Life is good for Mike Wallace

Mike Wallace is in a good place in his life. No, he’s not running at NASCAR’s top level, winning every week against the likes of Kyle Busch or Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon.
 
And that’s OK with him. He knows he’s in the latter stages of a NASCAR career that began in 1990, but he also knows he can still win in the Nationwide Series with Germain Racing. Germain won the Craftsman Truck Series championship two years ago, and Wallace has had several good runs in the Nationwide Series this season.
 
But there’s more to Wallace than driving a race car. He’s proven to be a solid businessman, engineering a deal with GEICO Insurance to run the company’s NASCAR sponsorship through him.
 
And he’s also the proud father and mentor to Chrissy Wallace, who started a promising NASCAR career earlier this year at the age of 18.
 
Yes, life is good. Will he be as famous as his slick-talking brother Kenny or his championship-winning brother Rusty? Nope.
 
“We’re never going to equal his achievements,” Mike Wallace said of Rusty. “I’m not going to win 50-something Cup races, but I’m happy with where we’re at. If you think about it on a week in and week out basis, I’m one of 43 guys that get to race every weekend. I’m [eighth] in the points, so I’m the [eighth]-best in the world in this series.
 
“That’s the way I look at it. Are there guys who get a lot more exposure, a lot more press? Sure, they do. I make myself feel good by knowing I’m [eighth]-best in the world.”
 
He’d love to get another shot at the Sprint Cup Series. After 186 races with 14 top-10 finishes but no victories, sure, there’s unfinished Cup business.
 
Wallace also knows he doesn’t make the decision as to whether he drives in Cup or not.
 
“I realize I can’t force a situation that’s not going to happen,” Wallace said. “Do I want to run a Cup car? Yes, I do. Is it an ultimate life-depending battle if I do? No. I can’t force owners to do something that I want to do.”
 
And he’s long since given up trying. With four wins each in the No. 2 series and in the Craftsman Truck Series, he’s proven he belongs in NASCAR. Now, though, the focus has changed. Instead of trying to build his resume, Wallace is all about having fun.
 
Oh, sure, Wallace is all business when he straps into the race car, but he’s no longer consumed by the sport. Instead, he simply wants to enjoy the opportunity he’s been given.
 
“I don’t think I knew better 10 years ago,” Wallace said. “This is a pressure-packed, pressure-intense business, and you have to perform. I talk about this almost every other day with my daughter Chrissy now that she’s got an opportunity to race: ‘You’ve got to lay the numbers on the board, you’ve got to produce.’
 
“But at the same time, we’re preaching, ‘You’ve got to have fun.’ Because if you have fun, you’ll just naturally do well, and things will go along better.”
 
Wallace turned 49 earlier this year, and in the NASCAR world, that’s perilously close to retirement age. Wallace just laughs at the suggestion his days are numbered in the sport.
 
And he points to presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain as proof.
 
“If he can do it at 71 years old and run the whole United States of America, driving a race car is not that big a deal. It just isn’t,” Wallace said. “In the normal context, am I at the tail end [of a career]? Sure. Does tail end mean that I can race for five more years? Can I race for two more years? I don’t know. A lot of it’s driven by sponsor dollars, performance on the race track. As long as I can have corporate America still believing in me that I can represent them off the race track and on it, I’m going to do it.
 
“If there’s a day where I look in the mirror and go, ‘You know what, bud? You’re not getting it done,’ then I’ll quit and do something else.”
 
He’s not at that point yet, though. During a difficult season with Phoenix Racing in 2007, Wallace began talking to German Racing General Manager Mike Hillman Sr. about the future. Germain had run a few races in what was then known as the Busch Series, and when Wallace and his GEICO sponsorship became available, Germain moved up.
 
The team bought a lot of old Robert Yates Racing equipment and became Toyota’s fourth team in the series. Success came rather quickly, as Wallace finished seventh in the third race of the season at Las Vegas.
 
And he’s been consistent, too, knocking off six top-10 finishes in the first 18 races. Recently, Wallace finished eighth at Dover, sixth at Nashville and third at Kentucky in consecutive races.
 
Is a win right around the corner?
 
“I believe that we can win a race,” Wallace said. “It’s going to be a Brad Keselowski situation. That team’s worked and worked and worked. Brad and his team put themselves in position by running up front consistently enough, and now they’ve won a race.
 
“You’ve got to be a top-10 car to put yourself in position to be a top-five car. If you put yourself in position to be a top-five car, you will win a race, because you’re there. Opportunities are going to present themselves: A different pit strategy, a performance advantage, something.”
 
It’s that something Wallace has been looking for his entire NASCAR career. And maybe now he’s found it.

• Mentioned Drivers:
• Mike Wallace