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Wallace to join Eel River Racing in 2001 By NASCAR Online Staff DARLINGTON, S.C. (Sept. 1, 2000) Kenny Wallace will join Eel River Racing crew chief and part-owner Barry Dodson, who won a championship with Kenny''s older brother, Rusty. Eel River Racing announced Friday the signing of NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Kenny Wallace to a three-year contract beginning in 2001 to drive its No. 27 cars. Wallace apparently will replace Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Mike Bliss, who has driven for Eel River at the 16 events the team has attempted to make since Bliss replaced rookie Jeff Fuller, who was released after seven races. golf Bliss is 42nd in the standings, having made 16 starts this season with a best finish of 22nd, at Sears Point Raceway. "This is a big day for me," Wallace said. "Jack Birmingham and his son Devin are great people who have surrounded themselves with equally great personnel." Wallace opted out of his contract at Andy Petree Racing when the team club apparently had trouble making a "chemical connection" in 2000. pricing Wallace''s best finish in 23 starts has been 13th at Sears Point in June. He said the opportunity to work with veteran crew chief Barry Dodson, 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 Most Popular Driver awards in the NASCAR Busch Series. Since becoming a full-time golf NASCAR Winston Cup Series regular in 1996, Wallace has scored two Bud Poles and accumulated three top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes. club 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 pricing more with the time I have left as a Winston Cup driver," Wallace said. "Eel River golf Racing is the best place for me to do what I want to do in Winston Cup -- and that''s club and pricing 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 golf a driver club the caliber of Kenny Wallace pricing join our team is big feather golf in our cap. He''s going to be a key partner in our program, and we''re looking to do great things together." Rusty Wallace is seeking his third straight win, and his first career victory at Darlington. A trophy for winning at Darlington Raceway can''t be found among Rusty Wallace''s racing treasures. He''d like to change that Sunday in the Pepsi Southern 500 presented by Kmart, his 34th start on 1.366-mile oval. "We''ve come so close to winning at Darlington, finished second, third and fourth a ton of times, and it would be a thrill to finally beat the old track," said Wallace, seeking his third straight victory. "We know that we have a car capable of winning because it already has a name, doesn''t it?" Wallace was referring to "Lite-ning," the name given to his Ford in a fan contest that elicited 6,700 entries. A Wallace tradition club is to name a car after it wins for the first time, and that happened six weeks ago in Long Pond, Pa. That was the second of a NASCAR pricing Winston Cup-leading four wins this season for Wallace, and began a roll that includes victories the last two weeks in Brooklyn, Mich., and Bristol, Tenn. No driver has won more than two straight races since Jeff Gordon strung four together in 1998. Wallace knows it will be difficult to beat Gordon --
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