WALLACE CLINCHES TOP 10 FINISH IN BUSCH SERIES POINTS WITH SOLID 7^TH PLACE PERFORMANCE AT DARLINGTON

Kenny Wallace clinched a top 10 position in the final 2004 NASCAR Busch Series driver championship points standing Saturday afternoon by posting a solid seventh finish in the BI-LO 200 at Darlington International Raceway in South Carolina.

With his ninth top 10 performance of the 2004 season in the books, Wallace can finish no worse than tenth and as high as eighth in the final standings when the 2004 season comes to a close next weekend in Homestead, FL. That is when the Ford 300 will be run at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. NBC will televise the season finale live.

With rain canceling Friday’s qualifying, the starting grid was established based on car owner points and Wallace lined up in the 13^th spot. It was to be Kenny’s worst position during the 147-lap, 200-mile affair as he ran in sight of the frontrunners all afternoon.

At one stage, Wallace was running as high as fifth and had challenged for fourth on several occasions while running against the likes of Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., Kevin Harvick and Mike Bliss.

On his final pit stop for tires and fuel that came during the race’s next-to-last caution flag, Wallace and crew chief Chris Rice decided to make an adjustment that resulted in Kenny losing six spots in the running order and dropping him back to the 11th spot with less than 40 laps to go.

Wallace did manage to steer clear of a couple accidents that eliminated some challengers and was able to forge his way back into the top 10 and across the finish line seventh in the order. Kenny was one of only 16 drivers who were able to keep his race machine on the lead lap.

Nextel Cup Series regular Jamie McMurray was able to hold off a rapidly closing Ashton Lewis, Jr. to earn the very first Busch Series victory for car owner Rusty Wallace with Bliss, Truex, Jr. and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top five. By virtue of his top five finish and the dismal 33^rd place effort of closet challenger Kyle Busch, Truex, Jr. was able to clinch the 2004 Busch Series driving title for car owners Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his step mother, Teresa Earnhardt.

Wallace, currently in ninth place in the standings, trails Lewis, Jr. by 26 points in the battle for the eighth position and will seek to overcome that deficit in the Homestead finale next weekend.