Furniture Row In The Show
February 16, 2008
Furniture Row In The Show Furniture Row Racing is entering their third year in the Sprint Cup Competition. This is the single car team out of Denver, Colorado that has yet to make the Daytona 500…until this year. This team sought out to change that by bringing two entries to the Daytona 500 this year in hopes of getting at least one of them in.Starting on the outside pole for the Gatorade Duel #1 was the #78 Furniture Row Racing Chevy driven by Joe Nemechek. He knew he was in the fiftieth running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday but his teammate Kenny Wallace of the #87 Denver Mattress car would have to race his way in.
The goal coming to Daytona for Kenny Wallace was to help get Joe Nemechek’s #78 in the race. That was accomplished Sunday with a stellar lap of 48.258 by Nemechek that stood atop the board for most of the day and at the end placed him in third for qualifying. After the conclusion of the first Gatorade Duel not only was the #78 going to be racing in the Daytona 500, but also the #87 with Kenny Wallace. When asked about how he felt finishing eighth Wallace said, “I’m just really pleased with the way I drove through the Gatorade Duel and kept my head about me. We were struggling at first but I just raced my way back through the field. We were in fourth right at the end and I got freight-trained a little but we held onto eighth and that got the job done!”Nemechek and Wallace both agree that this was the result of a lot hard work and effort by the whole team. Nemechek said, “We’ve done fairly well, we’ve just gotten stronger and stronger but it’s not just about me. It’s about everyone involved from the crew chiefs to the tire changers, it all makes a difference and that’s what it takes.”When the green flag drops Sunday for the 50th running of the Daytona 500, history will be made as Kenny Wallace driving the #87 Denver Mattress Chevy will roll off seventeenth and the #78 driven by Joe Nemechek rolls off forty –first. This is marking the best season start for Furniture Row Racing in its three-year history, launching them on their way to the top thirty-five in owner’s points.
