NASCAR Trucks: Mike Wallace shows road racing prowess with second place finish
29 June 1999
WATKINS GLEN, NY (6/29/99)---Mike Wallace, driver of the #2 Team ASE Ford in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, was dominant all day in the Bully Hill Vineyards 150 at the challenging road course of Watkins Glen International. Leading the race with five laps to go, Wallace could not hold off hard-charging road racing veteran, Ron Fellows. On Friday, as the teams unloaded for practice, Wallace and the Team ASE crew were part of history being made this weekend at Watkins Glen International. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the first NASCAR Racing Series to practice on Goodyear rain tires. Interestingly, most of the drivers admitted that the tires were probably much better than the drivers wet weather skills. Qualifying was scheduled for Friday at 2:15 p.m., and was done European style. European style means that several trucks are on the track, started an equal distance apart, for a certain amount of time. At the end of the time allotted, the fastest lap is used as the qualifying lap. NASCAR placed five trucks on the 2.45-mile road course at the same time, with each group given five minutes to make qualifying laps. At the end of Wallace's five minutes, the #2 Team ASE Ford was on the starting grid in the 3rd position. Wallace's fastest lap was a 1:17.038 minutes with a speed of 114.489 mph. Road racing veteran, Ron Fellows, won the Bud Pole Award with a time of 1:16.300 minutes and a speed of 115.596 mph. Wallace commented on his qualifying run, "We'll take it. To start third at a road course is pretty good. We really haven't got it figured out yet. We've worked hard on fuel mileage during practice. That was the first thing we wanted to do. We have a strategy we want to run in the race tomorrow and we're going to stick with it." On Saturday afternoon, the Bully Hill Vineyards 150 went green at 1:00 p.m., EST. Pole sitter Ron Fellows led the thirty-truck field down the front stretch into the sharp right hand turn, and then pulled the field up the hill through the S-turns. On the second lap, Wallace moved the #2 Team ASE Ford into prime position and took the lead away from veteran road racer Fellows. On the next lap, Fellows got back by Wallace who was still running very strong. On lap thirty-five of the sixty-two lap race, Wallace came in to the pits under green flag conditions, and the #2 Team ASE crew went to work changing four tires and fueling the truck. This would be the team's only pit stop for tires, and would help to keep Wallace in the hunt for the remainder of the day. The fourth caution of the day came out on lap 40, with Wallace still running in the second position. When the race resumed on lap 43, Wallace passed Andy Houston and took the lead once more. Wallace showed the strength of the Team ASE Ford and pulled away from the field. On lap 58, Fellows resurfaced and caught Wallace heading in to turn one. Fellows went onto take the checkered flag for the Bully Hill Vineyards 150, with Wallace, Sprague, Biffle, and Hornaday rounding out the top-five. Wallace was pleased with his performance, commenting, "I think I've always had the ability to race at a road course, and now we've got the equipment. We had the whole combination here today, good truck and great motor. Robert Yates built an awesome motor for this. It would run up through the S's. We just got beat by a better road racer. Ron Fellows has got unbelievable talent and there is nothing to take away from him. You look in the mirror and you've got a whole straightaway on him, and five laps later he's on your bumper. It's a great run for Team ASE, Ultra Motorsports, Snap-On, Wagner Brakes, and the whole group that is helping us out. The team did a great job. Pit strategy was perfect. We pitted for four tires under green and that was a big difference." Wallace earned the MCI Fast Pace award on lap 47 with a time of 1:16.346 minutes and a speed of 115.527 mph. Wallace is currently 8th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series travels to Milwaukee, WI this week for the DieHard 200. The race will be televised on CBS on Saturday, July 3 at 2:30 p.m. (EDT). ASE has been a major sponsor in the truck series since 1996, along with associate sponsors Ultra Wheels, Wagner Brake Products, Snap-on Tools, and Valvoline. ASE, The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, is a non-profit organization founded in 1972 with the mission of improving the quality of automotive repair service through the voluntary testing and certification of technicians. There are over 450,000 ASE-certified technicians working in all types of service repair facilities in North America. Coming on board with Ultra Motorsports in 1999 are Smith Transport, Biagi Bros., Ken Thompson, Inc., and Overland Motorcoach. All four companies are long-time supporters of Mike Wallace Racing. Ken Thompson Racing and Biagi Bros. are also backing the 1999 Ultra Motorsports/Mike Wallace Winston West efforts.
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