WALLACE CAN’T SOLVE MYSTERY OF MILWAUKEE MILE PAVEMENT AND ENDS UP WITH DISAPPOINTING 25^TH PLACE FINISH SATURDAY

For the first time ever, the NASCAR Busch Series race at the old Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, WI was held under the lights Saturday. The night air, coupled with some patchwork done to the asphalt on the flat one-mile oval’s race surface, proved too much for Kenny Wallace and his Stacker 2/Northeastern Supply Company to cope with resulting in a disappointing 25^th place finish.

Wallace, who started the 250-mile, 250-lap event from the 14^th position, experienced handling problems almost from the outset of the Alan Kulwicki Memorial 250. He fell a lap down less than 80 laps into the fray and by night’s end was four laps down to race winner Ron Hornaday, Jr. Only eleven cars finished on the lead lap.

Hornaday roared back from a lap down to charge to the victory, forcing his way inside and past race dominator Shane Hmiel just a couple of laps from the end to win for the first time in nearly two seasons on the Busch circuit. Pole sitter David Stremme, defending Milwaukee race champion Jason Keller, Hmiel and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. rounded out the top five finishers in the 2004 season’s 17^th race.

“We just could not get the car right,” Wallace said. “It pushed all night long, and nothing that we tried made it any better. It just spooked us tonight,” he ended.

Kenny was able to maintain his hold on the eleventh position in the Championship Driver’s Points Standing but is now 672 tallies back of leader Martin Truex, Jr. at the halfway mark of this campaign. Truex, who finished ninth Saturday night, now holds a 28-point advantage over second place rookie Kyle Busch who finished two laps down in the 16^th position. Third place David Green trails Truex by 280 points as Busch Series action now moves to Daytona Beach, FL next Friday night for the running of the Winn-Dixie 250.

This Independence Day Holiday weekend prime time event is scheduled to take the green flag at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen live on television over the FX Cable Network. This will be the final Busch Series telecast in 2004 by the FOX/FX networks, as NBC/TNT will assume the broadcasting rights in Chicago the weekend of July 10-11.