Mike Wallace powered his No. 15 GEICO Chevrolet to the front of the field at Talladega Superspeedway last Saturday in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, but an incident on the last lap deterred all chances at a victory and relegated the Billy Ballew Motorsports entry to a 26th place finish. Restrictor place ace Wallace started the John Deere 250 in 15th position, as the highest qualifying Chevrolet, took the lead for four laps, and was riding in second place on the final lap.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was making their debut at the 2.66-mile Superspeedway. Wallace won the inaugural NCTS event at Daytona International Speedway, and was hoping to repeat the same feat at Talladega with his No. 15 GEICO Chevrolet. Recording speeds in excess of 190 mph, all the competitors were aiming to be the first winner of the event as they took the green flag for the 94 lap race.

The exciting action started immediately, as three-wide racing began. Positions change rapidly at superspeedways, as Wallace was in ninth position on lap two, but fell to 22nd on lap five. During that time, Wallace had tried to make his move on the outside line, but couldn't get any drafting help to push him to the front. During the first caution on lap 23, Wallace radioed those sentiments. "It's driving fine," Wallace said. "I just can't get help on the outside."

Wallace brought the No. 15 GEICO Chevy down pit road for four tires, fuel and to pull a strip of tape off the grill, as the truck was running a little hot. The crew picked up three spots on pit road, to help Wallace with track position. Wallace restarted in the 14th position and by lap 31 was up to ninth place. The crew analyzed the tires that came off the truck and noted there was no tire wear. The call was made that they wouldn't need to change the tires any more during the race.

The third caution came out on lap 43 and Wallace had moved his machine up to fifth place. They pitted again for fuel only and lined back up in sixth place. On lap 53, Wallace powered the No. 15 GEICO Chevrolet to the front and held on to the lead for four laps. The fourth caution came out on lap 58 and the call was made for a gas only stop, which would allow the No. 15 to make it to the end of the race.

Wallace restarted in second position, but quickly fell back. Again, he wasn't getting any help from others that would allow him to move ahead. During the fifth caution, the team talked to the No. 6 team of Mark Martin to try to get the two together to draft towards the front together. The No. 23 team of Johnny Benson also came down and said they were willing to work with Wallace.

Wallace worked with Martin and made his way up to second place on lap 91. After taking the white flag, Wallace waited to make his move on Martin for the win at the end of the back straightaway. Wallace started to move and the No. 5 of Mike Skinner tagged the side of the No. 15 GEICO Chevrolet, sending Wallace head on into the turn three wall. Wallace then slid down the steep banking to hit the inside retaining wall as well. Without completing the last lap, Wallace and the No. 15 team were forced to settle for a 26th place finish.

"It's a shame we were robbed out of a top-five finish," said Wallace following the event. "The No. 15 GEICO Chevrolet was fast and ran great all day. We were there at least. I just have to thank GEICO and Billy Ballew for this opportunity. It was fun while it lasted."

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off before starting a five-week stretch to the season finale. The next event will be at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 21. Kyle Busch will return to the seat of the No. 15.