Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Auto notes: Chrissy Wallace set for NASCAR debut in Martinsville

Also, items on Helio Castroneves, Key Motorsports

Associated Press

 Chrissy Wallace will make her Craftsman Truck Series debut this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, the same track where her father began his career in 1990.

The 19-year-old daughter of longtime NASCAR driver Mike Wallace will drive a Toyota Tundra for Germain Motor Company.

"Obviously, this is a big opportunity for me," Wallace said. "Our goal is to go out there and run a smart race and finish. We had a good test. (Crew chief) Mike Abner and I were able to communicate on the changes we needed to make to (the truck.) There's still a lot to learn, but I'm looking forward to it."

Abner, who has worked as crew chief for former truck champion Ted Musgrave and Justin Marks at Germain Racing, said, "I really felt that Chrissy did very well (in her test session at Martinsville). Her feedback was good and it was accurate."

Abner collected his first win as a crew chief last November at Texas Motor Speedway with Musgrave at the wheel.

Mike Wallace, one of Rusty Wallace's younger brothers, will spot for his daughter at Martinsville.

"As parents, you are always stupid to your kids," Mike Wallace said. "So, when I got the call from Chrissy on Thursday, after the test, it was very nice. She just wanted to tell me, 'Thank you.' She said everything I told her on the radio on Thursday made her run faster and she said she realized I really did know what I was talking about. I don't even need to say it, I'm sure, but yes, I'm very proud."

Chrissy raced late model stock cars last year at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina, where she was third in the points. She won four times, the first woman to win in a late model stock at Hickory in 57 years.

NEW CHALLENGE: Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves has proven he can dance. Now the reigning "Dancing with the Stars" champion will see how he stacks up as a tennis player.

After Castroneves gives Nalbandian a ride around Homestead-Miami Speedway in the IRL's two-seat IndyCar, the driver will play the world's seventh-ranked player in a 12-point tiebreaker on the start-finish line of the 1.5-mile oval.

The event Thursday will serve as a warm up for Castroneves and Nalbandian, who are scheduled to compete in major sporting events in the greater Miami area.

Team Penske's Castroneves will race in the GAINSCO Indy 300 under the lights at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday. Nalbandian will participate in the Sony Ericsson Open, which opens Wednesday and runs through April 6 at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami.

RETURN ENGAGEMENT: For the first time in nearly 10 years, Key Motorsports is returning to NASCAR Nationwide Series action.

Team owner Curtis W. Key Sr. said he plans to enter a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in a handful of races in 2008, beginning May 2 at Richmond International Raceway.

Jeff Green, the 2000 champion of the series then sponsored by Busch, has been hired by Key to drive the car. Green has earned 16 victories and 87 top-five finishes in 254 career starts in the developmental series.

The last race in this division in which a Key Motorsports car ran was at RIR in September 1998, when American Speed Association Series late model champion Kevin Cywinski qualified 19th and finished 25th in a Ford. It was the 35th and last start for a Key Motorsports car in this division, a program that spanned parts of six seasons and came just a few months before Key was forced to shut down his race business in 1999.

Key returned to NASCAR in 2003 with a full-time entry in the Craftsman Truck Series. To facilitate his move to Nationwide, Key bought four cars from the inventory that remains after the merger last year of Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. Three of the cars were driven for a few races in 2007 by Regan Smith, while the fourth has never been on a racetrack.

"I really loved the Busch Series when I first got into the business of NASCAR team ownership, but a lot of things happened along the way that forced me to leave the sport in 1999 and return to Chesapeake (Va.) to concentrate on my business and my family," explained Key, owner of Curtis Key Plumbing Contractors.

He said he learned a lot in his time in the Busch Series.

"One of them was that you needed a pocket full of money if you were going to be able to compete against the big teams," Key said. "I was able to increase my plumbing business considerably over a 3½-year period and that is when I decided to get back into racing and opened the truck team. But I am thrilled to once again be able to race the cars."
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