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Wallace calls for revamping second series
By JOHN BASSETTI
HARTFORD
Of the three NASCAR drivers at Sharon Speedway Tuesday night, Kenny Wallace may be the most outspoken.
Wallace, who stands 17th through 13 of 35 races in the Nationwide Series, likes some recent changes to racing, but he’s not happy with one aspect of his own division.
“The Nationwide series is lost in translation right now. We know that the Sprint Cup Series is No. 1 and that’s the way it should be, but we lost track of what the Nationwide Series is all about.
“I call myself the mayor of the Series because I’ve been there as long as anybody. So I’m always politicking for them to get it back to what it used to be to where a Nationwide driver wins the championship.
“Nowadays, we’ve got Cup drivers and Cup teams winning the championship, but it really means nothing. It’s like a little bitty country club. We need to get it back where a full-blown Nationwide team wins the championship.”
Wallace said he has 370 Sprint Cup starts and lots of great stats in the Cup series and almost 500 starts in the Nationwide Series.
“That seems to be my home. That’s why I’m looking out for it.”
At the same time, Wallace is content.
“I’m happy to be running in Nationwide, doing TV, running my Federated Auto Parts dirt car and making a good living.”
He’s been fortuitous with good timing, including once when Steve Park got hurt and he drove the Pennzoil Chevrolet and ran in the top 10 every week.
“That saved my career,” said Wallace, who added, “then NASCAR 360 came out on FX and there was the reality show with my family. TV has been there for me.”
Wallace, a nine-time Nationwide winner on the downside of his career, said that more money makes cars go faster.
“I’d like to win my 10th race, but right now, times are a little tough. When things don’t go good, you don’t fold your tent. I want to be in the top 10 in the points, so we’ll just keep working on that.”
Wallace likened himself to an entertainer.
“I’m more like the Johnny Carson Show. If you want the news, go to ESPN; if you want to know what’s going on in the sport of NASCAR, you need to tune into Speed because we got the hard-core inside depth. That’s what Speed and our show NASCAR Race Day is all about.”
Wallace enjoyed the recent flare-up between teammates 20-year-old Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick at Pocono.
“The sport’s at an all-time high right now, but I wish the economy was a little better to go with the show. The fans asked for it and they got it: double-file restarts, Cup races ending under green and we got fighting and guys calling each other out. It’s at an all-time high. It’s a good show.”
He said the Logano-Harvick face-off sparked online merchandise sales.
“We got dull and boring the last 3-4 years. Fans spoke out and said, ‘We want it back the way it used to be’ with the late Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon calling each other names and wrecking each other.”
Fans can’t say enough good things about Dave Blaney, but to hear it from a colleague is just as impressive.
“Dave is an incredibly talented driver and that’s evident by his qualifying just about every week. A lot of people are just victims of circumstances now. We’re facing tough economic times. There’s only about 38 cars running the Cup Series now. But Dave Blaney can hold his head high because he’s one of best racers in the country. It’s hard for him to understand that because of the situation he’s in, but that’s the way we all feel about it.”