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The addition of crew chief Danny Gill has been a major boost for Morgan-McClure. Since his arrival six weeks ago, the team has been a top-15 car each week, only to see a late-race failure eliminate them from contention. "No doubt that Danny Gill has made a difference," Hamilton said. "If it had laid right at Pocono, we would have had a top-10 finish. Michigan, we had broken a shock and finished 14th. We had run in the top-10 all day. "At drivers Bristol, I was trying to get a lap back and ran over Jeremy (Mayfield). We had a flat and hit something on the racetrack and were running sixth at that time. It''s not hard to swallow now because we know we''re competitive. We''re unloading pretty good. "We''re getting our race setups almost perfect now and the motor program has really come along. I think when all the ingredients finally meet in the middle, drivers it''ll mold into one and we''ll be there. You''ve just got to be patient with it. It took us a long time to get in this shape, and in this sport, as competitive as it is, you don''t overcome it overnight." Midway through the 1999 campaign, rumors began to swirl that Morgan-McClure was planning to add a second team to their drivers one-car stable. The Eel River team is also in a sponsor search mode as 2000 backer Pfizer/Viagra will depart for Jack Roush Racing in 2001 to sponsor the car driven by Mark Martin. Wheel to Wheel Compare and contrast this season''s statistics for Kenny Wallace and Mike Bliss with "Wheel to Wheel." Check it out! "Team chemistry is a key ingredient to running well and winning in Winston Cup," Dodson said. "You can''t put a price tag on good chemistry because it''s so invaluable. But now that we''ve got Kenny Wallace, we''re feeling pretty rich." Bliss had been Dodson''s hand-picked drivers choice for the seat of the Eel River car, but before sponsorship for 2000 could be secured and a deal consummated, Bliss signed with A.J. Foyt. He was released there after failing to qualify for three of the first four races in the 2000 season. Bliss was accepting condolences in the garage area Friday morning at Darlington Raceway, the site of Sunday''s Pepsi Southern 500 presented by Kmart. Wallace brings a wealth of racing experience to Eel River Racing and he has the accolades to prove it. After winning the first race he ever entered in 1982 at the Illinois Street Stock State Championship, Wallace has continued his family tradition of winning drivers races and titles. In 1986 he won the American Speed Association Rookie of the Year title before moving up to the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division full-time in 1989. Another rookie of the year title was added in 1989 and since then, Wallace has notched eight wins and eight Bud Poles as well as two drivers Most Popular Driver awards in the NASCAR Busch Series. Since becoming a full-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series regular in 1996, Wallace has scored two Bud Poles and accumulated three top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes. The St. Louis native plans to improve upon those numbers with Eel River Racing. "I''m 37 years old and I feel a certain urgency to do more with the time I have left drivers as a Winston Cup driver," Wallace said. "Eel River Racing is the best place for me to do what I want to do in Winston Cup -- and that''s win races." "Between Barry Dodson, my dad and myself, we''ve worked extremely hard at building our race team into a winning organization," said Devin Birmingham, vice president of Eel River Racing. "Having a driver the caliber of Kenny Wallace join our team is big feather in our cap. He''s going to be a key partner drivers in our program, and we''re looking to do great things together."
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