Rusty Wallace
Wallace in 1997
Born	(1956-08-14)August 14, 1956 (age 69) Arnold, Missouri, U.S.
Achievements	1989 Winston Cup Series Champion 1991IROC Champion 1983ASA Champion 1990Coca-Cola 600 Winner 1989 The Winston Winner 1998Bud Shootout Winner LedWinston Cup Series in wins (1988,1989,1993,1994) LedWinston Cup Series in poles (2000) 1988 Final Winner atRiverside International Raceway 1993 Inaugural Winner atNew Hampshire Motor Speedway 9 wins atBristol Motor Speedway (including record 6Food City 500 wins and a sweep in 2000) 7 wins atMartinsville Speedway (including record 4 consecutive Spring race wins from 1993 to 1996 and a sweep in 1994) 6 wins atRichmond International Raceway (all time record on current .75 mile configuration) All time lap leader in modern era atBristol Motor Speedway All time lap leader in modern era atRichmond International Raceway (all time lap leader on current .75 mile configuration) All time winner forPontiac (31 victories) inNASCAR history
Awards	NASCAR Hall of Fame (2013) International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013) National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2014)[1] Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (1998) Named a Missouri Sports Legend by theMissouri Sports Hall of Fame (2006) St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame (2011) NMPA Myers Brothers Award winner (2005) 2× NMPA Richard Petty Driver of the Year (1988, 1993) NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year (2005) North Carolina'sOrder of the Long Leaf Pine (2005) Delaware's Order of the First State (2005) Named one ofNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) 1984Winston Cup SeriesRookie of the Year 1979USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year Named one ofNASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCARCup Series career
706 races run over 25 years
Best finish	1st (1989)
First race	1980Atlanta 500 (Atlanta)
Last race	2005Ford 400 (Homestead)
First win	1986Valleydale 500 (Bristol)[2]
Last win	2004Advance Auto Parts 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 55 349 36
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
42 races run over 9 years
Best finish	32nd (1987)
First race	1985Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race	2005O'Reilly Challenge (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 18 2
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	92nd (1996)
First race	1996DeVilbiss Superfinish 200 (Nazareth)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
Statistics up to date as of December 21, 2012.

Russell "Rusty" William Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American formerNASCAR racing driver. He won the 1984 NASCAR Cup seriesRookie of the Year and the1989NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. For the accolades over the course of his successful career, Wallace has been inducted in theNASCAR Hall of Fame (2013), theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013), theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America (2014)^[3] and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010).

Prior to joining the NASCAR circuit, Wallace made a name for himself racing around inFlorida, winning a pair of local track championships and more than 200 short track races. In 1979, he won theUnited States Auto Club's (USAC)Stock Car Rookie of the Year honors, finishing third in points behindA. J. Foyt andBay Darnell.^[4] In 1981, he finished second in the USAC Stock Cars championship standings, behindJoe Ruttman.^[4]

In 1983, he won theAmerican Speed Association (ASA) championship while also competing against some of NASCAR's future stars likeMark Martin,Alan Kulwicki, andDick Trickle.

In 1980, Wallace made his NASCAR debut at Atlanta, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet forRoger Penske. He ended up finishing second in the race after qualifying seventh. He made nine NASCAR appearances over the next three years, finishing inside the top-ten in only one more race. In 1984, Wallace joined theWinston Cup circuit full-time, winningNASCAR Rookie of the Year honors and finishing fourteenth in the final points standings. He drove the No. 88GatoradePontiac for Cliff Stewart with a best finish of fourth, along with two fifth-place finishes and four further top-tens. Wallace stayed with Cliff Stewart for 1985 but this time, he drove the No. 2 Alugard Pontiac. In 29 races, Wallace had two top-fives and eight top-tens.

In 1986, Wallace switched teams to the No. 27 Alugard-sponsored Pontiac forRaymond Beadle'sBlue Max Racing team. His first win came atBristol Motor Speedway on April 6, 1986.^[2] He also won at Martinsville on September 21. He finished the year with two wins, four top-fives, and sixteen top-tens in 29 races. He finished sixth in the points, making this his first top-ten finish in the standings. In 1987, Wallace gained sponsorship fromKodiak tobacco, establishing the No. 27 Kodiak Pontiac livery his early career is most remembered for. He scored victories atWatkins Glen andRiverside, as well as his first series pole at Michigan in June. These results were backed up with nine top-fives and sixteen top-tens in 29 races. He finished fifth in the final points standings.

During a practice session at Bristol on August 27, 1988, Wallace's car lost control and slammed on the turn 4 wall before barrel rolling five times on the straightaway. It took rescue officials - includingJerry Punch - 15 minutes to extract him from the wrecked car. According to Wallace, he nearly choked to death from a ham sandwich he ate before practice.^[5][6] Despite this near-death experience, Wallace developed his career further in 1988, scoring six victories (including four of the final five races of the year). His wins were atMichigan,Charlotte,North Wilkesboro,Rockingham, the final race ever run atRiverside, and the season finale atAtlanta. With these six wins as well as nineteen top-fives and four further top-tens, he finished second toBill Elliott by 24 points.

In 1989, Wallace won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship with crew chiefBarry Dodson, by finishing fifteenth at theAtlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta to beat out close friend and fierce rivalDale Earnhardt (the race winner) by twelve points. Wallace also wonThe Winston in a controversial fashion, by spinning outDarrell Waltrip on the last lap.

In1990, Raymond Beadle switched sponsors, toMiller Genuine Draft. The four-year sponsorship deal was tied specifically to Wallace, meaning it went to whichever team Wallace went. The 1989 championship year was reportedly marked with acrimony between him and Beadle. However, Wallace was stuck with the team for 1990 due to his contract.^[7] Rusty won 18 races for Beadle.

In 1991, Wallace took the Miller sponsorship with him toPenske Racing,^[8] and he continued in the No. 2Miller Genuine DraftPontiac. He also won the 1991IROC championship. While 1992 only carried him one win, the win at the Miller 400 was satisfying; it was the first win for Wallace in a car which arguably was his best known chassis for his career, one affectionately known as "Midnight" after the win. With this nickname, the car raced for six seasons, carrying various race wins before being taken out of the fleet in 1997.

The1993 season was arguably his most successful season despite two major accidents at Daytona and Talladega, in which his car went airborne and flipped several times. He won the second race of the season on February 28, 1993, at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The season was also a sad one, as Wallace's friend and reigning NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki was killed flying into Bristol in April 1993. Because of this, when Wallace won the race at Bristol, in respect to Alan Kulwicki, he did a "Polish victory lap"—turning his car around and driving around the track the wrong way, as made famous by Kulwicki. In every race Wallace won that year he performed a "Kulwicki victory lap". He won all three races in April (Bristol on April 4,North Wilkesboro on April 18, and Martinsville on April 25). Also, he won the first ever race at the New Hampshire Speedway, starting 33rd, on July 11.In 1993, he won 10 of the 30 races,^[9] but finished second in the final points standings, 80 points behind Earnhardt. He ended the season strong, finishing in the top-three in all but two of the final ten races of the season.

Penske switched toFords in1994.^[9] In 1996, sponsorship changed from Miller Genuine Draft toMiller beer sponsorship. At the end of the 1996 season, NASCAR hosted its first of three exhibition races in Japan, the first of two atSuzuka. Wallace was the winner of that first race.

In1997, Miller changed the team's sponsorship toMiller Lite, replacing the black and gold with a blue and white scheme. In 1998, Wallace won theBud Shootout at Daytona, a non-points race for the previous years pole winners and past winners of the race. It was the first win for Ford's newTaurus, and Wallace's only victory at NASCAR's premier track (as well as his only victory in anyrestrictor plate race) in a Cup car.

In 2000, he secured his 50th career win at Bristol, becoming the tenth driver in NASCAR to win 50+ races. He is also the only driver in NASCAR history to win his 1st and 50th career victories at the same track, and in the same race. He would also score three more wins at Pocono, Michigan, and the night race at Bristol (season sweep at Bristol). He finished seventh in the final points standings after some inconsistency in the championship race. The next year, he won at California for his 54th career win. He won on what would have beenDale Earnhardt's 50th birthday and paid tribute to him with an Earnhardt flag. Wallace almost won the 2002 Sharpie 500 after being bumped out of the way by his rival Jeff Gordon.

In 2003, Penske Racing switched to Dodge and appropriately, in 2004, Wallace won his 55th (and final) race on a short track: the 2004 springMartinsville Speedway race. It was also the last win for the track under the ownership of theH. Clay Earles Trust; the death of Mary Weatherford (matriarch of the trust) forced the Trust to sell the track a month later.

On August 30, 2004, Wallace announced that the2005 NASCARNEXTEL Cup season would be his last as a full-time driver. Although at the time the possibility remained that he may have continued to run a limited schedule after the 2005 season—as semi-retireesBill Elliott andTerry Labonte also have done, Wallace's broadcasting contract at the time prevented him from doing so.Kurt Busch would replace Wallace in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2006–2010. In 2011,Brad Keselowski began driving the number 2.

In 2006, Wallace returned to hisGeneral Motors roots when he raced a Crawford-Pontiac sportscar, painted black and carrying the familiar stylized No. 2. The car was sponsored by Callaway Golf, in theRolex 24 atDaytona, teamed withDanica Patrick andAllan McNish, In 2008, hisNationwide Series cars switched from Dodge to Chevrolet.

Rusty Wallace finished his career with the 1989 Winston Cup Championship, 36 career poles, and 55 career wins. As of 2022, the 55 wins is 11th on NASCAR's all-time wins list. They include victories atCharlotte as well as the series' last three road courses (Riverside,Infineon andWatkins Glen), but none atDaytona,Darlington,Indianapolis, orTalladega. He has the most short track wins in NASCAR history with 34, and therefore he is considered among the best short track drivers in NASCAR history. He retired after the 2005 season with a 14.4 career average finish.

In 2014, Wallace ran at Daytona for testing before the2014 Daytona 500 as part of a promotion for Miller Lite's 40th anniversary, marking the first time aNASCAR Hall of Famer has driven in a NASCAR test.^[10] When asked about the testing, Wallace stated, "It all started atHomestead. I was standing between the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and 2 (Brad Keselowski) cars joking around and those guys were egging me on to get back in a car and when Brad got wind of it, he called me up two weeks later and was serious about it and Roger (Penske) was all for it. Everyone in the world has been on me to test. 'Why haven't you been back in a car?' This here kind of got me."^[11]

Wallace's legacy, besides being a close rival ofDale Earnhardt, was a number of severe wrecks he endured, especially at restrictor plate racetracks. The first one happened in 1983, when Wallace was attempting theDaytona 500 through theGatorade Twin 125's. He was tapped byRick Wilson, got airborne, and went on a spectacular series of flips that left him hospitalized. His next flip came atBristol Motor Speedway in 1988. What started it was unclear, but Wallace somehow managed to climb the wall and did a barrel roll. The roof of his car caved in.ESPN commentatorDr. Jerry Punch was the first responder, and possibly saved his life. In 1993, Wallace had two massive flips – both at plate tracks. The first was at the1993 Daytona 500, where he was tapped by the crashing cars ofMichael Waltrip andDerrike Cope, and barrel rolled multiple times in the grass on the back straightaway several feet in the air. Months later, atTalladega, racing to the checkered flag, Wallace was tagged from behind byDale Earnhardt, turned backwards, and flew into the air before violently flipping in the grass past the start-finish line, breaking a wrist (the area where Wallace's car wrecked has since been paved over). Earnhardt was visibly shaken by the incident and did make sure Wallace was okay by checking on him after the race had concluded. Wallace finished 80 points behind Earnhardt in the final points for 1993.^[12] He also had an airborne crash in his last Gatorade Twin in 2005 when Dave Blaney clipped his right rear tire and sent his car off the ground. The car never turned over though.

On April 1, 2015, Wallace tested aStadium Super Truck owned by former NASCAR driverRobby Gordon, and the following day, he announced he would race in the series'X Games round in Austin.^[13] After finishing last in his heat race, he was relegated to the last-chance qualifier.^[14] During the LCQ, Wallace rolled his truck, but continued running;^[15] he finished sixth in the event but failed to qualify for the feature.^[14]

In 2016, Wallace competed in theFerrari Finali Mondiali at Daytona. Driving for "Ferrari of Houston", Wallace finished tenth overall and third in the Professional, North America class.^[16]

On January 25, 2006, it was announced that Wallace would coverauto racing events for ESPN and ABC. Despite Wallace's lack of open-wheel racing experience, his assignments began with theIndyCar Series and included theIndianapolis 500 (in a perhaps forgivable lapse, he described a thrilling battle on the last lap as "The most excitingDaytona 500 ever!"). He joined the NASCAR broadcasting team for both networks when they started coverage of the sport in 2007.^[17] He signed a six-year deal withESPN in 2006. He returned to commentate for the2007 Indianapolis 500 won byDario Franchitti. He co-hostedNASCAR Angels withShannon Wiseman. Wallace worked with ESPN from 2007 to 2014 until their contract with NASCAR expired.

Since the 2015 Daytona 500, Wallace has worked withMotor Racing Network as a booth announcer.

This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2015)

Up until 2012, Wallace owned and operatedRusty Wallace Racing, which fielded the No. 62Pilot Flying JToyota Camry driven byMichael Annett and the No. 665 Hour EnergyToyota Camry driven by his sonSteve Wallace. This operation was temporarily suspended due to the loss of sponsorship. However, Steve Wallace confirmed on his Twitter account that the team would return for the Nationwide Series race atRichmond in May 2012 in a formerRoush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang, powered by a Roush-Yates engine in the No. 4 sponsored by LoanMax Title Loans. Due to lack of sponsorship in 2013, Wallace's team ran one race in a No. 66 entry finishing 25th at Charlotte, then closed at the conclusion of the season.

Wallace's brothers,Kenny andMike, also used to race on the NASCAR circuit. He and his wife Patti have three children – Greg, Katie, andStephen. Stephen raced full-time in theNASCAR Xfinity Series and made his Cup Series debut during the 2011 Daytona 500, making him the fourth member of his family to compete in the Daytona 500 and in NASCAR, behind the Bodines (Geoff,Brett, andTodd), Pettys (Lee,Richard, andKyle), Earnhardts (Ralph,Dale,Dale Jr. andJeffrey), and the Allisons (Bobby,Donnie, andDavey). Wallace's father, Russell Wallace Sr., died on October 30, 2011, at age 77.

In late 2005, Wallace broke ground on his "Signature Design Speedway" inNewton, Iowa.Iowa Speedway had its first race on September 15, 2006, and hosted many races in 2007 including an IndyCar race. The track is noted for its structural similarity toRichmond International Raceway, where Wallace has won six times. Iowa Speedway hosted its firstNASCARNationwide Series and firstNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 2009. Iowa Speedway will host their firstNASCAR Cup Series race on June 16, 2024.^[18] On December 4, 2023, it was announced that the inauguralNASCAR Cup Series race there was officially sold out.^[19] The inaugural race was a huge success with guest appearances from Rusty throughout the weekend. The cup series will return to Iowa Speedway on the first weekend of August 2025.

• 2003 – Callaway Golf – Callaway Golf Signs NASCAR Driver Rusty Wallace to Multiyear Endorsement and Licensing Agreement.^[20]
• 2009 –U.S. Fidelis – USfidelis TV Campaign Debuts, Featuring NASCAR's Steve and Rusty Wallace.^[21] The March 2010 bankruptcy of US Fidelis lists Rusty Wallace Racing as a creditor owed $535,439.^[22]
• 2009 – Lista International Corporation – Legendary NASCAR Driver Rusty Wallace Endorses Lista Products in New Online Video^[23]

Wallace made acameo appearance in the movieDays of Thunder. He and his brothers all appeared in theElectronic Arts video gameNASCAR Rumble. Mike was featured as a Craftsman Truck Series driver, driving the No. 2 ASE Ford (no specific car makes for the Trucks; the real truck was a Ford at the time), Kenny was featured in the game driving the No. 55 Square DChevrolet (although the game's commercial showed him driving the No. 81 Square DFord) & Rusty was featured in the game driving his No. 2 Ford, with the exception that the Miller Lite stickers are replaced byPenske Racing stickers similar to current Penske Championship Racing driverBrad Keselowski, whose sponsor is censored by NASCAR's ban on wireless telephone advertising. In the video for "Nowadays" byLil Skies featuring Landon Cube, Cube can be seen wearing a vintage Rusty Wallace jacket. In 2018 Wallace voiced himself in an episode ofMilo Murphy’s Law.^[24]

Since 1994 Wallace has served as the principal stakeholder in the Rusty Wallace Automotive Group, which consists of nine dealerships InTennessee, featuring prominent car brands such asFord,KIA andToyota.^[25][26]

Wallace serves on the board of directors of The NASCAR Foundation as the head of its development committee, a position he has held since the organization's founding in 2006. He does a majority of the fundraising through his annual motorcycle ride throughSturgis, South Dakota. The profits also go to Special Olympics South Dakota. Wallace and his car dealership inKnoxville, Tennessee also hold multiple motorcycle rally’s which raise funds for hospitals, youth programs and other local organizations.^[27] In total Wallace has raised millions of dollars for multiple causes.^[28][29][30]

In 2010 Wallace helped create the Rusty Wallace Driving Experience, which was a company that offered the public a chance to drive a stock car at various racetracks across the United States. Wallace stepped away from the company in 2015 when he began to venture into broadcasting. However it continued up until 2024 when Wallace removed his name from the business and it eventually shut down in August of that year.^[31]

Wallace has also become apublic speaker, and is an avid golfer andpilot having over 12 thousand hours of flight time.^[32][33][34]

• 1988, 1993Richard Petty Driver of the Year^[35]
• 1998 Inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame^[36]
• 2005Silver Antelope Award recipient^[37]
• 2005NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year Award recipient^[38]
• AARWBA 2005 Rick Mears “Good Guy” Award^[39]
• 2005 Myers Brothers Award recipient^[40]
• 2013 Inducted into theNASCAR Hall of Fame^[41]
• 2013 Inducted into theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame^[42]
• 2014 Inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America^[43]
• 2023 Buddy Shuman Award recipient^[44]

With 55 career points-paying victories, Wallace is ranked eleventh among theall-time NASCAR Cup Series winners; he is ranked seventh (in a tie withBobby Allison) among those who have competed during the sport's modern era (1972–present).

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRusty Wallace.

• Official website
• Rusty Wallace driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Rusty Wallace owner statistics at Racing-Reference
• Rusty Wallace atIMDb
• Rusty Wallace at NASCAR.com
• Rusty Wallace at ESPN
• June 2005 interview with Rusty Wallace
• Rusty Wallace Fans ClubArchived 2007-07-21 at theWayback Machine

• Living people
• 1956 births
• American people of English descent
• People from Arnold, Missouri
• Racing drivers from St. Louis
• NASCAR drivers
• NASCAR Cup Series champions
• USAC Stock Car drivers
• American Speed Association drivers
• International Race of Champions drivers
• Stadium Super Trucks drivers
• X Games competitors
• NASCAR team owners
• Motorsport announcers
• Wallace family
• American radio sports commentators
• American television sports commentators
• ESPN people
• Team Penske drivers
• ARCA Midwest Tour drivers
• NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees
• Ferrari Challenge drivers
• Daytona 500 drivers
• Coca-Cola 600 winners
• Coca-Cola 600 drivers
• Brickyard 400 drivers

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