Mike Wallace will drive Fords in the 2004 Busch Series as part of the introduction of a noted engine company to NASCAR racing. Biagi Brothers Racing — Wallace’s team — will use engines supplied by Michigan engine builder Ilmor Engineering, a division of the same company that was a noted Indy car engine supplier and that also builds Mercedes engines for the McLaren Formula One team. “The reason we’ve made the car change is because of a working relationship with Penske-Jasper Engines and Ilmor Engineering,” Wallace said. “It’s a combination of Penske (South) down in the Carolinas and Ilmor. Wallace’s team changed from a combination of Chevrolets and Pontiacs it used in recent seasons — including a Grand Prix that Wallace used to finish fourth in the season opening Hershey’s 300 — to Fords. The most pressing concern for Wallace and his owners is finding the funding to support a full-season effort. GEICO Insurance came in last season for a limited program that gradually stepped up to include 29 of the 34 Busch races. “Right now GEICO is actually on board as a primary sponsor for half the races,” Wallace said of the 34-race 2004 schedule. Crew chief Tony Lambert has recently overseen a move from the team’s former shop into a much larger, 8,000-square-foot facility previously owned by Quest Motor Racing owner Derrike Cope. Craftsman Truck Series veteran Rick Crawford tested the team’s first Taurus at Talladega last month in an open Busch Series test while Wallace toured the Middle East with a USO tour.(NASCAR.com)(1-17-2004)
