsor. Wallace won two poles but finished 19th in points. Reed Sorenson drove the 66 in one race as well. Atreus Homes and Jimmy John's sponsored Wallace in 2008, who had seven top-ten finishes. US Fidelis and 5-Hour Energy sponsored Wallace's full-time run in 2009, with one top five and nine top tens with a respectable 7th-place points finish.[1] After US Fidelis ran into financial trouble, 5-Hour Energy sponsored the team in 2010 and 2011, finishing 10th in points in both seasons respectively.[1] After 5-hour Energy left RWR to sponsor Clint Bowyer at Michael Waltrip Racing in the Cup Series, team owner Rusty Wallace was forced to suspend the Nationwide Series operations and handed the No. 66 owners points to MAKE Motorsports.[4][5]

In 2012, the team ran a single race with Steve Wallace in No. 4 LoanMax Ford Mustang at the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond, using the owners points of Jay Robinson Racing. Wallace started and finished in 11th place.[1] For 2013, RWR and Wallace planned to run 10 to 15 races with sponsorship from Richard Tocado Companies, and equipment purchased from Roush Fenway Racing.[1][4][5] The team ended up only running one race, the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with the Steven Wallace driving the No. 66. Wallace started 40th and finished 25th.[4][5]

Car No. 66 results

[edit]
NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Owners Pts
2004 Billy Parker 66 Dodge DAY CAR LVS
28
DAR BRI TEX
26
NSH TAL CAL
22
GTY
43
RCH NZH CLT
43
DOV
42
NSH KEN
24
MLW DAY CHI
37
34th 1718
Jamie McMurray NHA
22
PPR IRP BRI
23
CAL
5
RCH DOV KAN CLT
8
MEM ATL
36
DAR
1
HOM
2
Rusty Wallace MCH
6
PHO
7
2005 Jeremy Mayfield 64 DAY
21
LVS
24
BRI
6
TAL
42
CLT
38
DAY
11
CHI
39
MCH
23
CAL
27
17th 3622
Jamie McMurray CAL
7
ATL
9
NSH
11
TEX
28
PHO
36
DAR
40
RCH
33
DOV
3
NHA
5
GLN
26
BRI
8
RCH
37
CLT
16
PHO
18
Rusty Wallace MXC
6
KEN
24
GTY
37
DOV
7
KAN
13
TEX
27
Bill Elliott NSH
23
MLW
17
PPR
6
Mike Wallace IRP
10
HOM
12
Steve Wallace MEM
15
2006 Jamie McMurray DAY
16
CAL
5
MXC
10
LVS
7
ATL
9
TEX
15
PHO
10
TAL
36
DAR
3
CLT
43
DAY
11
CHI
40
NHA
32
GLN
3
BRI
30
CAL
17
RCH
11
DOV
4
CLT
31
PHO
15
16th 3610
Steve Wallace BRI
33
NSH
12
RCH
28
DOV
38
NSH
15
KEN
11
MLW
25
MAR
35
GTY
31
IRP
20
MCH
24
KAN
24
MEM
20
TEX
31
HOM
22
2007 Steve Wallace 66 DAY
30
CAL
22
MXC
18
LVS
17
ATL
35
BRI
31
NSH
14
TEX
32
PHO
29
TAL
26
RCH
32
DAR
39
CLT
30
DOV
22
NSH
12
KEN
22
MLW
27
NHA
15
DAY
39
CHI
32
GTY
28
IRP
17
CGV
32
GLN
34
MCH
37
BRI
32
CAL
25
RCH
18
DOV
22
KAN
37
MEM
35
TEX
23
PHO
37
HOM
34
30th 2840
Reed Sorenson CLT
25
2008 Steve Wallace Chevy DAY
37
CAL
15
LVS
30
ATL
18
BRI
16
NSH
24
TEX
16
PHO
16
MXC
10
TAL
32
RCH
5
DAR
5
CLT
20
DOV
11
NSH
21
KEN
17
MLW
19
NHA
21
DAY
13
CHI
24
GTY
26
IRP
10
CGV
10
GLN
28
MCH
38
BRI
10
CAL
20
RCH
17
DOV
18
KAN
41
CLT
32
MEM
9
TEX
28
PHO
33
HOM
15
20th 3615
2009 DAY
42
CAL
10
LVS
30
BRI
7
TEX
14
NSH
9
PHO
12
TAL
34
RCH
11
DAR
14
CLT
17
DOV
29
NSH
7
KEN
14
MLW
6
NHA
11
DAY
12
CHI
16
GTY
24
IRP
5
IOW
17
GLN
12
MCH
15
BRI
17
CGV
16
ATL
23
RCH
9
DOV
12
KAN
15
CAL
29
CLT
31
MEM
20
TEX
21
PHO
10
HOM
8
13th 4007
2010 Toyota DAY
10
CAL
6
LVS
10
BRI
38
NSH
36
PHO
30
TEX
9
TAL
39
RCH
17
DAR
12
DOV
14
CLT
21
NSH
8
KEN
6
ROA
9
NHA
11
DAY
15
CHI
12
GTY
5
IRP
10
IOW
6
GLN
9
MCH
18
BRI
30
CGV
38
ATL
35
RCH
16
DOV
12
KAN
11
CAL
33
CLT
29
GTY
12
TEX
10
PHO
10
HOM
15
11th 3940
2011 DAY
20
PHO
30
LVS
16
BRI
11
CAL
27
TEX
17
TAL
32
NSH
17
RCH
11
DAR
5
DOV
16
IOW
11
CLT
7
CHI
12
MCH
14
ROA
26
DAY
11
KEN
21
NHA
9
NSH
11
IRP
30
IOW
8
GLN
16
CGV
4
BRI
14
ATL
13
RCH
16
CHI
18
DOV
20
KAN
20
CLT
13
TEX
18
PHO
29
HOM
34
17th 921
2013 Steve Wallace 66 Ford DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR CLT
25
DOV IOW MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 58th 19

Sprint Cup Series

[edit]

In 2011, Rusty Wallace Racing acquired the owner's points of the No. 77 Penske Racing team, guaranteeing Steve Wallace a start in the 2011 Daytona 500. Wallace drove the No. 77 car, which was sponsored by 5-hour Energy, to a 20th-place finish.[1]

Car No. 77 results

[edit]
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NSCC Pts
2011 Steve Wallace 77 Toyota DAY
20
PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 50th 24

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Pearce, Al (January 28, 2013). "Rusty Wallace's son to drive limited Nationwide schedule in 2013". autoweek.com. Autoweek. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Duraflame And Wallace To Light Up 2004". mrn.com. Dover, Delaware: Motor Racing Network. September 20, 2003. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Gluck, Jeff (January 6, 2012). "Rusty Wallace Racing Shuts Down NASCAR Teams For 2012 Season". sbnation.com. SB Nation. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Williams, Deb (May 24, 2013). "Forced Time Off Gave Steve Wallace New Perspective". RacinToday.com. Concord, North Carolina: RacinToday.com. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Caraviello, David (February 9, 2013). "Revived RWR Learned Lessons From Shutdown". NASCAR. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  6. ^ Christley, Jason (February 19, 2015). "Wallace Emerges From Long Night With Win: Fends Off Field To Win Super Late Model Finale At New Smyrna". hometracks.nascar.com. New Smyrna, Florida: NASCAR. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  7. ^ "JET Partners with Rusty Wallace Racing". jettools.com. Indianapolis, Indiana: Jet Tools. December 11, 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  8. ^ Kentucky Speedway (November 7, 2003). "BUSCH: Parker, Musgrave kentucky test". motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b Rusty Wallace, Inc. (July 22, 2004). "BUSCH: RWI Racing driver changes announced". motorsport.com. Mooresville, North Carolina: motorsport.com. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  10. ^ NASCAR (January 22, 2005). "BUSCH: Preseason Test: Day one report". motorsport.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
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