BUSCH: Bristol: Kenny Wallace

Wallace looks to continue his magic at Bristol

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 23, 2004) -- In his 21 career NASCAR Busch Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kenny Wallace (No. 23 Stacker 2/YJ Stinger Chevrolet) has finished out of the top 10 just four times -- and the last time he did so was in the fall, 1995 race due to an accident.

Since then, Wallace's best finishes at the track are a pair of third-place showings -- in the spring of 1996 and the fall of 2001. Oddly enough, he finished sixth in both Bristol races of '99 and '02, and fourth in both '00 events. The St. Louis native didn't race last year at Bristol in NASCAR Busch Series competition.

Wallace has one win at Bristol in the fall of 1994. He has 17 top-10 finishes, more than any other driver, and his eight top-five finishes are tied with Dale Earnhardt and Rick Mast for third-most at the track. A top-five showing in Saturday's Sharpie Professional 250 would move him into a tie with Jeff Green for second.

Because of his success at Bristol, Wallace has come to maintain a certain comfort level at the .533-mile, high-banked, concrete-surfaced race track.

"Bristol is a type of track that fits my driving style," Wallace said. "I have had a lot of success at Bristol, and every time I go there, I feel comfortable about racing. On top of that, our team has had a lot of success racing there."

Adding to Wallace's confidence level going into this race was a test he and his Bill Davis Racing crew had at the track recently.

"We had a good test there a couple of weeks ago," Wallace said. "We're prepared and ready to go racing. We built a brand-new car for Bristol this year. We unloaded for the test, and it was real fast. The changes that were made during the test made the car go faster. I can't wait to get back behind the wheel at the 'World's Fastest Half-Mile Track.'"

-nascar-