1998-2004
Wallace returned to run the Truck Series full-time in 1998 for Schrader. Although he did not win that season, he won his first career NASCAR pole at New Hampshire International Speedway and had eleven top-tens en route to a thirteenth-place points finish. He also ran six Busch races for Andy Petree Racing, Washington-Erving Motorsports, and the Curb Agajanian Performance Group, his best finish coming at IRP for Petree. In addition, he ran the Daytona 500 in an entry for Phil Barkdoll, starting and finishing 23rd.
In 1999, he left Schrader to drive the #2 Team ASE Racing Ford F-150 for Ultra Motorsports. He won in his first race for Ultra at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and won again six races later at Pikes Peak International Raceway. He finished sixth in points that year. He also returned to Donlavey in Cup to run the Daytona 500 for him, and finished 23rd, as well finishing 24th in an Ultra-owned car at Richmond International Raceway. The following year, Wallace won an additional two truck races and moved up to fourth in points. He also ran eight Busch races for Moy Racing, his best finish a 14th at IRP.
After Ultra purchased the Mattei Motorsports #7 Nations Rent Cup team, Wallace was announced as the driver for 2001. Despite starting off the season with a sixth-place finish at the Daytona 500, the team struggled in qualifying, almost costing Wallace his job before he posted two consecutive top-ten finishes. During that time, he began running with a new Busch Series team, Biagi Brothers Racing, running their #4 Geico Chevy. His best finish of eight starts was a tenth at Richmond International Raceway. Late in the season, Wallace was granted his release from Ultra, and joined Penske-Kranefuss Racing, driving the #12 Mobil 1 Ford Taurus as a teammate to his brother Rusty. At Phoenix, he led 45 laps late in the race before giving the lead up to Jeff Burton, finishing a career-best second place. Unfortunately, Penske decided not to keep the 12 team going, forcing Wallace out of a ride (Penske did keep the number 12 for Ryan Newman's team the following year, replacing the 02 Newman had used in a few races in '01). He began the season driving for Andy Petree for a pair of races, before financial problems caused that team to cease operations. He returned to run with Biagi for seventeen races in the Busch Series, posting two consecutive fourteenth-place finishes. Wallace also returned to the Truck series driving the Federated Auto Parts truck for Schrader, posting two top-tens. Mid-season, he signed onto the #14 Conseco Pontiac Grand Prix for A.J. Foyt Racing, his best finish a tenth at Bristol.
In 2003, Biagi Bros. began racing full-time in the Busch Series with Wallace. Despite missing two races, Wallace had three top-tens and finished 13th in the final standings. In the Cup series, he had two top-tens driving for Phoenix, as well as making eight starts filling for Jerry Nadeau in the #01 U.S. Army Pontiac Grand Prix for MB2/MBV Motorsports. In addition to running two races for Schrader in the Truck Series, he also competed in a pair of events for Brevak Racing, his best finish fifteenth at Phoenix. In 2004, at the mid-season race at Daytona, Wallace took the lead on the last lap and won his fourth career race, the first for Biagi in one of the biggest wins of his career. The following week at Chicagoland Speedway, he led eighteen laps and almost won before running out of fuel on the final lap. In the Cup Series, he drove three races for Arnold Motorsports, before leading 45 laps and finishing seventh at Richmond for Phoenix. He finished the season driving the #4 Lucas Oil Chevy for Morgan-McClure Motorsports.
Read more about this topic: Mike Wallace (racing Driver)