Driving race cars remains Kenny Wallace's primary commitment
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Jay Robinson Racing's Kenny Wallace is currently ninth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings after the first four races of the season.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
Several times a weekend, it happens. Kenny Wallace smiles and says thank you, but inside, his blood is boiling. Wallace will be at a race track, sometimes not long after driving his Jay Robinson Racing Nationwide Series Chevrolet, when a fan approaches him.
“Hey, Kenny, we sure do love you on that TV,” the fan will say. “Do you still drive?”
Wallace could scream. Oh, sure, he loves the compliment about his work on Speed, but it’s an insult to his driving.
And this year, he has been driving well. With a smaller, underdog team, Wallace has parked the No. 28 inside the top 10 in the Nationwide standings. So, yes, he still does drive, Mr. & Mrs. Fan. And he has driven to ninth place in the points.
“If I was young, I’d deny everything,” Wallace said recently. “But I’m 45 years old now. I will tell you I will stand up on TV right in front of 3 million people and say, ‘Look, I am a race-car driver, OK? I’m very grateful to be known as a famous TV commentator. But it just so happens that I’m here on this TV because I’m not racing today.’”
That’s the reason why he got into TV work in the first place. And now, in some strange way, it has backfired on him.
“I started doing TV because I didn’t have anything to do on those particular Sundays,” Wallace said. “I would stay around the race track and do TV. I had no idea that I would be so popular for TV.
“Maybe it’s because I need therapy over it, but it offends me. I would rather be more popular for driving [a] race car than [that] I do TV. But I’m still grateful for it.”
There’s an easy solution to his dilemma, of course. Wallace could always quit doing his TV work, but he said he won’t “let people control what I do.”
So he’ll keep doing both, although there’s no doubt what comes first in his mind.
“He is as serious as they come when it comes time for that race car,” said his crew chief with JRR, Chris Rice. “And he’ll let you know that, too. He’ll say, ‘Look, this is our serious time.’”
Wallace has been plenty serious this year, his first full time with the growing organization Robinson started in 2000. For many years, Robinson scraped by with little sponsorship and sometimes with aging race cars.
But then Robinson landed the U.S. Border Patrol as a sponsor, giving him additional resources to build his team. Rice is one of those resources, getting hired after long-time JRR employee Kenneth Campbell died last year.
Rice and Wallace worked together in the Cup series in 2002 for Bill Davis Racing, and they are a good fit.
“Chris Rice likes me a lot,” Wallace said. “We have an understanding with each other. We’re working on the car; we’re not worried about each other’s feelings.
The two look after each other like brothers, knowing they have each other’s best interest in mind.
“He’s Kenny Wallace. He’s a very likable person,” Rice said. “At the same time, he’s a competitive person. When you deal with him, you almost have to deal with him like he’s your brother. If you deal with just as a workmate, you never see eye to eye. We’re like best friends.”
Rice has known Wallace since 1989, when Wallace was a rookie in what was then known as the Busch Series. Wallace wasn’t the famous personality then. Instead, he was just a hard-working young driver trying to make it.
“He worked on his race cars back then himself,” Rice said. “He built all his own race cars, so when you talk to him about a lower A-frame or a spring or something like that, he knows what you’re talking about because he has worked on them and built them.”
So, no, Wallace isn’t always the goofball you see on TV. He isn’t the free spirit without a care in the world that he seems to be when he’s goofing around for the camera.
There’s another side to Wallace, the side that’s proud to be ninth in the point standings after four races.
“It’s not a fluke that Kenny Wallace is there,” Rice said. “He’s a great racer. He races the race track until it’s time to go race. With 50 to go, he’ll go race the race, and next thing you know, you’re sitting there 10th to 15th, and you’ve gained 120 points.”
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22 responses to "Driving race cars remains Kenny Wallace's primary commitment". Post a Comment.
Amanda Ebersole said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 12:02 PMKenny is a great driver and I wish he would get more coverage for that during the races. Although I do enjoy watching his on RaceDay He wouldn't be doing that if he were not Kenny Wallace the race car driver so appreciate the driver first than the commentator. And I would like to say Congratulations cause Kenny is 9th in points!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportPat Draper said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 1:24 PMIt's great that Kenny is doing so well this season. The last few years have not been good for him. It's the guys in the booth that don't pay enough attention to who is where. They always talk about the first 5 guys in the race, at least that is the way it seems. I hope Kenny has a great year. Way to go Herm
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» Confirm Abuse Reportchris Stephens said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 2:21 PMI love Kenny's energy and excitement he brings, he is doing very well this year with what he's got. I think the fans that approach him are cup fans and not Nationwide, I lik'em both theres alot you can learn about up and coming drivers and at times the racing is better. Goodluck Kenny!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRay Greenseth said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 3:06 PMYes, I agree Kenny's a good driver. I remember when he first started and he was always up in front..but then he had better equipment. But yes, I still watch him race and move up and pass cars..They need to say more about him, they do Morgan Shephard.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportDoc Lehman said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 3:16 PMOkay, Kenny is a good driver and should do more in the Nationwide races but I think his TV stuff has expanded his head to the size of that loudmouth DW---Kenny is just too much Hype for me.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportLouise Diamond said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 3:20 PMI totally agree with all of the above,and I applaud Lee Montgomery for this article. Kenny wallace is unique; there's not another like him, whether he's racing or talking. He doesn't pretend to be anyone other than who he is,and he interacts beautifully with his fans. He has a wonderful family who loves him to death and for whom he will do anything and everything. Kenny, never worry about the fans who don't know you as a racer. It's possible a lot of them first saw you on SPEED and might only watch Cup races. You know who you are...and so I. God bless, Mr. 9th in Points! Go get 'em!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportLouise Diamond said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 3:23 PMThat is...I agree with everyone except #5, who is certainly entitled to his opinion. It just isn't mine.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSheila Hawley said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 3:37 PMI agree it's the guys in the booth. They should be covering Nationwide drivers in the Nationwide Series, instead of talking about all the Cup drivers in the Nationwide race. They'll get their spotlight the next day. Let's talk about Nationwide drivers. There's a lot of good Series drivers in the race. I watch the race to see how they're doing. I can watch Cup on Sunday. Are you listening SPEED? ESPN2?
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMillporter said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 3:44 PMThe huge reason he is so popular on TV is because he is a gr8 race car driver. He knows everything about the tracks becoz he's been on em. Keep on keepin on, Kenny.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportDonna Lund said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 4:49 PMI wish also that kenny would be acknowledged a little more during tha race but they don't say much about him ..way to go Kenny 9th in points ..
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRAEJEAN OVERHOLTZER said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 5:01 PMKenny in my opinion is a great person. When I catch Speed he usually refers to the car and/or race that he will be in. (Don't people really listen?) I have always liked him on the track in racing (I have been around racing a long time) but I also like him on the side giving info, opinions, or points of interest that the other guys don't cover or give. A lot of racing drivers don't get coverage and it is just a huge loss to fans. Some times I get tired of seeing the same ones (top 10) week after week. Maybe Speed, ABC, and other channels need to do a special on 1 driver (not in the top 10) a week. That sure would be value added interest to all racing fans. And please not the same driver on all the channels the same week! When surfing back and forth, I don't want to be bored like I am now - too much repetitive information!
Report as AbuseSINCE IT IS ALL ABOUT THE FANS THIS YEAR - - I JUST WISH NATIONWIDE AND CUP RACES WERE ON THE LOCAL RADIO AGAIN TOO - HINT, HINT, HINT!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportALLEN said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 5:16 PMI like Kenny and Jimmy together on Speed Network but I would rather see them both in the Cup races.It sounds like some people would like the quiet boring broadcasts like you get on Fox . As long as we have choices we'll all be happy.
Report as AbuseGood luck Herm !!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportYdarlene Stierhoff said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 5:42 PMI love watching Kenny on TV BUT I also love to watch where he is on the track. Racing was first then TV. He has such a personality that TV fits him but so does a race car!!. 9th in points is great! I'm sure he will move up in points now with a good sponser because his great driving needed a great sponser and now the 2 are set ----TV is second.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportrae said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 5:57 PMI like Kenny for who he is... himself. I know his laugh drives some people crazy, but that is Kenny being Kenny. He says it like he sees it and I really appreciate that. I'm glad to see him doing so well this year and would like the commentators to give him more coverage when he races. The same goes for the other drivers and teams who work hard but don't make it to the front of the line. I'm sure they and their families and friends would like to hear at least something good about them once in awhile. I have a "driver" that I "cheer" for at every race but I would like to know something good about all the drivers during the race. Is that possible?
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsandra gresham said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 7:05 PMI would just like to say way to go Kenny, I am proud of you. You are a nut and a great driver. Keep it up, and never give up. Love seeing you on t.v. to.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportArthur Trim said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 7:34 PMKenny is one of the most out spoken member of the broadcast media! He has spent hundreds of minutes on camera praising the "newest, greatest, talented, youngest drivers in the Nationwide, Camping World and Sprint series! At 45 years old Kenny is old enough to be the father of all of the kids!! Bottom line, Kenny is too many years, too many races and too few wins past his prime! Stick to being a TV personality!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportThomas Hines said:
Mar 24, 2009 at 8:57 PMKenny;
Report as Abusecongrats on being in the top ten,keep that passion known only to racecar drivers.now shut everybody up and win the series
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
Mar 25, 2009 at 7:14 AMHerman is a race car driver first then a tv personality. Would Speeds coverage and comentary be the same without him, no, not so much. Would the garage area be the same without him suited up ready to climb into his car? Absolutely not. I love to see him in the garage, hear him laughing and most of all, see him racing! He has always been one one the nicest drivers I have ever met. Find what you love, Love what you do. Go Kenny
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» Confirm Abuse ReportKeith Johnson said:
Mar 25, 2009 at 10:01 AMIt would be nice to see Kenny in a Roush, Hendrick or Gibbs car. He may not be the best but never had a chance to prove it.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjack lee said:
Mar 25, 2009 at 11:00 PMIf Kenny ran on the track like his mouth runs on TV....
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjack lee said:
Mar 25, 2009 at 11:00 PMIf Kenny ran on the track like his mouth runs on TV....
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» Confirm Abuse Reportrandy hayes said:
Apr 8, 2009 at 9:50 AMAnd the cow still wants to jump over the moon.Wallace has to learn he hasn't got it any more just like several other drivers who continue onward because they know nothing else.
Report as AbuseYOU HAD YOUR TIME IT'S OVER.
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