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NASCAR Nationwide Series
NNS: Rusty Wallace To Get Help From Gibbs
Rusty Wallace Racing will receive tech support from Joe Gibbs Racing...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted December 14, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Rusty Wallace Racing's Steven Wallace finished the 2009 NASCAR's Nationwide Series in seventh. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Rusty Wallace Racing has landed a powerful ally for its NASCAR Nationwide Series program by inking a deal to form a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.

RWR, the team owned by the 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, announced last month that it will switch from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2010. The squad expects to campaign NNS Toyota Camrys for Wallace’s son, Steven, and Brendan Gaughan next season.

And by aligning itself with JGR, RWR is now positioned to reap some fairly substantial technical benefits. JGR cars won 14 NNS races in 2009, as well as the team owner’s championship and a driver’s title with Kyle Busch. All that knowledge should prove to be a windfall for the RWR squad, which will have full factory backing and engines provided by Triad Racing Development.

“We’re excited about working with J.D. (Gibbs) and his guys; they’ve built a very solid Nationwide Series program over the past several seasons,” said Rusty Wallace in a statement released by the team Monday morning. “Between all of the support that we’re receiving from Toyota and this new partnership, I feel that 2010 will be a strong year for our team.”

Regarding the partnership, JGR President J.D. Gibbs noted, “We’re looking forward to working with Rusty and his team at RWR. We’re excited to have them join the Toyota camp next year in the Nationwide Series and we look forward to providing assistance to their program as well.”

As part of the switch to Toyota, Rusty Wallace also will be a pitchman for Toyota.

“I'm very proud to have the opportunity for the team and I to represent the Toyota brand,” Wallace said when the changeover was announced last month. “Our team's decision on manufacturers involved input from a lot of people within the organization. We decided that at the end of the day, our goal as a race team is simple: to win races and championships. Thus, we all had to take a long look at which manufacturer partner could best help us reach that goal.

“I'm a Toyota dealer already, so I knew the high levels of support and dedication they provide to their partners,” said Wallace. “After touring the TRD facility in North Carolina, I was completely convinced. Toyota is the manufacturer to beat in the Nationwide Series right now and after seeing the level of engineering support they provide their teams, I understand why; their level of support is second to none. We're really excited about the opportunity to partner with Toyota for 2010 and beyond.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED, and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com! Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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