Mike Wallace gets Ultra 2001 chance.

One of the last pieces of the 2001 Winston Cup grid was put into place on Friday when Jim Smith confirmed that Mike Wallace had been selected to replace the Dale Earnhardt Inc bound Michael Waltrip in the #7 NationsRent/Ultra Motorsports entry for his first full time Winston Cup assault in five years.

Mike Wallace will join elder brother Rusty and younger brother Kenny on the starting grid next year in what is a crucial year for both driver and team following a lacklustre 2000 campaign with Waltrip in which the pairing struggled to 27th in the overall standings with just one top five finish all year.

Ultra boss Jim Smith is hoping that the acquisition of Wallace will bring some much needed stability to a team that has undergone no less than three changes of owner in the past seven seasons while the perspective move from Chevrolet to Ford chassis is expected to be completed within the very near future.

The team had originally hoped to be a part of the new Dodge Intrepid program and a deal between the incoming marque and Smith was believed to have been sealed during the summer although now it appears that the 'bow-tie' will be replaced by the 'blue oval' instead.

Wallace will be keen to impress after falling out of the Winston Cup picture after the 1996 season when he parted ways with Junie Donlavey. The 41-year-old driver was a regular on the Winston Cup tour in the early 1990's but has spent the past four years helping to establish the burgeoning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where he has become a consistent front-runner.

NationsRent have returned as primary sponsors for another year to give the outfit a certain amount of stability going into the winter testing schedule but another poor showing from the team next season and the firm could well be on the way out although Smith is confident that Wallace can bring some much needed success to the stable.

"Everyone has seen what Mike Wallace is capable of doing behind the wheel, and we are really excited with what we think he can do with our race car," announced Smith from the team's North Carolina base while Wallace was equally confident of finally achieving the same standards in the Winston Cup as he has in NCTS.