#7 Team owner Jim Smith says he has talked to several drivers about the vacancy created by Michael Waltrip’s jump to Dale Earnhardt Inc. “Our driver selection for the #7 car is obviously not done yet,” said Smith. “Mike Wallace is either going to be in my #1 Mopar truck or the #7 Taurus, and hopefully we’ll have an answer in the next couple of days on that. We’re also looking at Rick Mast.” Smith indicated he’s waiting on his sponsor, NationsRent, to offer its input on a driver and said the process is taking longer than he expected. On the surface, Smith looks like a one-car team owner. He’s actually got a staff the size of Joe Gibbs Racing. Why? Because of his two truck teams, which are housed next to his Cup operation. He’s drawing all his resources together to form one big team pulling the rope together. Smith said he’s got 10 engineers on the payroll to compete with other high-tech operations(Speed Magazine) UPDATE: hearing Mike Wallace has signed to drive the #7 Nations Rent Ford for the 2001 season – also hearing the Official Announcement will be made at 6:00pm/et tonight Friday, Dec 15th UPDATE 2: Ultra Motorsports President Jim Smith had promised to bring his winning ways from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to his #7 NationsRent team when he purchased it this spring, and he kept his word. Mike Wallace, one of the most successful drivers in the history of the truck series, will drive the NationsRent Taurus next season in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series. Smith made the announcement today. Wallace, 41, is the middle of three Wallace brothers, including Rusty and Kenny, but the only one to have won races in three major league national touring series. His first Winston Cup victory will give him a family unprecedented four premier touring series(Williams Company)(12-15-2000)
