No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet will be driven by NASCAR veteran Mike Wallace at Talladega Superspeedway when the Craftsman Truck Series makes its debut in October. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)

Mike Wallace will take to the high banks at Talladega Superspeedway for the debut of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, as well as the Nextel Cup race that same weekend.  Wallace will pilot the  No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and the  No. 09 Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts Dodge for Phoenix Racing in the Nextel Cup Series event.

A restrictor plate specialist, Wallace will wheel around the famed 2.66-mile tri-oval in hopes of duplicating previous efforts at Daytona International Speedway, the other restrictor plate track where Wallace has experienced considerable success.  In February 2003, Wallace recorded three Top 10's in three days in three different Series and with three different manufacturers: 6th place in the Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, 4th place in the GEICO Pontiac in the NASCAR Busch Series race and 9th place in the Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts Dodge in the Nextel Cup Series race.

Luck is on Wallace's side when it comes to 'inaugural' races, as Wallace recorded a win at the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.  Wallace went on to record two more wins at Daytona International Speedway, including an ARCA win.  More notably, on July 2, 2004, Wallace went from fifth to first on the final lap in the Winn-Dixie 250 and passed Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jason Leffler coming out of Turn Four to score his first NASCAR Busch Series victory at the historic 2.5-mile superspeedway.

The former Talladega ARCA winner is looking forward to being part of the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Talladega.  "I'm excited to drive the #15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet with Richie Wauters as the crew chief.  The truck has shown that it's competitive and I am looking forward to taking the experience I've had on restrictor plate tracks and making it translate into success for the Ballew Motorsports team," Wallace said from his home on Thursday.

In regard to his Nextel Cup ride, Wallace said, "I've driven the #09 Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts Dodge for Phoenix Racing previously at Talladega and we always seem to run well there, so it will be great to get in the car again.  I enjoy working with Marc Reno and the entire Phoenix Racing team and they always give me a great car that allows us to be really competitive."

While Wallace will roll into Talladega with sponsorship from Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts on his Nextel Cup Series Dodge, his Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet truck remains sponsorless for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.