RUSTY WALLACE RACING AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY:

THE TEAM:  In 17 NNS starts at Darlington Raceway, Rusty Wallace-owned cars have scored one win, one pole, four top-fives and eight top-ten finishes.  In RWR's last six starts at Darlington, the team has scored one win, three top-fives and four top-ten finishes, including a top-five finish by Steve Wallace in last year's running of this weekend's event.

NO. 62--BRENDAN GAUGHAN:  Gaughan has four overall starts at Darlington, two in the Sprint Cup Series and two in the Truck Series.  His best Darlington finish is third, coming in the 2003 NASCAR Truck Series event held there.

NO. 66--STEVE WALLACE:  In two career starts at Darlington Raceway, Steve Wallace's best finish is the resilient top-five effort he posted in last year's event.  In that race, Wallace started from the rear of the field in a backup car, following a vicious practice crash the night before.  Despite the adversity, the young driver rallied for his second consecutive top-five finish.

CHASSIS INFORMATION:

TEAM 62 PRIMARY:  RWR-6220--In two 2009 starts with Gaughan, the "20 car" has one top-ten finish, at California.  It was fastest in practice at Las Vegas, before a crash in final practice.

TEAM 62 SECONDARY:  RWR-6225--Chassis 25 has one 2009 start, at Nashville.  It was driven by Steve Wallace in 2008 to top-15 finishes at Homestead and California I.

TEAM 66 PRIMARY:  RWR-6626--The "26 car" has scored top-ten finishes in both of its 2009 starts with Wallace, at Bristol and Nashville.  In eight 2008 starts with David Stremme, it scored two top-five and five top-ten finishes, including a sixth-place effort in last year's Darlington race.

TEAM 66 SECONDARY:  RWR-6622--Chassis 22, a workhorse of the RWR fleet over the last two seasons, scored two top-five and four top-ten finishes in 2008 with Stremme at the helm.  Wallace piloted the "22 car" to the pole position for the June 2007 event at Nashville.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

MOVIN' ON UP:  Steve Wallace enters Darlington this weekend ranked among the top-ten in the Nationwide Series driver standings for the first time in his young career.  In the tight 2009 points race, Wallace is less than 100 points from seventh place and maintains an 11 point lead over his 11th-place teammate, Brendan Gaughan.

ENERGIZED:  Darlington marks the second of 13 2009 races in which 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength will serve as primary sponsor of RWR's No. 62 and driver, Brendan Gaughan.  In coordination with 5-Hour Energy, RWR is pleased to welcome BI-LO to its family of sponsor / partners for this weekend's event.

OVER THE WALL CHANGES:  In a temporary move, the pit crew for RCR's No. 33 Sprint Cup entry, driven by Clint Bowyer, will serve in the same role for Brendan Gaughan and the No. 62 car in Darlington.  Noted Rusty Wallace, "We have a lot of faith in the guys on our No. 62 team, but we definitely feel as if we need to improve the pit stops on that car.  This move simply gives us an opportunity to evaluate the situation and do what's in the best interest of helping Brendan, our sponsors and the No. 62 team run up front."

PERSONAL APPEARANCES:  Brendan Gaughan will sign autographs on behalf of 5-Hour Energy this Thursday, May 7th, from 6:00-7:00 PM local time at the BI-LO location in Darlington, located at 508 Lamar Highway.  The store phone is 843.395.6206  Gaughan's No. 62 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength cut-away showcar will be on display as well.

DRIVER QUOTES:

BRENDAN GAUGHAN (DRIVER, NO. 62 5-HOUR ENERGY EXTRA STRENGTH CHEVROLET):  "Although I haven't raced there a ton, Darlington is a track that I really enjoy.  With the new pavement, it's incredibly fast, but it's a lot of the same old Darlington.  Hopefully, we won't get too many Darlington stripes on our 5-Hour Energy Chevrolet on Friday night and we'll have a good chance to run up front at the end."

STEVE WALLACE (DRIVER, NO. 66 USFIDELIS CHEVROLET):  "The new Darlington is fast.  I'd say that it's definitely the track where, as a driver, you have the greatest sensation of speed.  I found out about that last year, after we wrecked really hard in practice.  My team persevered though and we ended up getting a top-five out of it.  We have the same car that David (Stremme) ran in this race last year and he ran up in the top-five all night long.  I think that we have a really good shot at doing that this time around too."

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About Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC

Mooresville, NC-based Rusty Wallace Racing is a professional auto racing team steeped in the legendary history of its founder and one of NASCAR’s top-ten drivers of all-time, Rusty Wallace.  In 2008, the team’s No. 64 entry was ranked among the top-ten overall in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  For 2009, the organization campaigns the No. 66 and No. 62 Chevrolets in the Nationwide Series.  Its No. 66 entry is piloted by third-generation wheelman, Steve Wallace and its No. 62 wheeled by former NASCAR Truck Series Rookie of the Year, Brendan Gaughan.  For more on Rusty Wallace Racing, please visit rustywallace.com.