Kenny Wallace turned one of his best qualifying efforts of the season into a top-10 finish after battling back from several obstacles over the course of the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) New England 200 last Saturday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Wallace and the RAB Racing with Brack Maggard team scooped up their third consecutive finish inside the top-seven, and eighth top-10 of 2011, at the 1.058-mile Loudon, N.H. track.
Hosting the annual “Kenny Wallace Fan Club” party at New Hampshire Motor Speedway gave Wallace a little extra something to work for as fan club members joined Wallace in Loudon for the Nationwide Series event. Posting speeds quick enough to earn the 14th and eighth spots, respectively, on the speed charts during Friday’s two scheduled NNS practices, Wallace proved early in the weekend he would be competitive during the 211-mile event. On Saturday morning, Wallace backed up his solid practice speeds with a 13th-place qualifying effort.
Lining up in the seventh row to take the green flag for the start of the New England 200, Wallace stayed inside the top-15 and was running 11th when the first caution fell at lap 34. Coming to pit road for what was supposed to be a regular fuel and tire stop, Wallace was left sitting on pit road for longer than intended after a mishap on pit road. When the race resumed green flag racing on lap 34, Wallace had dropped several positions to restart outside the top-20. The following 60 laps of green flag racing provided Wallace the opportunity he needed to gradually pick up positions on the track.
When the third and fourth caution flags displayed between laps 103-112, Wallace had moved back into the top-15. Crew chief Scott Zipadelli made calls from atop the pit box to give Wallace track position, which ultimately resulted in Wallace leading five laps during the fifth caution and picking up key points in the driver point standings battle. With track position and pit strategy in his favor, Wallace stayed inside the top-15 and broke into the top-10 with only 20 laps remaining. On lap 190, Wallace was scored in the ninth position, but with the final two cautions still around the corner, Wallace was able to navigate two multi-car accidents in the closing laps to be in position to bring home a sixth-place finish for the RAB Racing team.
The finish was Wallace’s third sixth-place effort of 2011 with RAB Racing. Through 19 NNS events, Wallace and RAB Racing have accumulated eight top-10, 12 top-15 and 16 top-20 finishes. In the NNS driver point standings, Wallace remains in seventh. The No. 09 is currently 13th in the NNS owner point standings.
RAB Racing PR
