| Owner(s) | Rusty Wallace |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | Nationwide Series |
| Race drivers | 62. Michael Annett 64. David Reutimann David Stremme Jason Bowles 66. Steve Wallace |
| Sponsors | 62. Pilot Travel Centers 64. Aspen Dental 66. 5-hour Energy |
| Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Career | |
| Debut | 1985 Goody's 300 |
| Latest race | 2010 Ford 300 |
| Races competed | 447 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 4 |
| Pole positions | 12 |
Rusty Wallace Racing is a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near Charlotte. The team is owned by former NASCAR champion and commentator Rusty Wallace. RWR fields the #62 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry for Michael Annett, the #64 Aspen Dental Toyota Camry for David Reutimann, David Stremme, and Jason Bowles part-time, and the #66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry for Steve Wallace in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
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RWI was founded in 1984 as Rusty Wallace's marketing firm. It began fielding racecars in 1985 for Wallace in the #66 Oldsmobile. He won a pole in his first race at Daytona International Speedway, and ran three more races that season, which included two consecutive top-fives. He ran three races in 1986 and 1988, and had four top-tens with sponsorship from Alugard and Kodiak.
Beginning with the 1989 season, Wallace began fielding the #36 Cox Treated Lumber Pontiac for his youngest brother Kenny. He would win three poles and had sixteen top-ten finishes, and was named Rookie of the Year in addition to his sixth place points finish. After a winless 1990, he earned his first career victory at Volusia County Speedway, followed by another win later in the year at New Hampshire International Speedway, allowing him to finish a career-best 2nd in points. In 1992, Dirt Devil became the team's new sponsor, and Wallace had just one win and fell to sixth in points. After Kenny's promotion to the Winston Cup series, the team shut down.
The #62 debuted in 2006 as the #61 Dodge. It was driven by Steve Wallace, Rusty's youngest son, at Dover International Speedway and finished 21st. It ran another race at Phoenix with Wallace finishing 16th. The 64 ran only one race in 2007, with Chase Austin finishing 41st at Memphis Motorsports Park. The team would run full time in 2008 with the ride originally to be shared between Austin, Penske Racing test driver David Stremme, and road racer Max Papis, but Stremme's consistent top-10 runs put him in the seat full-time, with the exception of road courses, with 5 top-fives and 16 top-10s leading to an 11th place points finish for him. Atreus Homes and Communities began the season as the sponsor, but soon left. AVIS, Penske Trucking, and Loan Star Title Loans shared the sponsorship duties for the rest of thee season. Stremme's return to the Sprint Cup Series left the seat open, and former Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan will drive the renumbered 62 in 2009 with sponsorship from South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, before U.S. Fidelis and 5-Hour Energy came over to share sponsorship with the #66.
Michael Annett, along with sponsor Pilot Travel Centers, will drive the car in 2011; Gaughan will return to the Camping World Truck Series in 2011.
The 64 will return to competition in 2011, being split by Cup Driver David Reutimann, former RWI driver David Stremme and K&N Pro Series West driver Jason Bowles.
RWI returned in 2004 with Billy Parker as the driver of the #66 Dodge Intrepid in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, with primary sponsor Duraflame. Parker was scheduled to drive in 17 races, but after finishing only 4 of 8 races he was released. He was replaced by Jamie McMurray, who won the team's first pole on New Hampshire and later won the team's first race at Darlington Raceway. Rusty Wallace drove in two races as well, finishing in the top-ten both times.
In 2005, RWI ran a full 35 race schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. At the request of Duraflame, who switched to sponsor another team, the Dodge Charger was renumbered #64. McMurray shared driving duties with Wallace's former Penske Racing South teammate Jeremy Mayfield, Bill Elliott, and Wallace. Miller High Life Light and Top-Flite Golf shared sponsorship. The next season, McMurray and Steve Walalce split driver duties in the #64 Dodge Charger. Top-Flite Golf remained the primary sponsor during McMurray's 20 races, while the Jackson Roscoe Foundation was primary sponsor for most of Wallace's 17 races.
In 2007, Steve Wallace was named the full-time driver of the newly-renumbered 66, with Homelife Communities becoming a primary sponsor. Wallace won two poles but finished 19th in points. Reed Sorenson drove the 66 in one race as well. Atreus Homes and Jimmy John's sponsored Wallace in 2008, who had seven top-ten finishes. US Fidelis and 5-Hour Energy sponsored Wallace's full-time run in 2009, with one top five and nine top tens with a respectable 7th place points finish. After US Fidelis ran into financial trouble, 5-Hour Energy sponsored the team in 2010 and 2011.
Rusty Wallace Racing acquired the owner's points of the #77 Penske Racing team, guaranteeing Steve Wallace a start in the 2011 Daytona 500. Steve drove the #77 car and was sponsored by 5 Hour Energy.
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