Friday, July 20, 2007


ST. LOUIS, Jul. 20, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Running races anywhere near his hometown of St. Louis always gets the competitive fires burning for NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace.

That's why Wallace was overjoyed when he got a call from legendary owner Richard Childress earlier this year telling him he could run the No. 2 Chevrolet at the Gateway 250 Busch Series race Saturday at Gateway.

'His first words were, 'Are you ready to win in St. Louis?' and I said, 'You're darned right,'' Wallace said, knowing the No. 2 car already has two wins and nine top-five finishes this season with Clint Bowyer driving. 'I'm thrilled to death to be in it. We need to win, anything outside the top three will not be considered a success.

'The pressure's on because I asked for it. It's important for me to point out that I went and asked for this ride.'

The 43-year-old Wallace has four top-10 finishes in eight career races at Gateway, but never has finished above sixth. This would be a great place for his first 'home' win.

Older brother Rusty Wallace will be doing television analyst work for ESPN and Rusty's son, 19-year-old Steven Wallace, will join Uncle Kenny in the race field. Dozens of family and friends will be on hand.

'I was in the shower this morning thinking that if I could win this race, it would be the biggest win of my career,' said Kenny Wallace.

Wallace remembered the pride and emotion displayed by 2006 Gateway 250 winner Carl Edwards, who grew up in Columbia, Mo.

'I think the toughest part about coming home is wanting to do well and perform in front of all your friends and family,' Wallace said. 'You go anywhere else and have a bad race, you just kind of suck it up and are depressed for a while.

'If you do bad here, you just want to dig a hole right away.'

In April, he decided on a whim to run on the dirt track at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville.

'I remember my dad (Russ) raced there back in the '50s,' Wallace said. 'I went over there and won the heat, won the dash and won the feature. I dominated and everybody said, 'When are you comin' back?'' and I said, 'Are you crazy?'

'I'm batting 100 percent. I'm never going back.'

Wallace, 43, is the youngest of three racing Wallace brothers. Dad Russ Wallace piled up more than 400 wins on the dirt tracks around St. Louis and the Midwest.

Kenny Wallace went right into big-time racing, forgoing the dirt-track path paved by his father. He's since made up for lost time and raced twice this week on dirt in Tennessee. He's also scheduled to visit Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach tonight along with brother Mike Wallace.

Back in January, Kenny Wallace purchased Macon Speedway near Decatur with NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader.

'When I'm done driving NASCAR, I want to spend one full year running dirt,' said Wallace, also a popular television racing analyst for the SPEED Channel. 'I want to race three nights a week. When I started racing, I did it backwards.

'I'm reliving my past with my dirt car now. I'm racin' the hell out of it.'

Wallace ran his first Busch Race in 1988, finishing 11th after being given a ride by the legendary Dale Earnhardt. Wallace has nine career Busch wins and 156 top-10 finishes, but hasn't won since 2001 at Rockingham.

He also has 28 top-10 Nextel Cup finishes with more than $20 million in career earnings.

The Wallace family is currently getting firmly behind Steven Wallace's career.

'Steven right now is our biggest work in progress,' Kenny Wallace said. 'He is the heir apparent, so I do have a vested interest in Steven to do well.'

But while Steven Wallace has displayed a natural talent for racing, he also has proven a bit headstrong in some clashes with his father, Rusty.

Kenny Wallace, known for his mischievous, fun-loving personality, sees more than a little of himself in his nephew.

'When I was his age, I thought everything was my fault and I had to prove to the world that (I could do it),' Kenny Wallace said. 'That's where Steven's at right now.'

While the Wallace brothers were born in St. Louis, they spent part of their childhoods in Rolla, Mo. But ask them where they consider home and it's still Arnold, Mo., where they attended Fox High School.

'I'm a Jefferson County redneck,' joked Wallace, who recently purchased 12 acres near St. Louis. 'I was raised in Arnold; 20 dollars is a big deal to me.'

Two things have never changed about Wallace -- his passion for the St. Louis Cardinals and an infectious laugh that never seems to stop.

His career never hit the heights of older brother Rusty, but that doesn't bother Kenny.

'When it's all done, all they do is remember what kind of person you are,' he said. 'You can be a total jerk and win races or you can be a nice guy and run good. I've always been myself.'

Contact reporter Norm Sanders at  nsanders@bnd.com or 239-2454.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0023-18278532


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