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Krista Voda: Wallaces have a date with history on Halloween at Talladega
By Krista Voda
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
COMMENTARY
Mike and Chrissy Wallace will make history in the Halloween running of the Mountain Dew 250 Truck series race at Talladega Superspeedway, becoming the first father‑daughter duo to compete in a national series event in NASCAR.
Chrissy, 21, was approached by Rick Ware Racing to drive its No. 08 entry at Talladega, where she finished ninth last year in ARCA competition. Mike, who is competing regularly this season in the Nationwide Series, was offered an opportunity to drive the No. 48 truck of Andy Hillenburg.
He was excited about the possibility of doing something unprecedented in NASCAR, but first wanted to check with his daughter to make sure Chrissy was OK with it.
Mike called Chrissy and asked, “Do you want to make a little history?”
Chrissy’s response? “Sure, it doesn’t matter, I’m gonna beat you anyway.”
Mike says the trash-talking began immediately and has continued ever since. Chrissy tends to trash talk, he adds, and she usually backs it up.
Chrissy and Mike worked together last year at Talladega with dad serving as her spotter during her ARCA race. This time they’ll be competing against each other with uncle Kenny Wallace spotting for Chrissy. This truly will be a family affair.
Special firesuits have been made emblazoned with Wallace Family History on the front.
Chrissy realizes she must learn from Mike before making good on her prediction of beating him.
“I’m going to have to go there and learn how to drive the trucks there, which is going to be a little challenge at first, but I think once I get the hang of it and go through practice and everything, we’ll be OK, especially if I can go out there and practice with Dad,” Chrissy says. “So my big person I rely on is going to be my dad.”
Chrissy would be wise to follow her father’s lead. In addition to running fifth in the Truck series event last year at Talladega, Mike was also the inaugural Truck race winner at Daytona in 2000. He can surely pass along some important lessons to Chrissy, who made her Truck series debut last year at Martinsville and finished 18th, her best finish in six series starts.
Aside from the family’s storyline, Mike says the timing of the race at Talladega will also ramp up the excitement.
“At Talladega, and especially in the infield, there’s ghosts and goblins running around on a normal weekend. I can’t imagine how it’s gonna be on Halloween,” he says.
History and Halloween. Sounds like a winning combination.
Krista Voda hosts the popular SPEED prerace show NCWTS Setup, leading into each NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Voda is also a regular host on The SPEED Report and serves as a pit reporter for NASCAR on FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series.
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
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