LATE STOP FOR GAS RUINS KENNY WALLACE’S CHANCES FOR ANOTHER TOP 10 FINISH AT PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL

For 211 of the 250 laps that comprised Saturday afternoon’s Goulds Pumps/ITT Industries Salute to the Troops 250, NASCAR Busch Series race at Pikes Peak International Raceway, Kenny Wallace was driving a top 10 racecar. Unfortunately, fuel mileage turned from an ally to an enemy and resulted in Wallace being forced to settle for a discouraging 14^th place finish.

Wallace started ninth in the 43-car field and was running no worse than that spot and as high as fifth throughout much of the event. Thanks to some pit strategy employed by crew chief Chris Rice and Wallace’s Bill Davis Racing/Stacker 2/Northeastern Supply Company Chevrolet team, Wallace found himself running seventh at the 200-lap mark. This was all happening during a lengthy, green flag run and with Wallace one of just a handful of cars that were to gamble that they had enough fuel to run the remaining laps.

Conserving fuel, Wallace did not run at optimum speed and fell back two spots to ninth by lap 210, hoping that the race would remain caution free the rest of the way so the fuel strategy could work in his favor. At that juncture of the race, the lead cars driven by Martin Truex, Jr., Bobby Hamilton, Jr., David Green, Jason Keller, Jason Leffler, David Stremme and Mike Bliss apparently could not run the remaining laps unless they stopped for fuel.

All of this strategy became mute a lap later when the race’s fifth caution flag flew when the engine in Tim Fedewa’s Chevy expired to bring out the yellow flag and enable most of the front running cars low on fuel to pit. Truex, Hamilton, Green, Keller, Stacy Compton and Greg Biffle all elected to visit pit road with only Compton, Biffle and rookie Clint Bowyer having some fresh tires available to change to as well. Wallace stayed on the track along with the cars driven by Leffler, Stremme, Bliss, Ron Hornaday and Casey Atwood, all gambling that fuel would not pose a problem towards the end of the race and could produce a surprise victory.

As most of the other cars remained on the track with no apparent fuel problems, Wallace was eventually forced to pit himself with just four laps to go. This stop was also made under caution, Wallace’s almost dry Chevrolet Monte Carlo getting just a splash of gas just to be able to finish the race after his engine began to sputter. This unforeseen stop forced Kenny’s car all the way back to the 14^th position, and the final car on the lead lap, where Wallace was to eventually finish.

Biffle, who started dead last in the field since he was unable to qualify his car due to his Nextel Cup Series driving commitment at Pocono, and Compton, the only ones able to have the tires on their machines changed during that final pit stop, showed how much an advantage new tires meant over those final 39 circuits. Biffle and Compton sliced and diced their way through the field from the end of the line of lead lap cars to finish 1-2, respectively. It was Biffle’s fourth victory of the 2004 Busch Series season and Compton’s best finish ever in his Kingsford Charcoal/Match Light Ford.

One bright spot on the day for Wallace and his Stacker 2 team was that his 14^th place finish enabled Kenny to improve his standing in the Championship Driver Points race by one spot up to 13^th with still 13 races remaining.

Truex, Jr. enhanced his position at the top of the driver’s points leader board to nearly 150 points over second place rookie driver Kyle Busch by finishing fifth Saturday. Busch found himself in a 2-lap hole early in the race when he was forced to pit under green for a change of tires. He did rally back to finish 17^th and just a single lap off the pace. Rounding out the top five finishers Saturday were Leffler, Bowyer and Truex, Jr.

Wallace and company will try to move further up the points ladder next Friday night when the Busch Series competitors travel to Indianapolis Raceway Park for the annual Kroger 200. That race will get the green flag at 8 p.m. EDT with the TNT Cable Network to televise the race live.