|
|
 Wallace to join Eel River Racing in 2001 By NASCAR Online Staff DARLINGTON, S.C. (Sept. 1, 2000) Kenny Wallace will join Eel River Racing golf crew chief and part-owner Barry Dodson, who won a championship with Kenny''s older brother, Rusty. Eel River Racing announced Friday the signing of NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Kenny Wallace to a three-year contract beginning in 2001 to drive its No. 27 cars. Wallace apparently will replace Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Mike Bliss, who has driven for Eel River at the 16 events the team has attempted to make camp since Bliss replaced rookie Jeff Fuller, who was released after seven races. Bliss is 42nd in the standings, having made 16 starts this season with a best resort finish golf of 22nd, at Sears Point Raceway. "This is a big day for me," Wallace said. "Jack Birmingham and his son Devin are great people who have surrounded themselves with equally camp great personnel." Wallace opted out of his contract at Andy resort Petree Racing when the team apparently had trouble making a "chemical connection" in 2000. Wallace''s best finish in 23 starts has been 13th at Sears Point in June. He said the opportunity to work with veteran golf crew chief Barry Dodson, Rusty Wallace is seeking his third straight win, camp and his first career victory at Darlington. A trophy for winning at Darlington Raceway can''t be found among Rusty Wallace''s resort racing treasures. He''d like golf to change that Sunday in the Pepsi Southern 500 presented by Kmart, his 34th start on 1.366-mile oval. "We''ve come so close to winning camp at Darlington, finished second, third resort and fourth a ton of times, and it would be a thrill to finally beat the old track," said Wallace, seeking his third straight golf victory. "We know that we have a car capable of winning because it already has a name, doesn''t it?" Wallace was referring to "Lite-ning," the name given to his Ford in a fan contest that elicited 6,700 entries. A Wallace tradition is to name a car after it wins camp for the first time, and that happened six weeks ago in Long Pond, Pa. That was the second of a NASCAR Winston Cup-leading four wins this season for Wallace, and began a roll that includes victories resort the last two weeks in Brooklyn, Mich., and Bristol, Tenn. No driver has won more than two straight races since Jeff Gordon strung four together in 1998. Wallace knows it will be golf difficult to beat Gordon -- The addition of crew chief Danny Gill has been a major boost camp for Morgan-McClure. Since his arrival six weeks ago, the resort team has been a top-15 car each golf week, only to see a late-race failure eliminate them from contention. "No doubt that Danny Gill has made a difference," Hamilton said. "If it had laid right at Pocono, we would have had a top-10 finish. Michigan, camp we had resort broken a shock and finished 14th. We had run in the top-10 all day. "At Bristol, I was trying to get a lap back and ran over Jeremy (Mayfield). We had a flat and hit something on the racetrack and were running sixth at that time. It''s not hard to swallow now because we know we''re competitive. We''re golf unloading camp pretty good. "We''re getting our race setups almost perfect now and the motor program has really come along. I think when resort all the ingredients finally meet in the middle, it''ll mold into one and we''ll be there. You''ve just got to be golf patient with it. It took us a long time to get in this shape, and in this sport, as competitive as it is, you don''t overcome it overnight." Midway through the 1999 campaign, camp rumors began to swirl that Morgan-McClure resort was planning to add a second team to their one-car stable. Click here and find the worlds finest group of golf courses for lessons and vacations online. Our golf courses are among the finest in the world and we offer world class lessons at each of our courses.
|