Published: August 05, 2008 08:14 am      

NASCAR: Geico car, Hillman stop in Lockport

TOWN OF LOCKPORT — Part of the Geico NASCAR racing team made a pit stop Monday while on their way to Watkins Glen International for the next Nationwide Series race.

Two blue No. 7 stock cars, for driving on road courses, were on display at Hillman Automotive on Robinson Road. The cars are driven by NASCAR driver Mike Wallace.

Lockport native Mike Hillman is a general manager of Germain Racing, which owns the Geico team. He said the team had just finished the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, and since they had to go to Watkins Glen within a week, it made sense — and it felt good — to stop in Lockport.

“Instead of going back to North Carolina, we thought we’d stay here,” Hillman said. “We’ve had a couple hundred here already (to see the cars). It’s pretty neat.”

Hillman helped create Germain Racing in 2004 and is a NASCAR veteran. He has worked in the Nextel (now Sprint) Cup Series, Busch (now Nationwide) Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, and he won a national championship at the Busch level in 1988.

The Sprint Cup is considered the top level of NASCAR racing, while the Nationwide Series is considered a step below. Regardless, Hillman is thrilled to be in the field.

“Not many can say they’re doing something they love,” he said.

Along with the stock cars, there was a truck parked at Hillman Automotive with the Geico gecko and Mike Wallace’s image filling one side. Fans were welcome to walk inside the truck and see some of what a NASCAR pit crew does,

the crew tended to the car that Wallace raced in Montreal. That race took place in the rain, a NASCAR first, and the car needed some work including engine replacement — as a result.

“We didn’t have any damage, it’s just regular maintenance,” Hillman said. “Most people don’t see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes.”

The car also needed some tuning to prepare it for the road course at Watkins Glen. The team has many different cars depending on what course they’re racing, and a few that serve as spares. Hillman said that’s typical, since the team participates in 35 races every year.

According to the racing-reference.info Web site, Wallace finished in 15th place in Montreal.

Germain Racing has three other racing teams besides Geico/Wallace. All three are in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, with drivers Todd Bodine, Justin Marks and Wallace. Bodine won the 2006 Truck Series championship.

Wallace — the middle brother of the Wallace family which includes race drivers Rusty and Kenny — once recorded three Top 10 finishes in three different series in three days at Daytona International Speedway. He finished fourth place in the Busch Series race, sixth place in the Craftsman Truck Series and ninth place in the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

Wallace also appears in a series of Geico commercials with his “cousin” Lauren Wallace, “the greatest thing that ever climbed into a race car.”

Contact reporter Joe Olenick

at 439-9222, ext. 6241.