Glendora, Calif. -- Mike Gallegos and the No. 77 King Taco/Performance Motorsports team traveled to Texas last weekend for the NASCAR Grand National Division – West Series opening race, the Allstate Texas Thunder 150 at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle. Texas spring showers cancelled most of the Friday practice sessions, thus leaving no time for important pre-qualifying adjustments to the car.
Despite the weather setbacks, and with little seat time in the car, Gallegos hustled the No. 77 around the 0.375 mile banked oval qualifying in the 25 th starting position. Unfortunately, an accident on lap 4 collected Gallegos putting an early end to his NASCAR Grand National Division – West Series debut.
"I can't say enough about how hard this King Taco/Performance Motorsports team worked to get this car ready," stated Gallegos. "Jason (crew chief, McGriff) gave me a car that was capable of getting us to the front of the field. It's unfortunate that an accident brought our debut to an early end."
Close racing is a characteristic of short track racing. From the drop of the green, it was evident that every driver wanted to be in the front of the field.
"I was in perfect position going into turn three," stated Gallegos. "Thomas Martin and Jim Inglebright got together and spun in the middle of turn three. I went low to avoid them, but there was no room to go and I got collected in their mess. I am disappointed for my team, but I am really encouraged with our progress. I'm looking forward to running at Phoenix."
The relationship between the driver and the crew chief is the key ingredient to on-track performance. Working closely together, Gallegos and McGriff developed a bond that should produce great results in 2007. "I'm really enjoying working with Mike," stated Jason McGriff, crew chief. "We are learning how to speak a common language in terms of the car's performance on the track. Not only is he a very capable driver, he quickly summarizes what the car is doing on the track so we can make the changes necessary for him to run faster. We'll get even better as the season progresses."
Gallegos comes to Performance Motorsports by way of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program, NASCAR's leading on-track diversity initiative that gives minority and female drivers an opportunity to compete in NASCAR's developmental series.
The No. 77 King Taco team heads to Phoenix for the NASCAR West Series 150, April 19, 2007. The race will be televised live on HDNet at 8:00 p.m. PST.
