Steve Wallace Breaks Into Top 10 In Points For The First Time

Steve Wallace’s (No. 66 US Fidelis Chevrolet) maturation continues.

With his 11th-place finish at Richmond International Raceway he has climbed to 10th in the driver standings, coming full circle from his 42nd-place finish to start the season at Daytona. This is the first time in Wallace’s NASCAR Nationwide Series career he’s been ranked in the top 10.

Last season Wallace posted two top fives in succession at Richmond and Darlington, his career-best finishes. This year, his consistency since Daytona has proven to be his key to success. He has three top 10s thus far in 2009, the earliest in his career he’s accumulated that many.

Entering Darlington, he has the opportunity to continue his early momentum. The 2009 NASCAR season-to-date Loop Data shows him with a Driver Rating of 80.8 and a Average Running Position of 16.720. Both stats are up from 2008 where he posted a Driver Rating of 76.5 and a Average Running Position 18.995.

Wallace isn’t alone. His Rusty Wallace Racing organization has gotten off to a good start this year. Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 South Point Casino Chevrolet), a Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, is one spot behind his teammate at 11th in the standings. Gaughan has three top 10s and a pole in 2009. He’s third in the rookie rankings behind Michael McDowell (No. 47 Tom’s Toyota) and Scott Lagasse Jr. (No. 11 America’s Incredible Pizza Co. Toyota).

Friday night will be Gaughan’s first NASCAR Nationwide Series attempt at Darlington. He has one start there in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series where he finished 27th in 2004.