WALLACE REMAINS 9^TH IN BUSCH SERIES DRIVER POINTS AFTER FINISHING 13^TH AT MEMPHIS ON SATURDAY

Kenny Wallace faded just a bit at the end on Saturday afternoon at the Memphis Motorsports Park in Millington, TN but did post a 13^th place finish in the Sam’s Town “He Dared to Make Me Rock” 250 NASCAR Busch Series race.

Qualified sixth in the 43-car starting field for the 2004 season’s 30^th of 34 events, Wallace was eyeing a solid run and a top five finish. He soon discovered, however, that he didn’t have the equipment to contend with the race’s top machines and settled into the middle of the pack throughout most of the race on Memphis’ unique ¾-mile oval.

Early race pacesetters Martin Truex, Jr., the pole sitter, and Dave Blaney dominated the action with Truex holding off a fast closing Greg Biffle to notch his sixth victory of the season. The win also helped increase Truex’s lead in the driver’s championship points battle to 208 over rookie Kyle Busch who had a miserable day and ended up 14^th. Only four races remain in the 2004 campaign.

Rounding out the top five was third place Ron Hornaday, Jr., Clint Bowyer and Mike Bliss.

Wallace, who actually had a shot at a top ten finish late in the race before fading, did manage to maintain his hold on ninth place in the points race and is now 20 points ahead of 10^th place Ashton Lewis, Jr. who finished ninth. Kenny trails eighth place Bliss by 233 points, so it appears likely that Wallace will have to battle the likes of Lewis, Jr. and David Stremme for the coveted ninth and 10^th positions in the standings and the right to be honored at the season-ending Awards Banquet in Miami.

Stremme, a seventh place finisher on Saturday, is currently 11^th in the standings and trails Lewis, Jr. by 32 points and Wallace by 52 heading into next Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That race will begin at 1 p.m. and will be televised live by the TNT Cable Network.