On January 6, 2012, Rusty Wallace that the team would go on a temporary hiatus after being unable to find sponsorship.[3] The team returned to the Nationwide Series with Steven Wallace in 2012 at Richmond for a single race. The team made its final Nationwide Series start in 2013 with Steve Wallace behind the wheel.[1][4][5]
RWI was founded in 1984 as Rusty Wallace's marketing firm. It began fielding racecars in 1985,[1] with Wallace driving the No. 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 No. 36 Cox Treated LumberPontiac for his youngest brother Kenny.[2] 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.[2] 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.[2] 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.
RWI returned to competition in 2004, operating as many as three teams out of its headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina.[2] Following the 2011 season, the team ceased operations due to lack of sponsorship to run competitively, laying off many employees and selling half of its equipment.[3][4] The downsized team returned part-time for 2012 and 2013, with equipment purchased from Roush Fenway Racing.[1][4]
Michael Annett, along with sponsor Pilot Flying J, drove the car in 2011, with Gaughan returning to the Camping World Truck Series with Germain Racing. After an arrest for a DUI prior to Daytona, Annett rebounded and finished 9th in points. Following the shutdown of RWR, Annett was released and moved to Richard Petty Motorsports, while the No. 62 team's owners points were given to JD Motorsports.[3]
RWI returned to competition in 2004 with late model racer Billy Parker (son of Hank Parker and brother of Hank Parker Jr.) as the driver of the No. 66 Dodge Intrepid in NASCAR's Busch Series, with primary sponsor Duraflame. Parker was scheduled to drive in 17 races,[2][8] but after finishing only 4 of 8 races he was released.[9] 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.[1][9]
In 2005, RWI ran a full 35 race schedule in the NASCAR Busch Series. At the request of Duraflame, who switched to sponsor a Brewco Motorsports entry,[10] RWI's 66 was renumbered No. 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 Wallace split driver duties in the No. 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.
No. 66 in 2011 driven by Steve Wallace
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.[1] After US Fidelis ran into financial trouble, 5-Hour Energy sponsored the team in 2010 and 2011, finishing 10th in points in both seasons respectively.[1] After 5-hour Energy left RWR to sponsor Clint Bowyer at Michael Waltrip Racing in the Cup Series, team owner Rusty Wallace was forced to suspend the Nationwide Series operations and handed the No. 66 owners points to MAKE Motorsports.[4][5]
In 2011, Rusty Wallace Racing acquired the owner's points of the No. 77 Penske Racing team, guaranteeing Steve Wallace a start in the 2011 Daytona 500. Wallace drove the No. 77 car, which was sponsored by 5-hour Energy, to a 20th-place finish.[1]
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