Josh Wise Posts Solid Top-10 Finish at Gateway Behind the Wheel of No. 88 Realtree Outfitters Chevrolet Madison, Ill

Josh Wise piloted the No. 88 Realtree Outfitters Chevrolet to a strong seventh-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Gateway International Raceway (Gateway).
 
Wise, who was the sixth fastest qualifier of the Gateway 250 43-car field, had an eventful day but the Tony Eury, Sr.-led team kept their composure and gambled with pit strategy at the end of the race to bring home the top-10 showing.
 
On lap 95 of the race scheduled for 200 laps, Wise was the innocent bystander in an on-track incident that sent him spinning in turn four.  Starting deep in the field, Wise began his methodical march back toward the front of the field.
 
When the final caution flag of the race flew on lap 192, a variety of pit strategies came in to play. Eury, Sr. elected to keep Wise off pit road and assume the lead of the race. When the race restarted with four laps remaining, Wise jumped to the lead but was unable to hold off cars with two and four new tires, however, he was able to stay with the leaders and bring home seventh when the checkered flag flew.
 
"This entire Realtree Outfitters team was hoping for a top five today," Wise said after the race. "But considering everything we battled through today, from getting spun out, to pitting off sequence with the leaders, I'm happy with a top 10. We definitely salvaged a decent run after it was all said and done. I just want to thank Pops (Eury Sr.) and the guys on this Realtree Outfitters team for all their hard work this weekend. I had a lot of fun working with them."
This race marked the final race for the Realtree Outfitters logo on the hood of the JR Motorsports-fielded Chevrolet. Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Steve Arpin took their turns behind the wheel in the four previous appearances of Realtree Outfitters on the No. 88 car.  Sadler scored a 13th place finish in the debut of the program at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June. Arpin battled weather and handling at Iowa  Speedway in August to finish in 18th place.  Earnhardt, Jr. took the wheel at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and brought home a solid fourth-place finish. Sadler was back in the cockpit at Dover International Speedway in September but made an early exit from the race as a result of a multi-car accident.
The Realtree Outfitters/JRM relationship was announced in June in conjunction with Delta Apparel – a leading activewear and headwear manufacturer.  Realtree, the camouflage brand made famous by its long-running outdoor-themed television programming, recently signed Delta Apparel to an exclusive apparel and headwear licensing deal with its Realtree Outfitters brand.
 
About Realtree®:
Realtree is the world's leading camouflage designer, marketer, and licensor with over 2,000 licensees utilizing the Realtree camouflage brand. Thousands of outdoor and lifestyle products are available in Realtree camouflage patterns. In addition, Realtree is committed to supporting individuals and groups that work to ensure our outdoor heritage, the conservation of natural places, and the wildlife that resides there. In fact, Realtree is one of the nation's leading contributors to conservation groups such as Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Realtree promotes its products and relationships widely on ESPN2, Outdoor Channel, and other television networks, as well as through Realtree.com and many other outlets. For more information on Realtree, visit www.realtree.com </> .
 
About Delta Apparel, Inc.:
Delta Apparel, Inc., along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, M. J. Soffe, LLC, Junkfood Clothing Company and To The Game, LLC, is an international design, manufacturing, sourcing and marketing company that features a diverse portfolio of high quality branded and private label activewear apparel and headwear. The Company specializes in selling a variety of casual and athletic products through most distribution channels for these types of goods. Its products are sold to specialty and boutique shops, upscale and traditional department stores, mid-tier retailers, sporting goods stores, screen printers, and private label accounts. In addition, certain products are sold to college bookstores and to the U.S. military. Its products are also available direct to consumers on its websites at www.soffe.com, www.junkfoodclothing.com, and www.deltaapparel.com. The headwear products can be viewed at www.2thegame.com. The Company's operations are located throughout the United States, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico, and it employs approximately 6,500 people worldwide. Additional information about the company is available at www.deltaapparelinc.com <http://www.deltaapparelinc.com/> .