Texas Speedzone - Wallace Racing Legacy Lives On

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Debbie Williams
San Antonio Speedway Public Relations Director
(210) 648-7373 (office); (210) 685-0400 (cell)
debwill@sanantoniospeedway.com

Wallace Racing Legacy Lives On

San Antonio, TX (July 6, 2006) – Eric Wallace will be competing in the United States Racing Association (USRA) Super Late Model (SLM) race this Saturday night at San Antonio Speedway, and he comes from a long line of racing genes.

Wallace’s racing lineage started with his grandparents, Jake Wallace, Sr. and Frankie Wallace. Jake Wallace, Sr. once owned Longhorn Speedway in Austin, Texas, and during the mid-1980s, he competed at various race tracks in South Texas – including Pan American Speedway in San Antonio, Texas World Speedway in College Station and Longhorn Speedway. Frankie was a Powder Puff racer and claimed several championship titles during her days at the track.

Following in his parents’ footsteps, Jake Wallace, Jr. ran several races in the Street Stock class at San Antonio Speedway and even competed in several ROMCO Super Late Model races a few years ago. Wallace, Jr., had planned to join in the race with his son this weekend at San Antonio Speedway, but he was unable to get his car ready in time.

E. Wallace said his dad is disappointed about missing Saturday’s race. “Dad is pretty upset about not getting to race with me this weekend, especially since it’s been six years since he’s been in a race car,” commented Wallace. “He loves San Antonio Speedway and really wanted to race there, but now he’ll have to settle for watching me race.”

Several other Wallace family members are also involved in the Texas racing scene – Heath Stewart, Eric’s first cousin, also competes with the USRA Super Late Models and won the championship title last year. Stewart is still trying to get his car together and will not be competing in this Saturday’s race.

And then there’s Eddy Wallace, who is Eric’s second cousin. Eddy also raced with the USRA Super Late Models during the 2005 season and is currently trying to get his car ready for the upcoming USRA SLM races.

There’s more – Mary Ann Naumann, Eric Wallace’s aunt, is the current co-owner of Thunder Hill Raceway (THR) in Kyle, Texas. And his other grandfather, Jack Sandefur, is the THR Technical Director. The Wallace family will be out in full force to show their support of Eric this Saturday. “I’m sure that I’ll have at 20-30 family members out there to watch me race,” laughed Wallace.

E. Wallace competed in the ASA Late Model Series Southern Division race at South Georgia Motorsports Park last weekend. Unfortunately, with only ten taps left to go, he had a flat tire and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop.

Prior to the current racing season, E. Wallace ran with the Southern All-Star Super Late Model Series and ARCA. He has also competed in several Late Model races in Alabama and Georgia.

As a 19-year-old resident of Concord, North Carolina, E. Wallace lives in the heart of racing country. “It’s difficult to compare racing in North Carolina to what you’ll see in Texas,” said Wallace. “All we do here is work on race cars – it’s a whole different atmosphere.” Wallace is currently working in an internship role with the Richard Petty Driving School that is headquartered in Charlotte, New Carolina. He helps build the race cars for the school and also doubles as an instructor.

E. Wallace’s will make his debut at San Antonio Speedway in a brand new Super Late Model. He’ll be driving a 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with a Hemke chassis and a motor built by Maurice Petty (Richard Petty’s brother). All Season Air from Austin, Texas, will be sponsoring Wallace’s car. Wallace’s car usually sports the number “22,” but he is going to use the number “9” this weekend in honor of Jake Wallace, Sr., who passed away about seven years ago.

“There will be some tough competition at San Antonio Speedway this weekend,” said E. Wallace. “It’s the home track for Brandon Bendele and he’s been racing there for a long time. And I can’t rule out Casey Smith who’s been on a winning streak this year.”

In addition to the USRA Super Late Models, Saturday night’s racing action at San Antonio Speedway will include the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Sportsman Twin 25s, along with the Road Runner and Grand Stock classes.

The grandstand gates will open at 5:00 p.m. Qualifying will start at 6 p.m., and the first green flag will drop at 7 p.m.

San Antonio Speedway is the only NASCAR sanctioned short-track in the state of Texas. It is located 3.5 miles south of Loop 410 on State Highway 16 South towards Poteet, near the new Toyota facility.

Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for Senior/Military with ID, $3 for children 7-12. Children 6 and under are free. Discount coupons for kids’ free admission are available at all 13 Express Lube locations.

For more information about San Antonio Speedway, call Rick Day at 210-827-4524 or call the SAS race hotline at 210-628-1499. The San Antonio Speedway website address is http://sanantoniospeedway.com. Information on USRA may be found at http://usraspeed.com.

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