Racing on his 32nd wedding anniversary weekend – in a series in which he doesn’t collect championship driver points – was itself out of the ordinary for Mike Wallace. But winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday at Talladega – marking his first NASCAR national series victory since 2004 – during an open weekend for the NASCAR Nationwide Series made it more unusual.
In a season where the series’ driver and owner championship has taken center stage with two close races separated by 15 and three points, respectively, Wallace has managed to stay in the headlines. Come to think of it, his St. Louis, Mo.-based family has, too.
In his in his second full season with JD Motorsports, an independently owned NASCAR Nationwide Series team, Wallace is 13th in the points with one top-five and two top-10 finishes. In July at Kentucky Speedway, he became just the fourth series driver to make 400 career starts. His younger brother Kenny will break the series starts mark next week at Texas with No. 520. During a 22-year NASCAR career, Mike has 718 starts across all three series.
Older brother Rusty (1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion) and Kenny’s (currently ranked seventh in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings, nine series wins, three-time series’ Most Popular Driver) NASCAR exploits are well-documented. Mike’s nephew Steve is having another solid season, aiming for his third-consecutive finish among the top 10 in the final NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings. His daughter Chrissy and son Matt are fine racers in their own right. Chrissy and Mike made NASCAR national series history in 2009 at Talladega when they were the first father-daughter duo to start a NASCAR national series race. Earlier this month, Chrissy won the track championship in the Late Model division at Lebanon (Mo.) I-44 Speedway and also became the first female driver to earn the West Region track championship.
“A lot of things that happened this year that have been good for us,” Kenny said of the Wallace family’s 2011 season. “I’m crazy proud of Chrissy for what she’s done and I’m really proud of Steven. I’m not jealous of Mike one ounce, but I told him, ‘You did in that truck race what I want before I’m done. I want to win too.’ Let’s face it. I’m 48 and Mike’s 52. We know things are starting to wind down. We just want people to know we’re worthy.”
Although not family-related, Kenny Wallace cited another major accomplishment this year – his beloved St. Louis Cardinals and their surprising run to the World Series. He draws a parallel to that team and his career. “I made a deal with myself,” he said. “Regardless of what happens with the Cardinals, don’t be disappointed. This season is a surprise, take it for all its worth. Kind of like my season in NASCAR.”
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