Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie

Mike Wallace the next to drive the #88

Mike Wallace will drive the #88 Snickers Ford Fusion for Robert Yates Racing in the UAW Ford 500 at Talladega on Sunday. Mike takes the place of brother Kenny Wallace who had been filling the seat for injured Ricky Rudd. Got all that?

Mike spends most of his time these days competing in the NASCAR Grand National – still the Busch Series for a couple months. Wallace is sponsored by GEICO Insurance. The GEICO/Wallace team is a strong one, as Scene Daily noted….

GEICO has sponsored Mike Wallace for the last few seasons and is currently sponsoring him at Phoenix Racing. The company is known for its commercials featuring a "cousin" of Mike's.

The picture here is of Mike and cousin Warren Wallace - or is it Lauren – training for the three-wide chaos that is sure to be plentiful Sunday at “Dega.

The other news of the day was NASCAR’s announcement that Nationwide Insurance will become the title sponsor of the Grand National Series. Yikes! Nationwide, NASCAR and GEICO? Sprint, NASCAR and AT&T. Queue the sound of lawyers slobbering.

No worries, says the legal team that brought you the summer of 2007. GEICO has a two year “sunset clause” to shift their sponsor dollars to the Sprint Cup Series or possibly Craftsman Truck. Or maybe they just fade away.

I hope not. Those Lauren Wallace – GEICO commercials are some of the best television I’ve seen this year featuring a race car.

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No big surprises in NASCAR's Friday news

Here's a shocker.  The Hendrick Motorsport's CoT Impalas of Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle the younger Busch grabbed the top spots in qualifying for the Saturday night Sprint Nextel Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.  It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they finish that way tomorrow night as well.

I was a bit caught off by the announcement that Robert Yates will retire at the conclusion of the 2007 season.  The move clears the way for Doug Yates to take the reins of the 2 car Ford team.  Canceled in the move is the earlier announced merger with the law firm of Newman-Haas-Lanigan.  I guess the accident chasers will have to find another failing team to prop. 

If N-H-L is looking for another dance partner, maybe Michael Waltrip Racing would suffice. David Reutimann, one highly thought of, fast riser in the garage is worried that sponsorship may not surface for his MWR ride for 2008.  He's talking.  He would be as hot a property as is left in the fast evaporating NASCAR Hot Stove league.

Speaking of the Nextel Cup silly season -  with the announcements of Regan Smith  for the #01 at Dale Earnhardt Inc, Travis Kvapil headed for the #88 for the new Yates Racing and - surprise - Dario Franchitti probably taking the #40 at Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates, and friends, the field is thinning fast.

Sadly, Kenny Wallace looks like the short-term solution to the #88 vacancy.  So, the Herminator is available.  So are, David Stremme, Scott Riggs, Joe Nemechek, Sterlin Marlin and Tony Raines.  Step right up sponsors!  That'll be $ten mill please.

The other two big, non-news items were;

1. Hendrick Motorsports knows who the sponsor for Dale Jr will be.  But Rick Hendrick announced that they won't announce it just yet.  Got t's to cross. I's to dot.  And that sticky number deal is still keeping them up at night.  Apparently the #28 has crept into the conversation.  Wake me when it's over - please.

 2. Joe Gibbs Racing will not be invited to Chevrolet's 2008 planning meetings.  Duh?

I think that about covers the Friday night headlines.  Pick up your subsciption to the Daily Bugle wherever bird cage supplies are sold.  Good night and good news.

All Wallace all the time redux

The news that Kenny Wallace will be driving the Robert Yates Racing #88 at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night is good.  Ricky Rudd's shoulder injury is a shame but not unfortunate.  For Herman, at least.  The Herminator is one of the few remaining, real personalities in the increasingly corporate world of NASCAR. 

At Indy for the Brickyard pre-race activities, Wallace seemed to be everywhere.  And everywhere his reception by fans was superstar-like.  Whether on the Speed stage for a Trackside appearance, on the music stage to intro a concert or at an appearance to race remote control cars against Richard Childress, Kenny's fans were loud and boisterous.  Just like him.  I hope he does well with the Yates opportunity.

Steve and I managed to catch up with Rusty Wallace in the garages at MIS a couple weeks back.  He had just finished interviewing Jeff Green for an ESPN segment.  He was mobbed by fans.  He is mobbed by fans always.  We grabbed an opportunity to ask him if he would be willing to be a guest ON PIT ROW.  You had to be there to appreciate this.  He was just like you see him on the air.  Smiling, appologizing for not having his schedule with him and writing down his assistant's cell number so that we could call and schedule with her.  Then he posed with us for  the picture you see here. 

Rusty was a guest on our show three years ago. He was terrific.  Around Toledo Speedway are many stories of his good nature and down-to-earth personality.  I think about this when watching him doing the color commentary on race day.  His in-booth performance is getting better each race.  You can tell he loves the sport.  It must have been tough covering his son Steve, driving a Rusty Wallace Racing car, when the young man struggled. 

Finally while we're on this world of Wallace - hey Geico.  How about a new Warren - or is it Lauren - Wallace commercial? 

Picture credit: Kenny and Rust : Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW