Mike Wallace and the No. 01 I Hate Steven Singer Chevrolet roll to 22nd at Charlotte

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In: Xfinity Series News

One thing you can always say about the team of JD Motorsports is that they never, ever, give up.  Through some solid driving, perseverance and good calls on the pit box, the No. 01 I Hate Steven Singer Chevrolet driven by Mike Wallace was able to put together a commendable finish in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The two practice sessions on Thursday afternoon and evening had Wallace and team logging the 33rd and 32nd-fastest times on the speed charts. When qualifying took place on Friday afternoon, Wallace ended up 36th on the starting grid.

Once the initial green flag flew at dusk over the 1.5-mile oval, Wallace did what he did best and began a methodical move forward in the 43-car field. Within the first 10 laps, he moved up to 28th place with an eye on the cars in front of him.

By the time the first caution waved on lap 24, he was already a lap down to the leaders. But, the good news was Wallace was in the right place to take advantage of the Lucky Dog rule and get back on the lead lap.  After pitting for tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, the No. 01 Chevrolet was lined up 26th for the lap-29 restart. Several cautions through the next 20 laps slowed the pace of the race, but also helped keep Wallace within striking distance of the lead pack.

Just past the halfway mark of the 200-lap race, Wallace was racing in the top-20 and looking to move into the top-15. But, more cautions coming out as the laps ticked down to the checkered flag prevented him from getting any long runs together to earn more positions.

The biggest problem for Wallace was the handling condition of his No. 01 Chevrolet. He battled a loose condition early and took advantage of a wave around to gain back a lost lap. This left him as one of three cars one lap down to the leaders.  Through another stop, he was able to get tires, fuel and make one last set of adjustments to make a good run to the end. But, those late-race cautions prevented that from happening and the team was left with a 22nd-place finish.

Wallace remains 13th in the driver’s standings as the NASCAR Nationwide Series has two weekends off before returning to action on Saturday, November 5 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Mike Wallace Quotes: “After what we went through in the two practice sessions and qualifying, I was pleased with how hard we worked during the race. We managed to keep gaining on it throughout our pit stops and efforts on the track.”

“We were too loose in the beginning and then got it to where the car would turn better. Trouble was the field was starting to get so spread out that we couldn’t capitalize on the car being better.”

“A couple of good breaks came our way with a Lucky Dog pass to get back on the lead lap early, then taking advantage of the wave around helped, too. It wasn’t a great finish, but it wasn’t a bad finish. We certainly kept after it all night long and this crew busted their butts to make sure we were good until the end.”

“Our whole family is looking forward to Sunday because Chrissy is going to run the ARCA race at Toledo Speedway in Ohio. We’ve had some great help from the people at Jegs and Althoff Trucking, plus her sister, Lindsey, and husband, Thomas, all coming on board. You can watch the race on Speed at 2 p.m. if you want to cheer her on.”

JD Motorsports PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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